APRIL 2022 | SCANDINAVIAN MONTHLY
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The Rise, Fall and Rise Again of Denmark’s Favorite Fast Food Text Tor Kjolberg
In Copenhagen, there used to be a sausage wagon on every corner, but suddenly the hot dog fell out of fashion. However, a new generation of pølsemænd (sausage men) has put sausages back on the Copenhagen map. Read about the rise, fall and rise again of Denmark’s favorite fast food. Street hotdogs were popular in Germany during World War I and soon caught on in Sweden and Norway. However, it wasn’t until 1920 that Denmark got its first hotdog vendors. For various reasons applications to city councils to sell hotdogs from street wagons after restaurants closed until 2:30 were rejected. In 1917, a municipal authority in Aarhus wrote, “It would be sad to see people standing on the streets eating sausages”. Related: Best Street Food in Copenhagen Early history But in 1921, Charles Svendsen, a Dane who had been running a successful
hotdog business in Oslo (at that time Kristiania), was granted permission to open his hotdog vans at several locations around Copenhagen. The sausages with mustard on the side, costing around 25 Danish øre (cents) was at that time a luxury meal. If you were to splash it out with a roll, you had to add another 5 øre. Soon, the hotdog became an important
part of Danish culture with the quality of being able to gather the people. It’s all about coziness, humor and conversation between people across social classes. It is informal and a part of the Danish popular culture. “Try a Danish hot dog – simply the best you can get” I have been to several Christmas markets in Copenhagen, and I must
