Every design for Smørumnedre

Commuters stream onto the platforms at Kildedal and Måløv in the morning, catching the S-train along the Frederikssund line, while children cycle the footpaths between the houses to school. Smørumnedre began as a village ringed by its own fields; today its streets of detached family homes have merged with Måløv and Jonstrup into one suburban whole on the north-western edge of Copenhagen, and the hearing-aid maker Oticon has its headquarters here.

What stays with people is how close the older Smørum still feels. A short walk west, the village of Smørumovre keeps its old character: the former school overlooking the pond now holds the local historical archives, Smørum Church stands on the eastern side with murals in its chancel and nave, and the manor Edelgave sits in the south-western corner. Football belongs to Ledøje-Smørum Fodbold, who play their home games at Smørum Park.

And out in the fields rises Kong Svends Høj, a Bronze Age burial mound, keeping watch over land whose very name, Smørum, joins the Danish words for butter and place.