The Golden Age

The term Golden Age is used in Denmark of the first half of the 19th century because of the abundance of artistic creativity in literature and the visual arts. Intellectual life flourished as never before, and the period is still a source of fascination, not least by virtue of its delight in beauty and its significance for the self-understanding that was emerging in the middle classes. In literature it is a period that saw the names of writers such as Hans Christian Andersen, B.S. Ingemann, N.F.S. Grundtvig and Adam Oehlenschläger, while outstanding names among artists were those of C.W. Eckersberg, Christen Købke and Constantin Hansen. At the same time, the artistic profusion of the period also includes such creations as C.F. Hansen’s neo-classical architecture, Bournonville’s ballets and Bertel Thorvaldsen’s sculptures.

The Danish Golden Age coincides with Romanticism, and many of the Romantic ideas and ideals relating to love, the concept of nature endowed with spirit, national feelings, the individual and the creative power of the genius are found in the art and literature of the Golden Age. Read more about Romanticism.

In point of fact, the country was going through a period of chaos. After several major fires in Copenhagen, the city was exposed to the English bombardment in 1807; the fleet was confiscated and the country went bankrupt in 1813. And the following year, Denmark was forced to cede Norway to Sweden. Nevertheless, the immediate impression of the period 1800-1850 is of a time of harmony and idyll on account of the cultural achievements of the period and the profusion of ideas it produced. Many of the outstanding cultural personalities met and inspired each other in Knud Lyne and Kamma Rahbek’s home in Bakkehuset.