Skydebanemuren
Jeg ser den hver dag, og jeg ser den ikke. Den er hverdag.
Men når turister stopper op med forundring og begejstring malet i ansigterne og kameraerne bliver hevet frem, når turguiden udpeger den for grupper af turister – og, nok især som netop nu, når jeg gennem porten kan ane de lyserøde kirsebærtræer blomstre, så ser jeg den – rigtig ser den, så er den ikke længere hverdag.
Skydebanemuren.... Jeg krydser Istedgade, går gennem den lille
port og ind i den anden verden. Engang var den skydebane for de kongelige og
deres venner. De skød efter “papegøjer” på en pind, så kuglerne piftede vildt
omkring. Ja, så vildt, at Istedgade ikke kunne passeres på denne strækning. Så
blev muren bygget, der var dog grænser for, hvor mange borgere, man kunne tåle,
skulle lade livet for en kongelig kugle i 1900’tallet. Derfor opførte man i 1887
den 20 meter høje borglignende mur.
I dag har de kongelige og det bedre borgerskab for længst
forladt skydebanerne og området har siden 1950’erne været lokal park for
bydelens beboere. Når jeg træder gennem porten, kommer jeg først ind på
legepladsen fyldt med legende børn, pædagoger og forældre. En kaffevogn har
fundet sin plads og bliver flittigt besøgt.
Jeg går videre og kommer forbi
“stilleområdet”, hvor de unge ligger og nyder solen, så man ville ønske man igen
var ung, mens andre sidder på bænkene og nyder blomsterbedene. Men alt det
fortjener i sig selv flere ord, så det tager vi en anden dag.
The shooting range wall
I see it every day and I do not see it.
It is an every day event.
But when tourists stop to wonder, with excitement on their faces and the cameras are pulled out, when the tour guide identifies it for the groups of tourists - and, more especially just now, when, through the gate, I can glimpse the pink cherry trees in bloom, then I see it - really see it, and it is no longer an everyday event.
Skydebanewall .... I cross Istedgade, go through the small gate and into the other world. It was once the shooting range for royalty and their friends. They shot at painted "parrots" on a pole, so the bullets whistled around wildly. Yes, so wildly that Istedgade could not be passed on this stretch. So the wall was built, there was a after all a limit to how many people you could allow to be killed by a royal bullet in the 19th century. Therefore, in 1887, they built the 20 meter high castle-like wall.
Today, the royalty and the bourgeoisie have long since left the shooting range and the area has, since the 1950’s, become a local park for the neighborhood's residents. When I step through the gate, I come first into a playground filled with children, teachers and parents. A mobile coffee shop has found its place and is frequently visited. I continue on and pass the "quiet area" where the young people are enjoying the sun, so one wishes one was young again, while others sit on the park benches and enjoy the flowerbeds. But all that deserves a longer description, so we will take that another day.
But when tourists stop to wonder, with excitement on their faces and the cameras are pulled out, when the tour guide identifies it for the groups of tourists - and, more especially just now, when, through the gate, I can glimpse the pink cherry trees in bloom, then I see it - really see it, and it is no longer an everyday event.
Skydebanewall .... I cross Istedgade, go through the small gate and into the other world. It was once the shooting range for royalty and their friends. They shot at painted "parrots" on a pole, so the bullets whistled around wildly. Yes, so wildly that Istedgade could not be passed on this stretch. So the wall was built, there was a after all a limit to how many people you could allow to be killed by a royal bullet in the 19th century. Therefore, in 1887, they built the 20 meter high castle-like wall.
Today, the royalty and the bourgeoisie have long since left the shooting range and the area has, since the 1950’s, become a local park for the neighborhood's residents. When I step through the gate, I come first into a playground filled with children, teachers and parents. A mobile coffee shop has found its place and is frequently visited. I continue on and pass the "quiet area" where the young people are enjoying the sun, so one wishes one was young again, while others sit on the park benches and enjoy the flowerbeds. But all that deserves a longer description, so we will take that another day.
