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Denmark in the 1980s in pictures – and the same locations today

We've been combing the archives again to find historical photos of Denmark from the 1980s.

Published: 19 July 2019 16:01 CEST

Denmark in the 1980s in pictures – and the same locations today

Composite: Henning Thempler / Ritzau Scanpix; Lindasky76/Depositphotos

You can see the photos below and compare them with how the locations look today.

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Industriens Hus, Copenhagen, 1980

The building on the busy corner opposite Copenhagen's City Hall Square has been replaced a number of times of over the years.

Photo: Henning Thempler / Ritzau Scanpix

Protest, 1986

Former prime minister Anker Jørgensen stands outside the United States Embassy in Copenhagen giving a speech in protest at nuclear testing at the Bikini Islands.

Photo: Mogens Ladegaard / Ritzau Scanpix

Pub, 1980

Frederiksberg's Vinstue 90 almost 40 years ago.

Photo: Erik Holmberg / Ritzau Scanpix

Nørreport Station, Copenhagen, 1980

The air vents can be recognized in this old picture of Nørreport Station, but much of the area has been rebuilt.

Photo: Steen Jacobsen / Ritzau Scanpix

Cyclists, 1980

Cyclists on their way to a protest at Christiansborg in central Copenhagen.

Photo: Mogens Ladegaard / Ritzau Scanpix

Christiania, 1989

A police raid at anarchist enclave Christiania.

Photo: Claus Bjørn Larsen / Ritzau Scanpix

Printers' action, 1981

Print workers demonstrate at the offices of Fyns Amts Avis, Svendborg, 1981.

Photo: Ritzau Scanpix

Aarhus, 1985

The rail terminal in Aarhus as it appeared in the mid '80s. The angle is somewhat different in the Google image.

Photo: Erik Jepsen / NF / Ritzau Scanpix

Porn shop, Vesterbro, Copenhagen, 1980

A shop which once sold pornographic movies is now a vintage clothing store.

Photo: Henning Thempler / Ritzau Scanpix

READ ALSO: Ten historic pictures that show life in Denmark decades ago

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A Danish 16th-century paining of Viking king Harald Bluetooth

A Danish 16th-century paining of Viking king Harald Bluetooth. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Public domain

At the end of the 1990s, Sven Mattisson, a Swedish engineer working at telecom group Ericsson, and Jim Kardach, an American employed by Intel, were among those developing the revolutionary technology.

In 1998, at the dawn of the “wireless” era, the two men were part of an international consortium that created a universal standard for the technology first developed by Ericsson in 1994.

But prior to that, they had struggled to pitch their wireless products. Intel had its Biz-RF wireless programme, Ericsson had MC-Link, while Nokia had its Low Power RF. Kardach, Mattisson and others presented their ideas at a seminar in Toronto in late 1997.

“Jim and I said that people did not appreciate what we presented,” Mattisson, now 65 and winding down his career at Ericsson, recalled in a recent interview with AFP.

The engineer, who had travelled all the way to Canada from Sweden for the one-hour pitch, decided to hang out with Kardach for the evening before flying home.

“We received a lukewarm reception of our confusing proposal, and it was at this time I realised we needed a codename for the project which everyone could use,” Kardach explained in a long account on his webpage.

‘Chauvinistic story’

To drown their sorrows, the two men headed for a local Toronto bar and ended up talking about history, one of Kardach’s passions. “We had some beers… and Jim is interested in history so he asked me about Vikings, so we talked at length about that,” said Mattisson, admitting that his recollection of that historic night is now somewhat foggy.

Kardach said all he knew about Vikings was that they ran “around with horned helmets raiding and looting places, and that they were crazy chiefs.”

Mattisson recommended Kardach read a well-known Swedish historical novel about the Vikings, entitled “The Long Ships”.

Set in the 10th century – “a chauvinistic story” about a boy taken hostage by Vikings, says Mattisson – one name in the book caught Kardach’s attention: that of the king of Denmark, Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson.

A Bluetooth adapter from 2004. Photo: Stefan Gustavsson/SvD/TT

Unification

An important historic figure in Scandinavia in the 10th century, the king of Denmark’s nickname is said to refer to a dead tooth, or, as other tales have it, to his liking for blueberries or even a simple translation error.

During his reign, Denmark turned its back on its pagan beliefs and Norse gods, gradually converting to Christianity.

But he is best known for having united Norway and Denmark in a union that lasted until 1814.

A king who unified Scandinavian rivals – the parallel delighted those seeking to unite the PC and cellular industries with a short-range wireless link.

And the reference to the king goes beyond the name: the Bluetooth logo, which at first glance resembles a geometric squiggle, is in fact a superimposition of the runes for the letters “H” and “B”, the king’s initials.

Low-cost and with low power consumption, Bluetooth was finally launched in May 1998, using technology allowing computer devices to communicate with each other in short range without fixed cables.

The first consumer device equipped with the technology hit the market in 1999, and its name, which was initially meant to be temporary until something better was devised, became permanent.

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