Lumskebugten

Lumskebugten is a historic restaurant at Esplanaden 21 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The establishment occupies a listed building associated with the entrance to the former Northern Customs House area and has a documented history reaching back to 1854. It is among Copenhagen's oldest surviving restaurant establishments and remains closely connected with the city's harbourfront, maritime history and nearby business district. The site had hosted a tavern for considerably longer than the current restaurant building. From the late seventeenth century, an establishment known as Brokkens Bod operated there and was associated for more than a century with the Brock family. Tax records from 1689 refer to Jens Brock's House at the Customs House, named after Jens Sørensen Brock, a customs officer and searcher. In 1699, a royal licence authorized the premises to serve beer and Danish akvavit. Later records use several variations of the Brock name, while the name Brokkens Bod appears in the 1775 census. The tavern served sailors, dockworkers, customs-house personnel and workers connected with the naval base at Holmen. Its reputation for strong akvavit contributed to local expressions describing someone as heavily intoxicated. Brokkens Bod was demolished in the 1850s when a new entrance complex was constructed for the customs area. The replacement premises continued the site's role as a harbour tavern, serving people using one of Copenhagen's busiest waterfront locations. The building forms part of a complex designed in connection with the customs entrance by Gustav Friedrich Hetsch. It is attached to one of the guardhouses flanking the historic Lion's Gate, whose pillars are marked by two seated lions. The restaurant's name has traditionally been explained as a nautical reference to a dangerous bay with shifting sandbanks, a place where ships might run aground. That interpretation has been questioned because the term has not been located on older nautical maps. Another possibility is that the Greenland locality Lumskebugten, named in 1907 during the Denmark Expedition, helped preserve or formalize the association. The locality was proposed by expedition member Christian Bendix Thostrup. As the former Customs House Road was rebuilt and renamed Esplanaden, the neighbourhood gradually changed from a working harbour environment into a central urban and commercial district. Lumskebugten correspondingly developed into a popular lunch restaurant. Its present culinary identity combines traditional Danish cuisine with seasonal, modern French influences. Smørrebrød is among the menu's characteristic offerings, and the restaurant has been known to attract employees and business visitors from the nearby offices, including the headquarters area associated with Mærsk. Danish chef Erwin Lauterbach acquired Lumskebugten in 2011. Following renovation, the restaurant reopened in August 2012. It is therefore both an operating dining venue and a heritage property whose identity draws on maritime Copenhagen, Danish restaurant tradition and its location beside historic customs-house buildings.

Lumskebugten's history is rooted in the customs-house and harbour environment of Copenhagen. A tavern stood on the site from at least the late seventeenth century. It was known in different periods as Jens Brock's House at the Customs House, Niels Bock's widow's house and Jockum Brock's house on the road to the Customs House. The establishment became known as Brokkens Bod in records from the 1775 census and was operated by members of the Brock family for more than a century. The tavern served a strongly maritime clientele. Sailors and dockworkers from the Customs House quay and nearby Larsens Plads were regular customers, as were personnel from Holmen and people travelling toward Nyboder. In 1699, Jens Sørensen Brock received a royal licence to serve beer and Danish akvavit. Brokkens Bod developed a reputation for unusually strong drinks and competed with the nearby tavern Paradiset. Across from it, Toldbods Vinstue catered more to skippers and mates and was reputed to provide inexpensive food and lodging. Brokkens Bod was demolished during the redevelopment of the customs-house entrance in the 1850s. A new complex was built, and the restaurant history associated with Lumskebugten is generally dated from 1854. The new establishment retained the function of a tavern serving people connected with the busy harbour and naval facilities. Its building was designed as part of the customs entrance works associated with architect Gustav Friedrich Hetsch. The premises stand beside the historic Lion's Gate and are attached to one of the gate's guardhouses. The name Lumskebugten has an uncertain etymology. A conventional explanation connects it with a nautical expression for a bay containing treacherous or shifting sandbanks, metaphorically suggesting that the tavern could cause its customers to lose their balance. Researchers have not found the expression on old maps, however, so the direction of the naming relationship remains uncertain. In 1907, a locality on the southern coast of Germania Land in northeastern Greenland was named Lumskebugten during the Denmark Expedition. Christian Bendix Thostrup, a member of that expedition, proposed the name. Urban change altered the restaurant's surroundings. The old Toldbodvej was refurbished and renamed Esplanaden, and the immediate area gradually became less of a working harbour district and more of a central commercial and institutional quarter. Lumskebugten consequently became known as a lunch restaurant rather than solely as a sailors' tavern. The restaurant's current culinary profile is based on traditional Danish cooking supplemented by seasonal modern French influences. Smørrebrød is a notable part of its offering. Its location near major offices has also made it a destination for business lunches, including for people working in the nearby Mærsk headquarters area. Chef Erwin Lauterbach acquired Lumskebugten in 2011. After renovation, it reopened in August 2012. The restaurant thus combines a long-running dining tradition with a listed architectural setting and a contemporary interpretation of Danish restaurant cuisine.

• 2012

  Reopening after renovation

  [1]Lumskebugtenen.wikipedia.org

  Lumskebugten reopened in August after renovation.

• 2011

  Erwin Lauterbach becomes owner

  [1]Lumskebugtenen.wikipedia.org

  Chef Erwin Lauterbach acquired the restaurant.

• 1907

  Greenland locality receives the name Lumskebugten

  [1]Lumskebugtenen.wikipedia.org

  A locality on the southern coast of Germania Land in northeastern Greenland was named Lumskebugten during the Denmark Expedition.

• 1854

  Restaurant history associated with the current premises begins

  [1]Lumskebugtenen.wikipedia.org

  The predecessor tavern was replaced during construction of a new customs-house entrance complex, establishing the history conventionally associated with Lumskebugten.

• 1775

  Brokkens Bod appears in census records

  [1]Lumskebugtenen.wikipedia.org

  The name Brokkens Bod is recorded in the 1775 census.

• 1699

  Royal licence to serve beer and akvavit

  [1]Lumskebugtenen.wikipedia.org

  Jens Sørensen Brock received a royal licence to serve beer and Danish akvavit to the public at the premises.

• 1689

  Early tax-record reference to the tavern site

  [1]Lumskebugtenen.wikipedia.org

  Tax records mention Jens Brock's House at the Customs House, an early predecessor of the later Brokkens Bod tavern.

Historic Copenhagen restaurant combining Danish culinary tradition, seasonal modern French influences and a maritime heritage setting.

• Restaurant cuisine

  Traditional Danish cuisine

  The restaurant's core offering is traditional Danish cooking served in a historic Copenhagen setting. The cuisine forms the foundation of Lumskebugten's identity and connects the present venue with its long history as a Danish harbour and lunch restaurant.

• Danish open sandwiches

  Smørrebrød

  Smørrebrød is one of Lumskebugten's identified menu offerings. The classic Danish open sandwich fits the restaurant's emphasis on established local food traditions and its role as a popular lunch destination.

• Contemporary restaurant cuisine

  Seasonal modern French-influenced dishes

  Alongside traditional Danish dishes, Lumskebugten serves food influenced by seasonal modern French cuisine. This element gives the restaurant a contemporary culinary dimension while retaining its Danish foundation.

• 2012

  Reopening following renovationOther

  Background

  The premises underwent renovation after the change of ownership.

  Action taken

  Lumskebugten reopened in August 2012.

  Aftermath

  The venue continued operating as a traditional Danish lunch restaurant with modern seasonal influences.

  Source

• 2011

  Change of ownership under Erwin LauterbachStrategy

  Background

  Lumskebugten is a long-established restaurant in a listed building whose neighbourhood had evolved from a working harbour district into a central commercial area.

  Action taken

  Chef Erwin Lauterbach acquired the restaurant and subsequently directed its renovation and reopening.

  Aftermath

  The restaurant reopened in August 2012 with its historic identity retained and a food profile combining Danish tradition with seasonal modern French influences.

  Source

1. 1Lumskebugtenen.wikipedia.org