Bredgade i København, tidligere også kaldet Norgesgade, er hovedfærdselsåren i Frederiksstaden og strækker sig knap en kilometer i lige linje fra Kongens Nytorv til krydset ved Esplanaden og Grønningen.
Oprindeligt en middelalderlig fægyde, hvorigennem kreaturerne blev drevet til fælleden, men i slutningen af 1500-tallet var det blevet den bredeste færdselsåre uden for Østerport (der dengang lå for enden af Østergade) – heraf navnet Bredgade. Omkring gaden lå store haver med små huse – man var virkelig uden for volden. Da kongen i 1600-tallet etablerede det ”nye” København mellem Kongens Nytorv og Kastellet og samtidig omlagde Østervold ændredes navnet til Norgesgade.
Omkring 1750 oplevede gaden et sandt byggeboom, hvor specielt hofbygmester Nicolai Eigtved (rokokoens danske mester) fik sat et meget tydeligt fingeraftryk. Gaden blev en vigtig del af akserne i den nyanlagte Frederiksstad, hvor Amalienborg slotsplads var centrum. Smukke palæer skød op som Det Berckentinske Palæ, Dehns Palæ og Bernstorffs Palæ. Med anlæggelse af Esplanaden i 1780'erne blev gaden endegyldigt et fashionabelt strøg.
Det lykkedes ikke i mere end 200 år at få Københavns indbyggere til at sige ”Norgesgade”, og i 1877 blev Bredgade igen gadens officielle navn.
I dag fremstår Bredgade stadig meget pompøs og imponerende med prægtige bygninger, palæer, kirker og pladser med mange flotte syn (fra Kgs. Nytorv mod Esplanaden):
Ud over gadens arkitektoniske kvaliteter findes en overflod af gallerier, kunst-/ antikvitetshandlere og møbelforretninger. Af liberale erhverv er der en stor repræsentation af advokaterog arkitekter og desuden mange reklamebureauer, sølvsmede og designere.
Hver dag ca. klokken 11.50 går Den Kongelige Livgarde ind i Bredgade fra Kongens Nytorv på vej mod vagtskiftet på Amalienborg klokken 12.
(Fra Wikipedia)
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Bredgade (Lit. English: Broad Street) is one of the most prominent streets in Copenhagen, Denmark. Running in a straight line from Kongens Nytorv for just under one kilometre to the intersection of Esplanaden and Grønningen, it is one of the major streets in Frederiksstaden, a Rococo district laid out in the middle of the 18th century to commemorate the tercentenary of the House of Oldenburg's ascension to the Danish throne. It is lined with a number of fine mansions as well as other historic buildings. Many law firms, trade unions, fashion stores and art galleries are based in the street.
In Medieval times, Bredgade was little more than a track used for driving cattle in and out of the city, but by the end of the 16th century it had developed into the broadest road outside the Eastern City Gate (which at the time was located where Strøget meets Kongens Nytorv today), a fact reflected in the street's name (Broad Street). The street was mainly lined by large gardens with small houses and pavilions.
When the course of the Eastern Rampart was changed over the first century, the whole area, now known as New Copenhagen, was incorporated into the fortified city. At that point Bredgade was renamed Norgesgade (English: Norway Street) to commemorate the King's possessions to the north and escape the rural connotations of the old name.
With the planning of Frederiksstaden around 1750, Bredgade saw a major building boom which included the construction of many fine mansions such as the Berckentinian Mansion, the Dehn Mansion and the Bernstorff Mansion. When Esplanaden was laid out at its far end in the 1780s, Bredgade's position as one of the most prominent streets of the city was consolidated even further.
The name Norgesgade never gained popularity and in 1877 the street's official name was finally changed back to Bredgade.
(From Wikipedia)