Tivoli

Facts

City amusement park

Tivoli opened for the first time on 15 August 1843 outside Vesterport. The founder, Georg Carstensen, wanted an amusement park like those abroad. The architect H.C. Stilling's buildings and layout survived for some 40 years until the great industrial exhibition of 1888 rang the changes. The park was extended out to the existing H.C. Andersens Boulevard and the corner of Tietgensgade and Bernsdorffsgade. In the 1890s, the park was again extended, this time to its present size. Meanwhile, the city has grown up around the park. From being an excursion spot outside the city, it went on to become a green space inside it.

Partly a public place

Selected entry

Pierrot comes to Tivoli

Story written by Jan Möllerström

Time / Periode 1843

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Tivoli's Pantomime Theatre was built in 1874 and was designed by Vilhelm Dahlerup who is also known for the Ny Carlsberg Glypotek and the Royal Danish Theatre. As early as in 1844, a primitive theatre existed on the site, where the first Pierrot appeared. Several of the Danish pantomimes from that era are still performed: Spåkvinden (The Fortune Teller), Statuen (The Statue) and Den falske husholderske (The False Housekeeper). The pantomime tradition originates from the Italian Commedia dell'Arte, which spread to England and France, and gave Denmark its Pierrot character. The famous peacock stage curtain was the idea of the then director, Bernhard Olsen, who had seen it in French theatres. As in 1874, the curtain is operated manually. A number of standard stage sets are reused in the various performances.