Denmark has become the first country in Europe to completely abandon public payphones, increasingly unused in the era of smartphones.
The last phones were removed earlier this month, in Aarhus, and all that remains is to remove the booths. The move ends public phone service that started in 1896, and went coin-op in 1934.
Other countries have cut back on the numbers—Britain has removed about half of its iconic red booths—and a number have gone to card-only phones with no coin slots, but Denmark has gone all the way.
So, if you’re planning a trip to Denmark, be sure to bring or buy a phone, and don’t let it run out of charge. If you do, you could find yourself back in the horse-and-buggy era…but even then, they had telegram service. Remember telegrams?
Below, from TheLocal.dk, present, past and very past versions of Danish payphones.
