Da verden fandtes mellem gårdene
When our world existed between the courtyards
FOR FORTÆLLING
To venner, opvokset i slut ‘90erne og 00erne, husker en tid uden telefoner, men fuld af stemmer. Hvor gårdene var verdener, og DSB-arealet et eventyrland af huler, knallerter og fantasi. Mjølnerparken var barndom og frihed – et sted, hvor fællesskabet voksede frem af næsten ingenting, bare fordi man var sammen.
PREFACE
Two friends, raised in the late ’90s and 2000s, remember a time without phones – but full of voices. A time when the courtyards were worlds of their own, and the old DSB area was an adventure land of dens, mopeds, and imagination. Mjølnerparken was childhood and freedom; a place where community grew out of almost nothing, simply because people were together.
Oplev fortællingen med os.
Listen in
Dyk ned i historien og få indsigt i Mjølnerparkens unikke stemning.
Dansk
Kan i fortælle mig lidt om fællesskabet i det gamle Mjølnerparken?
Så skal jeg starte, eller hvad?
Ja, ja, du kan bare…
Det gamle fællesskab, det er barndommen. Det er en tid uden teknologi, hvor vi legede ud i gårdene. Vi mødtes, vi lavede nogle fede ting. Alt fra fodbold til at bygge huler og lave spændende ting i DSB-arealet. Det kunne være at finde et forladt lille skur eller en meget stor busk og så bare hive nogle sofaer i dagen og lave et lille område, hvor vi så har haft et lille fællesskab. Sådan nogle ting
Jeg skød jo nogle billeder, måske af en sofa i en hule engang.
Ja, ja, det var vores. Vi var en af de første, der lavede de der huler.
Gik de igen? Var det sådan, at de næste generationer brugte dem [hulerne] også?
Ja, absolut. De så jo op til de ældre. ‘Hvad lavede de? Nå, ok.’ Når de [ældre] var færdige med det, så rykkede de ind.
Der var også mange forladte huse ude i… – Hvad kaldes det nu?
I dag er det Mimersparken.
Ja, det gamle Mimersparken. Der var mange huse, hvor vi benyttede os af dem.
DSB-arealet.
DSB-arealet, ja.
Kæmpestort og forladt. Altså alt var forladt. Der var bare togskinner og…
Skrottede biler og…
Ja, Gamle toge og…
Vi plejede også at stå på rulleskøjter. Det gjorde vi også rigtig meget som unge.
Stå på rulleskøjter. Bygge huler og… Ja. Tag cyklen. Cykle over til Klampenborg.
Hvad var der mere?
Ja. Og så knallerter på et tidspunkt. Rigtig meget.
Ja, knallerter. Det var også…
Ja, det havde vi et godt fællesskab omkring. Jeg tror, vi alle havde en knallert hver. Og så ville vi bare køre i flok.
Ja. Det var også nogle gode minder. Vi havde også et kælderrum. Hvor vi havde et værksted. Vi havde en knallert dernede. [Begge smågriner.] Som vi mente var… – Den kunne ikke starte. Ja. Kunne du huske at vi mente, at den var kold? Så den skulle lige have varme, før den kunne starte.
Ja, ja. Skal ned i kælderen.
Så den skulle lige overnatte i kælderen i nogle uger, før den kunne starte, ikke?
Virker det? Nej, det tror jeg ikke. Det var et andet problem.
[Smågriner.] Ja. Jeg kan ikke huske, hvor vi kom frem til den. Men ja. Vi har brugt meget tid nede i kælderen; vi har malet, vi har fikset rigtig mange knallerter, vi har røget mange smøger.
Der var også en periode med cykler, hvor man skulle ‘gejle’ cykler, og få dem til at lyde som motorcykler ved at sætte en flaske over ved hjulet og alt det der.
Så det lyder også som om det har været meget opfindsomt?
Ja.
Altså, der har ikke været så mange ressourcer dengang, vil jeg sige. Det var som om alt omkring os var lukket. Vi var låst fast i et område, hvor der slet ikke var… Altså, hvad var der? En legeplads? Der var ikke nogle pædagoger– Der var nogle pædagoger, og det var en mindre klub, og det er en helt anden sag, du ved. Men ellers har der ikke været, du ved… Hvad kalder man det for? Ressourcer?
Ja, ressourcer. Der var heller ikke så mange muligheder. Muligheder– fordi Mjølnerparken var omringet af sådan en industri. Så der var faktisk ikke så meget omkring. Men jeg synes, det var fedt. Det havde sin charme.
Det havde det. Det havde det 100.
Det der med at gå ud af gårdene, og så bevæge os ind i de der områder med DSB-arealet, og… For mig, var det ligesom et eventyr. Altså, jeg husker det som et eventyr. Det der med at gå ind i det der DSB-areal, og så bare forsvinde i det der område. Fordi området strak sig også til helt på den anden side af Bispebjerg Station. Kan du huske, at du kunne gå og bare fortsætte hele vejen ned til Aldersrogade? Så for mig… Der var det virkelig sådan… Altså, man kunne bruge timer derinde. Og finde spændende ting, og gemme ting også, og lave… Altså, ja, der var rigtig meget. Virkelig et forladt sted med buske og alle mulige ting, du ved. Så man kunne bare… Ja.
Det lyder magisk.
ja, præcis. Det føltes sådan.. Man kunne bare forsvinde i det. Og så fik man altid en sviner, når man kom tilbage: “Hvor har du været henne? Du har været væk tre timer. Jeg blev bekymret!” [Griner.]
–— Mjølnerparkens fire gårde –––
Altså, hver gård havde sin specielle ting. Altså, de fire gårde, der er i Mjølnerparken. Så vi pendlede mellem gårdene. Der var de der boldbaner – vi havde jo to. Vi havde én i gård 3., og så en bag gård 4. – Den der lille en.
Ja, og det var også børnehaven. Og ‘Sørens gård’.
Det er sjovt, nu du husker mig på, at vi kaldte den Sørens gård.
[Den lå] lige overfor 1. garden, der ved hesteskoen.
Ja, hesteskoen. Men hvorfor var det nu den hed Sørens gård?
Fordi det var Søren, der boede der, jo.
[Griner.] For helvede. Sørens gård – Det er rigtig! Det er ikke engang løgn.
Men hvem er det, Søren var?
Han arbejdede i Mjølnerparken, gjorde han ikke?
Nej, nej, han var en af de ældres venner.
Nå. Hvorfor husker jeg det anderledes? Men, okay, ja. Men det er rigtigt, at der var en, der hed Søren, og den blev opkaldt efter ham: Sørens gård. Det er bare Hothers Plads. Men det er fordi, at Hothers Plads havde to afdelinger; Der var Hothers Plads ved de gamle – som jo i dag er blevet en del af gård 1 – og så er der hesteskoen overfor.
Jeg tror, at de mest kendte gårde, det var 3’eren og 4’eren. 3’eren var den gård, hvor man spillede fodbold eller mødtes med de andre: De andre, der boede i de andre gårde. Det var der, hvor man sad og hyggesnakkede.
Altså gård 4, den havde den der store…
… Legeplads?
Ja, i midten. Og så var der nogle gynge og nogle ting og sager.
Men der var også mange buske. Så det var et sted, hvor vi kunne lege. Og gemme os. Gemmeleg. Hvad hed den anden?
Stikdåse?
Nej. Det er det, du sagde lige før. Røver-et eller andet.
Politi og røver.
Politi og røver, ja. Ja. Så det var den gård, hvor vi lavede de her ting. Fordi det var stort. Der var mange buske, så man kunne gemme sig. Vi lavede også kugler i den gård, fordi det var den største.
—– Mjølnerparkens børn –––
Altså, i Mjølnerparken– Der kom mange unge ud af vores overgang.
Ja, altså, jeg kan huske, vi var… I den faste gruppe, der var vi måske– Hvad? 15? 20?
Ja.
Og når vi endelig samledes alle sammen, så var vi 40. Måske 50? 70?
Jeg vil nok sige, at jeg er nærmere 100. Fordi vi var mange grupper, og hver gruppe havde en 10-20 unge. Og vi kender hinanden alle sammen i dag, men det er meget sjovt, hvordan vi har hver vores minder fra nogle af dem, vi plejer at hænge ud med. Fordi det var jo trods alt 512 lejligheder, og hver familie havde 3-4 børn. Så hvis du lige ganger 500 med 3, så er det 1500 unge, vi snakker om, der voksede op fra ‘90 og op til nullerne. Det er 1500. Det er alligevel mange.
Men altså, det, der kunne samle os – altså samle det store tal sammen – det var enten en fodboldkamp, eller så var det en slåskamp.
[Griner.]
Det var enten det eller det.
Ja, det er rigtigt.
Hvis der var en slåskamp, så skulle du møde op. Så skulle du være der.
Så var vi de pludselige 100 unge.
Og hvis der er en fodboldturnering, så tænkte man, ‘okay, jeg vil også lige gerne over og lave et hold’. Og der kan jeg huske, vi var mange omkring den lille fodboldbane.
Ja, det var rigtigt. Vi stod i kø og ventede.
Det var en hel dag, du ved. En hel dags aktivitet.
Jamen altså, man fik et fællesskab med dem, man vokser op med. Og det føltes som ens familie, fordi man brugte jo rigtig meget tid sammen med de her gutter. Vi brugte mange timer dagligt med hinanden. Så man blev familie.
Ja, og som du også sagde tidligere, der var ikke teknologi. Så man skulle lave nogle aftaler på forhånd. Aftenen før siger man, “Okay, i morgen mødes vi kl. 10 nede i fodboldbanen, og så tager vi den derfra.’”Så man var tættere på hinanden, end man er i dag, synes jeg.
Selvom man teknisk set er tættere på i dag, fordi man bare kan skrive og ringe. Men jeg tror bare, at der var…
Båndet var stærkere dengang.
Ja, det er præcis. Det var noget andet dengang.
English
Can you tell me a bit about the sense of community in the old Mjølnerparken?
Should I start, or what?
Yeah, yeah. Go ahead…
The old community, that’s childhood. It was a time before technology, when we played out in the courtyards. We met up and did fun stuff. Doing everything from playing football to building forts, to exploring the DSB area. It could be stuff like finding a little abandoned shed or a huge bush and then dragging some old sofas in, to make a little hangout spot – a spot for our own little community.
I think I actually took some photos of one once. Of a sofa in a fort.
Yeah, yeah, that would have been ours. We were one of the first who built those forts.
Did they stick around? Like, did the next generation use them too?
Yeah, absolutely. They looked up to the older ones. Like, “what were they doing? Right, ok.” And when the older kids were done with them, the younger ones took over.
There were also a lot of abandoned houses out in… what’s it called again?
Today it’s Mimersparken.
Yeah, the old Mimersparken. There were a lot of houses there that we made use of.
The DSB area.
Yeah, the DSB area.
It was huge and deserted. I mean, everything was empty. It was literally just train tracks and…
Scrapped cars and…
Yeah. Old trains and…
We also used to roller-skate. We did that a lot when we were young.
Roller-skate. Built forts and… yeah. Hop on our bikes. Bike out to Klampenborg.
What else did we do?
Yeah. And then Mopeds, at one point. That was a big thing for a while.
Yeah, mopeds too.
Yeah, that was something we had a real community around. I think we all had our own moped. We’d just ride around together in a big group.
Yeah. Those were good memories too. We also had a basement room where we set up a little workshop. We had a moped down there. [Both chuckle.] We thought it was…– It wouldn’t start. Do you remember that we used to think it was cold? So it just needed warming up before it could start.
Yeah, that’s right. It had to go down to the basement.
So it had to ‘sleep’ down there for a few weeks before it would start, right?
Did it ever work? No, I don’t think so. There was another problem.
[Chuckles.] Yeah. I can’t remember what we decided. But yeah. We spent a lot of time down in that basement. We painted, fixed up mopeds, smoked a lot of cigarettes.
There was also a phase with bikes, where we’d ‘pimp up’ the bikes and make it sound like a motorcycle by putting a bottle by the wheel and all that.
So it sounds like you were all quite inventive?
Yeah.
Well, there weren’t that many resources back then, I’d say. It was like everything around us was shut off. We were kind of locked in an area where there really wasn’t much… I mean, what was there? A playground? There weren’t any pedagogues– Well, there were a few, and there was a smaller clubhouse, but that’s another story. Otherwise, there just weren’t any, you know… What do you call it? Resources?
Yeah, resources. There weren’t many opportunities either. Opportunities– because Mjølnerparken was surrounded by industry. So there really wasn’t much around. But I thought it was pretty sweet. It had its charm.
It did. 100 percent it did.
Leaving the courtyards and going into those DSB areas, and… For me, that was like an adventure. I remember it like that: an adventure. Going into that DSB area and just disappearing into it. Because the area stretched all the way to the other side of Bispebjerg Station. Do you remember how you could just walk for ages, all the way down to Aldersrogade? So for me, that was really… yeah… You could spend hours in there. Finding cool stuff, hiding things, building things. Truly just an abandoned place full of bushes and all sorts of random things, you know. So you could really just… yeah.
That sounds magical.
Yeah, exactly. It really felt like that. You could just disappear into it. And then you’d always get scolded when you came back home: “Where have you been? You’ve been gone for three hours! I was worried!” [Laughs.]
—– Mjølnerparken’s four courtyards –––
So, each courtyard had its own special thing. You know, the four courtyards of Mjølnerparken. So we’d always be commuting between the courtyards. There were the those football courts – we had the two. One in courtyard 3, and one behind courtyard 4 – The small one.
Yeah, and there was the kindergarten, right? And Søren’s Courtyard
Right! It’s funny that you mention it now. We used to call it Sørens Gård.
[It was] right across from the first courtyard, by the Horseshoe.
The Horseshoe! But, remind me, why did we call it Søren’s Courtyard?
Because Søren was the one who lived there.
[Laughs.] Bloody hell. Søren’s Courtyard – that’s right!
But who was Søren?
Didn’t he work in Mjølnerparken?
No, no — he was a friend of the older guys.
Oh, right. Why do I remember it differently? But okay, yeah. But you’re right. There was someone called Søren, and it was named after him: Søren’s Courtyard. It’s just Hothers Plads. But it’s because Hothers Plads had two sections; There was Hothers Plads by the seniors – which today has become part of Courtyard 1 – and then there was the Horseshoe right across from that.
Anyway, I think the most well-known courtyards were definitely 3 and 4. Courtyard 3 was where we played football or met with the others: The other people who lived in the other courtyards. That’s where we hung out and chitchatted.
Courtyard 4 had that big…
… Playground?
Yeah, in the middle – with swings and stuff.
But there were also lots of bushes. So it was the perfect place for playing hide-and-seek. What was the other game called?
Kick-the-can?
No. The one – you mentioned it just before. Robbers-something.
Cops and robbers.
Yeah, cops and robbers. That’s the courtyard where we played that. Because it was big, with lots of places to hide. We also played marbles there, because it was the biggest courtyard.
—– the kids in Mjølnerparken–––
In Mjølnerparken– There were a lot of kids in our generation.
Yeah, I remember we were… In our close friend group, we were– What? Maybe 15? 20?
Yeah.
But when we all got together, we could be 40. Maybe 50? 70?
I’d probably say closer to 100. Because there were lots of groups, and each had maybe 10 to 20 kids. And we all still know each other today, but it’s funny how we each have our own memories of the people we hung out with. There were 512 apartments, and most families had 3-4 kids. So if you multiply 500 by 3, that’s around 1,500 kids growing up there in the ’90s and 2000s. That’s a lot.
But the things that could gather us all – the big numbers – were either football games or fist-fights.
[Laughs.]
It was one or the other.
Yeah, true.
If there was a fight, you had to show up. You had to be there.
Then suddenly, there’d be a hundred kids.
And if there was a football tournament, you’d think, ‘Alright, I want to make a team too’. I remember we crowded around that little football court.
Yeah. That’s right. We’d stand in line waiting to play.
It was a whole day’s activity.
You built a real sense of community with the people you grew up with. And it felt like family, because you’d spend so many hours together every day. So you became family.
Yeah, and like you said earlier, there wasn’t any technology. So you had to plan ahead. The night before, you’d say, “Okay, tomorrow at 10, we meet at the football court, and then we’ll take it from there”. So you were closer back then, than people are today, if you ask me.
Even though we technically are “closer” now, because you can just text or call. But I just think…
The bond was stronger back then.
Exactly. It was just different back then.