Torvehallerne

Torvehallerne opened in September 2011 on a site with a much longer commercial history: after Copenhagen's old fortifications were dismantled in the late 1800s and the city expanded north, the location became Gronttorv, the city's central wholesale produce market. Architect Hans Peter Hagens first proposed converting the site into a public food hall in 1997, after studying markets from Sweden to Morocco to China and Cuba, but the company formed to build and run the project was forced into bankruptcy by the 2007-2008 financial crash. Property company Jeudan took over the development and finished the two glass-and-steel halls that stand today by Norreport Station. Now drawing more than 100,000 Copenhageners a week, Torvehallerne houses over 80 stalls covering smorrebrod, fresh fish, artisan cheese, Nordic chocolate, coffee, and wine -- less a single food destination than a working replacement for the corner grocers and produce sellers the city lost over the 20th century. Its two-decade gap between concept and construction, and the market history underneath it, make it as much a piece of Copenhagen civic infrastructure as a tourist stop: locals shop here for weekly groceries alongside visitors sampling the stalls.