Copenhagen will reopen part of the buried Lygte Å, bringing running water back to the surface in Nørrebro after the stream has spent decades beneath the city. The project has secured funding through the Danish capital’s 2027 budget agreement and will be integrated into the redevelopment of the park at Bispeengen.
The section at Bispeengen is part of a much larger system of waterways that were gradually buried as Copenhagen developed. The decision does not mean that the entire stream will immediately return to the surface, but it turns years of preliminary work into a concrete restoration project.
The first part of Lygte Å will return to the surface
The Nørrebro Local Committee said after the budget negotiations that Copenhagen will fund the reopening of the first section of Lygte Å as part of the redevelopment of Parken ved Bispeengen.
Plans prepared by Copenhagen Municipality envisage incorporating the stream into the redesigned green area at Bispeengen.
Lygte Å is one of the waterways that were buried as Copenhagen expanded. According to Berlingske, three historic streams still run underground beneath parts of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg and the surrounding districts.
Copenhagen has already studied reopening its buried streams
The project did not begin with the 2027 budget. In its 2026 budget, Copenhagen allocated DKK 5 million (€670,000) to preliminary work examining the possibility of reopening sections of Lygte Å.
The studies covered several possible stretches of the watercourse, including Bispeengen. The new budget therefore moves the project there from preliminary investigation towards an actual reopening.
The 2027 budget agreement was approved by a broad majority at Copenhagen City Hall and also includes wider investments in greener public spaces and climate measures.
Culture, Leisure and Citizen Services Mayor Christopher Røhl highlighted the return of the historic waterways when commenting on the agreement:
“Nature’s calm will also get more space in the city. This is particularly reflected in the reopening of the city’s historic streams.”
Lygte Å could be only the beginning
For now, the decision concerns the section at Bispeengen rather than a complete restoration of Copenhagen’s buried waterways.
The Nørrebro Local Committee has described the project as a first step towards a broader ambition to bring more of Lygte Å and Ladegårds Å back to the surface.
Once the Bispeengen section is completed, Copenhagen will therefore regain something that has largely disappeared from the cityscape for decades: a visible stretch of one of the streams that still flow beneath the Danish capital.
