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the first, and for many years only, bridge linking Christianshavn with the capital
was built close to his property and is still called Knippels Bridge (ill. p. 14 J.
Another who managed to irritate the authorities by enterprisingly extending
their activities beyond the extent of their land holding, was an immigrant Scottish
nobleman, David Balfour, who established a shipyard on Grønnegaards Havn
(ill. p. 17 ). Among the vessels built in his yards were many for the Royal
Danish Navy, and some of these saw service in the war between Denmark and
Sweden (ill. p. 2 1). Working drawings of several of them are still in existence
(ill. p. 19) but, though according to tradition, they are the work of Christian
IV himself, this contention is not, in act, true.
Some of these vessels were equipped for expeditions to the East Indies and
to Greenland. Although Balfour also built merchant ships in the yards of
Grønnegaards Havn at this period, little or nothing is known about them today.
It was stated by the municipal authorities o f Copenhagen that his wharfs oc
cupied more area than that granted by his documents of conveyance (ill. p.
22 ,23,24 -). Although the rights of the community o f Copenhagen were settled
by the courts the community of Christianshavn kept up the full dominion of
the Grønnegaards Havn as long as the city of Christianshavn existed as a
market-town with its own chartered privileges (ill. p. 27).
Balfour’ s property was later in the possession of a Jakob Madsen - a ship
owner of considerable wealth and purveyor or contractor to the Royal Danish
Government. He, his wife and children, together with his w ife ’ s first husband
and the children of that marriage, are all depicted on a memorial tablet in
Holmens Church in Copenhagen (ill. p. 3 1),
T H E A D V E N T U R O U S F A T E O F J O N A S T R E L L U N D
During the Swedish siege of Copenhagen in the years 164-8-1660 the States
General o f the Netherlands were allied to the Danes, and in fact it was Dutch
vessels that supplied food to the city and allowed it withstand the siege (ill. p. 33).
This time was a period of lively intercourse between Denmark and Hol
land. The Danish borne Jonas Trellund had every advantage; married to the
daughter of a prosperous Amsterdam family (ill. p. 34-), and backed by Dutch
capital he commenced a large trading business. His ships, to be built in his own
yard, were to sail to both the East and the West Indies and even to be engaged
in whaling as well (ill. p. 37). He established himself in Christianshavn, where
he acquired the properties earlier in the possession of Jakob Madsen.
Trellund extended his interests by building several new houses in Strand
gade (ill. p. 38), together with others built in the same renaissance style which
are to be seen in the background of a large contemporary painting (ill. p. 43).
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