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Superkilen and Mjølnerparken: BIG's park of a hundred objects
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Superkilen and Mjølnerparken: BIG's park of a hundred objects

BIG's 2012 multi-ethnic linear park — a red square, a black market, a green park — celebrating immigrant Nørrebro.

Drafted by Claude — the editor hasn’t walked this one yet. We’ll update this notice once it’s been verified on the ground.

Distance

3 km

Time

~ 90 min

Start

Nørrebro S-tog (also M3)

End

Nørrebro S-tog (also M3)

Best at

afternoon

Right now
23°C· Partly cloudy

Open in Maps for turn-by-turn, or take it offline as GPX.

Superkilen is the seven-hundred-and-fifty-metre linear park BIG, Topotek 1 and Superflex designed in 2012 as an explicit celebration of immigrant Copenhagen — over a hundred objects from sixty-plus countries, picked to represent the home countries of the surrounding neighbourhood's residents. A Moroccan fountain, a Russian octopus slide, a Thai boxing ring, neon signs from Qatar and Iran and Texas. The park is a celebration; it's also a piece of urban anthropology.

Three kilometres, ninety minutes if you read every object label. Nørrebro S-tog is the entry. Walk south down Mimersgade and Den Røde Plads — the red square — opens with rust-red asphalt, sports courts and a sound system. The middle is Sort Marked (the Black Market), darker and quieter, designed for casual gathering. The north is Den Grønne Park — picnic lawns, undulating ground, an actual park.

Walk into Mjølnerparken next, the 1980s housing complex behind the park. The neighbourhood's been on the regeneration list for years; new buildings and renovations are visible. Back to Nørrebro S-tog via Mimersgade — the spine of immigrant Nørrebro, where the park earns its claim.

The route

On the map.

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

  1. 01
    1

    Nørrebro S-tog

    S-tog at the northern *Nørrebro* entry (also served by M3 Cityringen). Walk south on *Mimersgade*; *Superkilen* opens on your right within minutes.

  2. 02
    2

    Den Røde Plads (the Red Square)

    The southern zone. Rust-red asphalt, basketball court, sports equipment from Iran and Brazil, a sound system that plays at events. The objects are labelled with country and source — read a few; the park rewards slowness.

  3. 03
    3

    Sort Marked (the Black Market)

    The middle zone. Darker, quieter, designed for casual hanging-out. The white painted lines on the dark surface map abstract patterns. Chairs from a dozen countries, a Moroccan fountain, a Russian octopus slide that's also still working.

  4. 04
    4

    Den Grønne Park (the Green Park)

    The northern zone. An actual park — picnic lawns, undulating ground, a Thai boxing ring, a Hungarian pavilion. The greenest of the three zones, the most family-busy on weekends.

  5. 05
    5

    Mjølnerparken

    The 1980s housing complex behind *Superkilen*. Was on Denmark's *parallelsamfund* (parallel-society) list — the so-called ghetto list — for years; the government regeneration programme is gradually transforming the housing. Walk through respectfully; this is residential, not a tourist site.

  6. 06
    6

    Mimersgade → Nørrebro S-tog

    *Mimersgade* is the spine of immigrant Nørrebro: halal butchers, Middle Eastern bakeries, the kind of small shops the park was designed to honour. Back to the station; M3 or S-tog from there.