Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area;
[Nyt fra Danmarks Statistik – Byopgørelsen 1. januar 2020](_blank)
/ref> and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan area has 2,057,142 people. Copenhagen is on the islands of Zealand and Amager
Amager ( or, especially among older speakers, ) in the Øresund is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 212,000 inhabitants (January 2021) a small appendage to Zealand. The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (includi ...
, separated from Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
, Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, by the Øresund
Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width v ...
strait. The Øresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road.
Originally a Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
fishing village established in the 10th century in the vicinity of what is now Gammel Strand
Gammel Strand (modern Danish for "old beach"; originally meant "the old shoreline", i.e. prior to land reclamations) is a street and public square in central Copenhagen, Denmark. On the south side it borders on the narrow Slotsholmens Canal whil ...
, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the early 15th century. Beginning in the 17th century, it consolidated its position as a regional centre of power with its institutions, defences, and armed forces. During the Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
the city served as the de facto capital of the Kalmar Union
The Kalmar Union (Danish language, Danish, Norwegian language, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under ...
, being the seat of monarchy, governing the majority of the present day Nordic region in a personal union with Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
ruled by the Danish monarch serving as the head of state. The city flourished as the cultural and economic centre of Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
under the union for well over 120 years, starting in the 15th century up until the beginning of the 16th century when the union was dissolved with Sweden leaving the union through a rebellion. After a plague outbreak and fire in the 18th century, the city underwent a period of redevelopment. This included construction of the prestigious district of Frederiksstaden
Frederiksstaden is a district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Constructed during the reign of Frederick V of Denmark, Frederick V in the second half of the 18th century, it is considered to be one of the most important rococo complexes in Europe and was in ...
and founding of such cultural institutions as the Royal Theatre and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. After further disasters in the early 19th century when Horatio Nelson
Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...
attacked the Dano-Norwegian fleet and bombarded the city, rebuilding during the Danish Golden Age
The Danish Golden Age ( da, Den danske guldalder) covers a period of exceptional creative production in Denmark, especially during the first half of the 19th century.Kulturnet DanmarkGuide to the Danish Golden Age Although Copenhagen had suffered ...
brought a Neoclassical look to Copenhagen's architecture. Later, following the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the Finger Plan
The Finger Plan ( da, Fingerplanen) is an urban planning, urban plan from 1947 which provides a strategy for the development of the Copenhagen metropolitan area, Denmark. According to the plan, Copenhagen is to develop along five 'fingers', centre ...
fostered the development of housing and businesses along the five urban railway routes stretching out from the city centre.
Since the turn of the 21st century, Copenhagen has seen strong urban and cultural development, facilitated by investment in its institutions and infrastructure. The city is the cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...
, economic
An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
and governmental centre of Denmark; it is one of the major financial centres of Northern Europe with the Copenhagen Stock Exchange. Copenhagen's economy has seen rapid developments in the service sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
, especially through initiatives in information technology
Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...
, pharmaceuticals
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and rel ...
and clean technology
Clean technology, in short cleantech, is any process, product, or service that reduces negative environmental impacts through significant energy efficiency improvements, the sustainable use of resources, or environmental protection activities. Cle ...
. Since the completion of the Øresund Bridge, Copenhagen has become increasingly integrated with the Swedish province of Scania
Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...
and its largest city, Malmö, forming the Øresund Region
The Øresund Region ( da, Øresundsregionen ; sv, Öresundsregionen ), also known as Greater Copenhagen for marketing purposes, is a metropolitan region that comprises eastern Denmark and Skåne in southern Sweden. Centred around the Øresund ...
. With a number of bridges connecting the various districts, the cityscape is characterised by parks, promenades, and waterfronts. Copenhagen's landmarks such as Tivoli Gardens
Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli, is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampe ...
, '' The Little Mermaid'' statue, the Amalienborg
Amalienborg () is the official residence for the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Queen Magrethe ll lives here in winter and autumn. It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo
Rococo (, ...
and Christiansborg
Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...
palaces, Rosenborg Castle, Frederik's Church, Børsen
Børsen (Danish for "the Exchange"), also known as Børsbygningen ("The (Stock) Exchange building" in English), is a 17th-century stock exchange in the center of Copenhagen. The historic building is situated next to Christiansborg Palace, the seat ...
and many museums, restaurants and nightclubs are significant tourist attractions.
Copenhagen is home to the University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...
, the Technical University of Denmark
The Technical University of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet), often simply referred to as DTU, is a polytechnic university and school of engineering. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's fi ...
, Copenhagen Business School
Copenhagen Business School (Danish'': Handelshøjskolen i København'') often abbreviated and referred to as CBS (also in Danish), is a public university situated in Copenhagen, Denmark and is considered one of the most prestigious business schoo ...
and the IT University of Copenhagen. The University of Copenhagen, founded in 1479, is the oldest university in Denmark. Copenhagen is home to the football clubs F.C. Copenhagen
Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...
and Brøndby IF
Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (, usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF (), is a professional association football club based in Brøndbyvester, Capital Region of Denmark. The club was founded in 1964 as a merger between two local clubs and was p ...
. The annual Copenhagen Marathon was established in 1980. Copenhagen is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world.
Movia is the public mass transit company serving all of eastern Denmark, except Bornholm
Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland.
Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...
. The Copenhagen Metro
The Copenhagen Metro ( da, Københavns Metro, ) is a 24/7 rapid transit system in Copenhagen, Denmark, serving the municipalities of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, and Tårnby.
The original system opened in October 2002, serving nine stations on t ...
, launched in 2002, serves central Copenhagen. Additionally, the Copenhagen S-train, the Lokaltog (private railway
A private railway is a railroad run by a private business entity (usually a corporation but not need be), as opposed to a railroad run by a public sector.
Japan
In Japan, , commonly simply ''private railway'', refers to a public transit railway o ...
), and the Coast Line network serve and connect central Copenhagen to outlying boroughs. Serving roughly 2.5 million passengers a month, Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup ( da, Københavns Lufthavn, Kastrup, ; ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark, Zealand, the Øresund Region, and southern Sweden including Scania. It is the second largest airport in the Nordic coun ...
, Kastrup, is the busiest airport in the Nordic countries
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
.
Etymology
Copenhagen's name ( in Danish), reflects its origin as a harbour and a place of commerce. The original designation in Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
, from which Danish descends, was (cf. modern Icelandic: , ), meaning 'merchants' harbour'. By the time Old Danish
The Danish language developed during the Middle Ages out of Old East Norse, the common predecessor of Danish and Swedish. It was a late form of common Old Norse. The Danish philologist Johannes Brøndum-Nielsen divided the history of Danish into ...
was spoken, the capital was called , with the current name deriving from centuries of subsequent regular sound change
A sound change, in historical linguistics, is a change in the pronunciation of a language. A sound change can involve the replacement of one speech sound (or, more generally, one phonetic feature value) by a different one (called phonetic chang ...
. An exact English equivalent would be "chapman
Chapman may refer to:
Businesses
* Chapman Entertainment, a former British television production company
* Chapman Guitars, a guitar company established in 2009 by Rob Chapman
* Chapman's, a Canadian ice cream and ice water products manufacturer ...
's haven". The English ''chapman'', German , Dutch , Swedish , Danish , and Icelandic share a derivation from Latin , meaning 'tradesman'. However, the English term for the city was adapted from its Low German
:
:
:
:
:
(70,000)
(30,000)
(8,000)
, familycolor = Indo-European
, fam2 = Germanic
, fam3 = West Germanic
, fam4 = North Sea Germanic
, ancestor = Old Saxon
, ancestor2 = Middle L ...
name, . Copenhagen's Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
name is , a direct translation of the mutually intelligible Danish name.
History
Early history
Although the earliest historical records of Copenhagen are from the end of the 12th century, recent archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
finds in connection with work on the city's metropolitan rail system revealed the remains of a large merchant's mansion near today's Kongens Nytorv from c. 1020. Excavations in Pilestræde
Pilestræde ( lit. English: Willow Alley) is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a side street to the pedestrianized shopping street Strøget and commonly associated with the newspaper publishing house Berlingske Media, which has its hea ...
have also led to the discovery of a well from the late 12th century. The remains of an ancient church, with graves dating to the 11th century, have been unearthed near where Strøget meets Rådhuspladsen
City Hall Square ( da, Rådhuspladsen, ) is a public square in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark, located in front of the Copenhagen City Hall. Its large size, central location, and affiliation with the city hall makes it a popular venue for a ...
.
These finds indicate that Copenhagen's origins as a city go back at least to the 11th century. Substantial discoveries of flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
tools in the area provide evidence of human settlements dating to the Stone Age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
. Many historians believe the town dates to the late Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...
, and was possibly founded by Sweyn I Forkbeard.
The natural harbour and good herring
Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae.
Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...
stocks seem to have attracted fishermen and merchants to the area on a seasonal basis from the 11th century and more permanently in the 13th century. The first habitations were probably centred on Gammel Strand
Gammel Strand (modern Danish for "old beach"; originally meant "the old shoreline", i.e. prior to land reclamations) is a street and public square in central Copenhagen, Denmark. On the south side it borders on the narrow Slotsholmens Canal whil ...
(literally 'old shore') in the 11th century or even earlier.
The earliest written mention of the town was in the 12th century when Saxo Grammaticus in Gesta Danorum referred to it as , meaning 'Merchants' Harbour' or, in the Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
of the time, .[Skaarup; Jensen (2002), pp. 14–15] Traditionally, Copenhagen's founding has been dated to Bishop Absalon's construction of a modest fortress on the little island of Slotsholmen
Slotsholmen (English: The Castle Islet) is an island in the harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, and part of Copenhagen Inner City. The name is taken from the successive castles and palaces located on the island since Bishop Absalon constructed the ci ...
in 1167 where Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...
stands today. The construction of the fortress was in response to attacks by Wendish pirates who plagued the coastline during the 12th century. Defensive ramparts and moats were completed and by 1177 St. Clemens Church had been built. Attacks by the Wends continued, and after the original fortress was eventually destroyed by the marauders, islanders replaced it with Copenhagen Castle
Copenhagen Castle ( da, Københavns Slot) was a castle on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built in the late 14th century and was located at the site of the current Christiansborg Palace.
History
In 1167, Bisho ...
.
Middle Ages
In 1186, a letter from Pope Urban III states that the castle of ''Hafn'' (Copenhagen) and its surrounding lands, including the town of Hafn, were given to Absalon, Bishop of Roskilde 1158–1191 and Archbishop of Lund 1177–1201, by King Valdemar I. On Absalon's death, the property was to come into the ownership of the Bishopric of Roskilde.[ Around 1200, the Church of Our Lady was constructed on higher ground to the northeast of the town, which began to develop around it.][
As the town became more prominent, it was repeatedly attacked by the ]Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...
, and in 1368 successfully invaded during the Second Danish-Hanseatic War. As the fishing industry thrived in Copenhagen, particularly in the trade of herring
Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae.
Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...
, the city began expanding to the north of Slotsholmen. In 1254, it received a charter as a city under Bishop Jakob Erlandsen
Jakob Erlandsen (died 18 February 1274) was a Danish Archbishop of Lund (1254–1274) and the central character of the first great church conflict in Denmark.
History
Belonging to a wealthy magnate family ( Galen clan) that was related to Ar ...
who garnered support from the local fishing merchants against the king by granting them special privileges. In the mid 1330s, the first land assessment of the city was published.
With the establishment of the Kalmar Union
The Kalmar Union (Danish language, Danish, Norwegian language, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under ...
(1397–1523) between Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
, Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
and Sweden, by about 1416 Copenhagen had emerged as the capital of Denmark when Eric of Pomerania
Eric of Pomerania (1381 or 1382 – 24 September 1459) was the ruler of the Kalmar Union from 1396 until 1439, succeeding his grandaunt, Queen Margaret I. He is known as Eric III as King of Norway (1389–1442), Eric VII as King of Denmark (1396 ...
moved his seat to Copenhagen Castle. The University of Copenhagen was inaugurated on 1 June 1479 by King Christian I, following approval from Pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...
. This makes it the oldest university in Denmark and one of the oldest in Europe. Originally controlled by the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, the university's role in society was forced to change during the Reformation in Denmark in the late 1530s.
16th and 17th centuries
In disputes prior to the Reformation of 1536, the city which had been faithful to Christian II, who was Catholic, was successfully besieged in 1523 by the forces of Frederik I, who supported Lutheranism
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
. Copenhagen's defences were reinforced with a series of towers along the city wall. After an extended siege from July 1535 to July 1536, during which the city supported Christian II's alliance with Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
and Lübeck, it was finally forced to capitulate to Christian III. During the second half of the century, the city prospered from increased trade across the Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
* Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
supported by Dutch shipping. Christoffer Valkendorff, a high-ranking statesman, defended the city's interests and contributed to its development.[ The Netherlands had also become primarily Protestant, as were northern German states.
During the reign of Christian IV between 1588 and 1648, Copenhagen had dramatic growth as a city. On his initiative at the beginning of the 17th century, two important buildings were completed on ]Slotsholmen
Slotsholmen (English: The Castle Islet) is an island in the harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, and part of Copenhagen Inner City. The name is taken from the successive castles and palaces located on the island since Bishop Absalon constructed the ci ...
: the Tøjhus Arsenal and Børsen
Børsen (Danish for "the Exchange"), also known as Børsbygningen ("The (Stock) Exchange building" in English), is a 17th-century stock exchange in the center of Copenhagen. The historic building is situated next to Christiansborg Palace, the seat ...
, the stock exchange. To foster international trade, the East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
was founded in 1616. To the east of the city, inspired by Dutch planning, the king developed the district of Christianshavn
Christianshavn (literally, "ingChristian's Harbour") is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of th ...
with canals and ramparts. It was initially intended to be a fortified trading centre but ultimately became part of Copenhagen. Christian IV also sponsored an array of ambitious building projects including Rosenborg Slot
Rosenborg Castle ( da, Rosenborg Slot) is a renaissance castle located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The castle was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IV's many architectural projects. It was built in the ...
and the Rundetårn. In 1658–1659, the city withstood a siege by the Swedes
Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...
under Charles X and successfully repelled a major assault.[
By 1661, Copenhagen had asserted its position as capital of Denmark and Norway. All the major institutions were located there, as was the fleet and most of the army. The defences were further enhanced with the completion of the ]Citadel
A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core.
In ...
in 1664 and the extension of Christianshavns Vold with its bastions in 1692, leading to the creation of a new base for the fleet at Nyholm.[
]
18th century
Copenhagen lost around 22,000 of its population of 65,000 to the plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pes ...
in 1711. The city was also struck by two major fires that destroyed much of its infrastructure. The Copenhagen Fire of 1728 was the largest in the history of Copenhagen. It began on the evening of 20 October, and continued to burn until the morning of 23 October, destroying approximately 28% of the city, leaving some 20% of the population homeless. No less than 47% of the medieval section of the city was completely lost. Along with the 1795 fire, it is the main reason that few traces of the old town can be found in the modern city.
A substantial amount of rebuilding followed. In 1733, work began on the royal residence of Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...
which was completed in 1745. In 1749, development of the prestigious district of Frederiksstaden
Frederiksstaden is a district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Constructed during the reign of Frederick V of Denmark, Frederick V in the second half of the 18th century, it is considered to be one of the most important rococo complexes in Europe and was in ...
was initiated. Designed by Nicolai Eigtved in the Rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
style, its centre contained the mansions which now form Amalienborg
Amalienborg () is the official residence for the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Queen Magrethe ll lives here in winter and autumn. It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo
Rococo (, ...
Palace. Major extensions to the naval base of Holmen were undertaken while the city's cultural importance was enhanced with the Royal Theatre and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.
In the second half of the 18th century, Copenhagen benefited from Denmark's neutrality during the wars between Europe's main powers, allowing it to play an important role in trade between the states around the Baltic Sea. After Christiansborg was destroyed by fire in 1794 and another fire caused serious damage to the city in 1795, work began on the classical Copenhagen landmark of Højbro Plads
Højbro Plads (literally "High Bridge Square") is a rectangular public square located between the adjoining Amagertorv and Slotsholmen Canal in the City Centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. It takes its name from the Højbro Bridge which connects it t ...
while Nytorv
Nytorv ( English: New Square or New Market) is a public square in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. Together with the adjoining Gammeltorv it forms a common space, today part of the Strøget pedestrian zone. The square is dominated by the imposi ...
and Gammel Torv
Gammeltorv (Old Market) is the oldest square in Copenhagen, Denmark. With adjoining Nytorv it forms a common space along the Strøget pedestrian zone. While the square dates back to the foundation of the city in the 12th century, most of its build ...
were converged.
19th century
On 2 April 1801, a British fleet under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker attacked and defeated the neutral Danish-Norwegian fleet anchored near Copenhagen. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson
Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...
led the main attack. He famously disobeyed Parker's order to withdraw, destroying many of the Dano-Norwegian ships before a truce was agreed. Copenhagen is often considered to be Nelson's hardest-fought battle, surpassing even the heavy fighting at Trafalgar Trafalgar most often refers to:
* Battle of Trafalgar (1805), fought near Cape Trafalgar, Spain
* Trafalgar Square, a public space and tourist attraction in London, England
It may also refer to:
Music
* ''Trafalgar'' (album), by the Bee Gees
Pl ...
. It was during this battle that Lord Nelson was said to have "put the telescope to the blind eye" in order not to see Admiral Parker's signal to cease fire
A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...
.
The Second Battle of Copenhagen
The Second Battle of Copenhagen (or the Bombardment of Copenhagen) (16 August – 7 September 1807) was a British bombardment of the Danish capital, Copenhagen, in order to capture or destroy the Dano-Norwegian fleet during the Napoleonic War ...
(or the Bombardment of Copenhagen) (16 August – 5 September 1807) was from a British point of view a preemptive attack
A preemptive war is a war that is commenced in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived imminent offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an impending (allegedly unavoidable) war ''shortly before'' that attack materializes. It ...
on Copenhagen, targeting the civilian population to yet again seize the Dano-Norwegian fleet. But from a Danish point of view, the battle was a terror bombardment on their capital. Particularly notable was the use of incendiary Congreve rocket
The Congreve rocket was a type of rocket artillery designed by British inventor Sir William Congreve in 1808.
The design was based upon the rockets deployed by the Kingdom of Mysore against the East India Company during the Second, Third, an ...
s (containing phosphorus, which cannot be extinguished with water) that randomly hit the city. Few houses with straw roofs remained after the bombardment. The largest church, '' Vor frue kirke'', was destroyed by the sea artillery. Several historians consider this battle the first terror attack against a major European city in modern times.
The British landed 30,000 men, they surrounded Copenhagen and the attack continued for the next three days, killing some 2,000 civilians and destroying most of the city. The devastation was so great because Copenhagen relied on an old defence-line whose limited range could not reach the British ships and their longer-range artillery.
Despite the disasters of the early 19th century, Copenhagen experienced a period of intense cultural creativity known as the Danish Golden Age
The Danish Golden Age ( da, Den danske guldalder) covers a period of exceptional creative production in Denmark, especially during the first half of the 19th century.Kulturnet DanmarkGuide to the Danish Golden Age Although Copenhagen had suffered ...
. Painting prospered under C.W. Eckersberg
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (2 January 1783 – 22 July 1853) was a Danish painter. He was born in Blåkrog in the Southern Jutland region of Denmark. He went on to lay the foundation for the period of art known as the Golden Age of Dan ...
and his students while C.F. Hansen and Gottlieb Bindesbøll brought a Neoclassical look to the city's architecture. In the early 1850s, the ramparts of the city were opened to allow new housing to be built around The Lakes ( da, Søerne) that bordered the old defences to the west. By the 1880s, the districts of Nørrebro
Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station ...
and Vesterbro developed to accommodate those who came from the provinces to participate in the city's industrialization. This dramatic increase of space was long overdue, as not only were the old ramparts out of date as a defence system but bad sanitation
Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...
in the old city had to be overcome. From 1886, the west rampart (Vestvolden
Vestvolden () is a rampart complex west of Copenhagen, Denmark. Stretching approximately from Avedøre in the south to Utterslev Mose in the north, it is part of the last generation of land fortifications of the city. Built in the period 1888–1 ...
) was flattened, allowing major extensions to the harbour leading to the establishment of the Freeport of Copenhagen 1892–94. Electricity came in 1892 with electric trams in 1897. The spread of housing to areas outside the old ramparts brought about a huge increase in the population. In 1840, Copenhagen was inhabited by approximately 120,000 people. By 1901, it had some 400,000 inhabitants.
20th century
By the beginning of the 20th century, Copenhagen had become a thriving industrial and administrative city. With its new city hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
and railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
, its centre was drawn towards the west. New housing developments grew up in Brønshøj
Brønshøj, part of the municipality of Copenhagen, forms, together with Husum, the administrative city district (''bydel'') of Brønshøj-Husum, in Denmark.
History
The first mention of the village Brønshøj (Brunshoga), is in a letter dated Oc ...
and Valby while Frederiksberg became an enclave within the city of Copenhagen. The northern part of Amager
Amager ( or, especially among older speakers, ) in the Øresund is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 212,000 inhabitants (January 2021) a small appendage to Zealand. The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (includi ...
and Valby were also incorporated into the City of Copenhagen in 1901–02.
As a result of Denmark's neutrality in the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Copenhagen prospered from trade with both Britain and Germany while the city's defences were kept fully manned by some 40,000 soldiers for the duration of the war.
In the 1920s there were serious shortages of goods and housing. Plans were drawn up to demolish the old part of Christianshavn and to get rid of the worst of the city's slum areas. However, it was not until the 1930s that substantial housing developments ensued, with the demolition of one side of Christianhavn's Torvegade
Torvegade (literal translation, lit. "Market Street") is the central thoroughfare of Christianshavn in Copenhagen, Denmark, linking the city centre by way of Knippelsbro, Knippel Bridge with Amagerside Copenhagen at Christmas Møllers Plads. The st ...
to build five large blocks of flats.
World War II
In Denmark during World War II, Copenhagen was occupied by German troops along with the rest of the country from 9 April 1940 until 4 May 1945. German leader Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
hoped that Denmark would be "a model protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...
" and initially the Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
authorities sought to arrive at an understanding with the Danish government. The 1943 Danish parliamentary election was also allowed to take place, with only the Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
excluded. But in August 1943, after the government's collaboration with the occupation forces collapsed, several ships were sunk in Copenhagen Harbor by the Royal Danish Navy to prevent their use by the Germans. Around that time the Nazis started to arrest Jews, although most managed to escape to Sweden.
In 1945 Ole Lippman Ole Lippmann (25 April 1916 – 3 September 2002) was a Danish businessman and leading figure of the Danish resistance movement, active during the German occupation of Denmark during World War II. In February 1945 he replaced Flemming Muus as S ...
, leader of the Danish section of the Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...
, invited the British Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
to assist their operations by attacking Nazi headquarters in Copenhagen. Accordingly, air vice-marshal Sir Basil Embry drew up plans for a spectacular precision attack on the Sicherheitsdienst and Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
building, the former offices of the Shell Oil Company
Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,000 ...
. Political prisoners were kept in the attic to prevent an air raid, so the RAF had to bomb the lower levels of the building.
The attack, known as " Operation Carthage", came on 22 March 1945, in three small waves. In the first wave, all six planes (carrying one bomb each) hit their target, but one of the aircraft crashed near Frederiksberg Girls School. Because of this crash, four of the planes in the two following waves assumed the school was the military target and aimed their bombs at the school, leading to the death of 123 civilians (of which 87 were schoolchildren). However, 18 of the 26 political prisoners in the Shell Building managed to escape while the Gestapo archives were completely destroyed.
On 8 May 1945 Copenhagen was officially liberated by British troops commanded by Field Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
Bernard Montgomery
Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and t ...
who supervised the surrender of 30,000 Germans situated around the capital.
Post-war decades
Shortly after the end of the war, an innovative urban development project known as the Finger Plan
The Finger Plan ( da, Fingerplanen) is an urban planning, urban plan from 1947 which provides a strategy for the development of the Copenhagen metropolitan area, Denmark. According to the plan, Copenhagen is to develop along five 'fingers', centre ...
was introduced in 1947, encouraging the creation of new housing and businesses interspersed with large green areas along five "fingers" stretching out from the city centre along the S-train routes. With the expansion of the welfare state and women entering the work force, schools, nurseries, sports facilities and hospitals were established across the city. As a result of student unrest in the late 1960s, the former Bådsmandsstræde Barracks in Christianshavn
Christianshavn (literally, "ingChristian's Harbour") is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of th ...
was occupied, leading to the establishment of Freetown Christiania
Freetown Christiania, also known as Christiania ( da, Fristaden Christiania or '), is an intentional community, commune and micronation in the Christianshavn neighbourhood of the Danish capital city of Copenhagen, Christinia, Christianshavn, C ...
in September 1971.
Motor traffic in the city grew significantly and in 1972 the trams were replaced by buses. From the 1960s, on the initiative of the young architect Jan Gehl
Jan Gehl Hon. FAIA (born 17 September 1936, Copenhagen) is a Danish architect and urban design consultant based in Copenhagen whose career has focused on improving the quality of urban life by re-orienting city design towards the pedestrian and ...
, pedestrian streets and cycle tracks were created in the city centre. Activity in the port of Copenhagen declined with the closure of the Holmen Naval Base. Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup ( da, Københavns Lufthavn, Kastrup, ; ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark, Zealand, the Øresund Region, and southern Sweden including Scania. It is the second largest airport in the Nordic coun ...
underwent considerable expansion, becoming a hub for the Nordic countries
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
. In the 1990s, large-scale housing developments were realised in the harbour area and in the west of Amager
Amager ( or, especially among older speakers, ) in the Øresund is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 212,000 inhabitants (January 2021) a small appendage to Zealand. The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (includi ...
. The national library's Black Diamond building on the waterfront was completed in 1999.
Gallery
File:The Black Diamond, Copenhagen 2017-08-16.jpg, The Black Diamond
File:Christiania in.jpg, Freetown Christiania
Freetown Christiania, also known as Christiania ( da, Fristaden Christiania or '), is an intentional community, commune and micronation in the Christianshavn neighbourhood of the Danish capital city of Copenhagen, Christinia, Christianshavn, C ...
- entrance
File:Øresund Bridge from the air in September 2015.jpg, Øresund Bridge
21st century
Since the summer of 2000, Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
have been connected by the Øresund Bridge, which carries rail and road traffic. As a result, Copenhagen has become the centre of a larger metropolitan area spanning both nations. The bridge has brought about considerable changes in the public transport system
A transport network, or transportation network, is a network or graph in geographic space, describing an infrastructure that permits and constrains movement or flow.
Examples include but are not limited to road networks, railways, air routes, ...
and has led to the extensive redevelopment of Amager
Amager ( or, especially among older speakers, ) in the Øresund is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 212,000 inhabitants (January 2021) a small appendage to Zealand. The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (includi ...
.[ The city's service and trade sectors have developed while a number of banking and financial institutions have been established. Educational institutions have also gained importance, especially the ]University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...
with its 35,000 students. Another important development for the city has been the Copenhagen Metro
The Copenhagen Metro ( da, Københavns Metro, ) is a 24/7 rapid transit system in Copenhagen, Denmark, serving the municipalities of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, and Tårnby.
The original system opened in October 2002, serving nine stations on t ...
, the railway system which opened in 2002 with additions until 2007, transporting some 54 million passengers by 2011.
On the cultural front, the Copenhagen Opera House
The Copenhagen Opera House (in Danish usually called Operaen, literally ''The opera'') is the national opera house of Denmark, and among the most modern opera houses in the world. It is also one of the most expensive opera houses ever built at a ...
, a gift to the city from the shipping magnate Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller on behalf of the A.P. Møller foundation, was completed in 2004. In December 2009 Copenhagen gained international prominence when it hosted the worldwide climate meeting COP15.
On 3 July 2022, three people were killed in a shooting at Field's
Field's is a shopping centre in Ørestad, Copenhagen, close to the E20 motorway and Ørestad Station on the Copenhagen Metro. At 115,000 m2, it is the second-largest mall in Denmark after Waves, and one of the largest in Scandinavia. It is own ...
mall in Copenhagen. Police chief inspector Søren Thomassen announced the arrest of a 22-year-old man and said that the police cannot rule out an act of terrorism.
Geography
Copenhagen is part of the Øresund Region
The Øresund Region ( da, Øresundsregionen ; sv, Öresundsregionen ), also known as Greater Copenhagen for marketing purposes, is a metropolitan region that comprises eastern Denmark and Skåne in southern Sweden. Centred around the Øresund ...
, which consists of Zealand, Lolland-Falster Lolland-Falster is a common term for the two islands Lolland and Falster. The islands are only separated by the narrow strait '' Guldborgsund'', and as such have traditionally been grouped together.
Both the Gedser-Rostock and Rødby-Puttgarden f ...
and Bornholm
Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland.
Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...
in Denmark and Scania
Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...
in Sweden. It is located on the eastern shore of the island of Zealand, partly on the island of Amager
Amager ( or, especially among older speakers, ) in the Øresund is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 212,000 inhabitants (January 2021) a small appendage to Zealand. The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (includi ...
and on a number of natural and artificial islets between the two. Copenhagen faces the Øresund
Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width v ...
to the east, the strait of water that separates Denmark from Sweden, and which connects the North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
with the Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
. The Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
city of Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
and the town of Landskrona
Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...
lie on the Swedish side of the sound directly across from Copenhagen. By road, Copenhagen is northwest of Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
, Sweden, northeast of Næstved, northeast of Odense, east of Esbjerg
Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport town and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban population of 71,698 (1 January 2022) and southeast of Aarhus
Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...
by sea and road via Sjællands Odde.
The city centre lies in the area originally defined by the old rampart
Rampart may refer to:
* Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement
Rampart may also refer to:
* "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...
s, which are still referred to as the Fortification Ring (''Fæstningsringen'') and kept as a partial green band around it. Then come the late-19th- and early-20th-century residential neighbourhoods of Østerbro, Nørrebro
Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station ...
, Vesterbro and Amagerbro
Amagerbro is an area in the northern part of the island Amager and a district in Copenhagen. The area is known as a working class area, and has approximately 20,000 inhabitants. The district has two metro stations, Amagerbro station and Lergravs ...
. The outlying areas of Kongens Enghave, Valby, Vigerslev
Vigerslev is a working-class neighborhood and is part of Valby, Copenhagen, Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subd ...
, Vanløse
Vanløse is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It lies on the western border of the municipality. Vanløse covers an area of 6.69 km², and has a population of 36,115, making Vanløse the smallest district of Copenhagen ...
, Brønshøj
Brønshøj, part of the municipality of Copenhagen, forms, together with Husum, the administrative city district (''bydel'') of Brønshøj-Husum, in Denmark.
History
The first mention of the village Brønshøj (Brunshoga), is in a letter dated Oc ...
, Utterslev
Utterslev is a neighbourhood in the Bispebjerg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. Utterslev is centered on Utterslev Torv (Utterslev Square) and is most known for the Utterslev Mose marshland which straddles the border with Gladsaxe Municipality to t ...
and Sundby followed from 1920 to 1960. They consist mainly of residential housing and apartments often enhanced with parks and greenery.[
]
Topography
The central area of the city consists of relatively low-lying flat ground formed by moraine
A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...
s from the last ice age while the hilly areas to the north and west frequently rise to above sea level. The slopes of Valby and Brønshøj
Brønshøj, part of the municipality of Copenhagen, forms, together with Husum, the administrative city district (''bydel'') of Brønshøj-Husum, in Denmark.
History
The first mention of the village Brønshøj (Brunshoga), is in a letter dated Oc ...
reach heights of over , divided by valleys running from the northeast to the southwest. Close to the centre are the Copenhagen lakes of Sortedams Sø, Peblinge Sø and Sankt Jørgens Sø.
Copenhagen rests on a subsoil of flint-layered limestone deposited in the Danian
The Danian is the oldest age or lowest stage of the Paleocene Epoch or Series, of the Paleogene Period or System, and of the Cenozoic Era or Erathem. The beginning of the Danian (and the end of the preceding Maastrichtian) is at the Cretaceous ...
period some 60 to 66 million years ago. Some greensand from the Selandian is also present. There are a few faults in the area, the most important of which is the Carlsberg fault which runs northwest to southeast through the centre of the city. During the last ice age, glaciers eroded the surface leaving a layer of moraines up to thick.
Geologically, Copenhagen lies in the northern part of Denmark where the land is rising because of post-glacial rebound.
Beaches
Amager Strandpark
Amager Strandpark (Amager Beach Park) is a seaside public park in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located on the island of Amager and includes an artificial island and offers a total of of beaches. From the beach, the Middelgrunden wind farm can be ...
, which opened in 2005, is a long artificial island, with a total of of beaches. It is located just 15 minutes by bicycle or a few minutes by metro from the city centre. In Klampenborg
Klampenborg is a northern suburb to Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located in Gentofte Municipality, directly on Øresund, between Taarbæk and Skovshoved. Like other neighbourhoods along the Øresund coast, Klampenborg is an affluent area with many ...
, about from downtown Copenhagen, is Bellevue Beach
Bellevue Beach (Danish: ''Bellevue Strand''), often simply referred to as Bellevue, is a beach at Klampenborg on the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. With up to 500,000 visitors a year, it is one of the most popular beaches in the Copen ...
. It is long and has both lifeguards and freshwater showers on the beach.
The beaches are supplemented by a system of Harbour Baths along the Copenhagen waterfront. The first and most popular of these is located at Islands Brygge
Islands Brygge (English: Iceland's Quay) is a harbourfront area in central Copenhagen, Denmark, located on the north-western coast of Amager. The neighbourhood is noted for its waterfront park Havneparken, which is one of the most popular areas ...
, literally meaning Iceland's Quay, and has won international acclaim for its design.
Climate
Copenhagen is in the oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
zone ( Köppen: ''Cfb''). Its weather is subject to low-pressure systems from the Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
which result in unstable conditions throughout the year. Apart from slightly higher rainfall from July to September, precipitation is moderate. While snowfall occurs mainly from late December to early March, there can also be rain, with average temperatures around the freezing point.
June is the sunniest month of the year with an average of about eight hours of sunshine a day. July is the warmest month with an average daytime high of 21 °C. By contrast, the average hours of sunshine are less than two per day in November and only one and a half per day from December to February. In the spring, it gets warmer again with four to six hours of sunshine per day from March to May. February is the driest month of the year. Exceptional weather conditions can bring as much as 50 cm of snow to Copenhagen in a 24-hour period during the winter months while summer temperatures have been known to rise to heights of .
Because of Copenhagen's northern latitude, the number of daylight hours varies considerably between summer and winter. On the summer solstice, the sun rises at 04:26 and sets at 21:58, providing 17 hours 32 minutes of daylight. On the winter solstice, it rises at 08:37 and sets at 15:39 with 7 hours and 1 minute of daylight. There is therefore a difference of 10 hours and 31 minutes in the length of days and nights between the summer and winter solstices.
Administration
According to Statistics Denmark
Statistics Denmark ( da, Danmarks Statistik) is a Danish governmental organization under the Ministry of the Interior and Housing and which reports to the Minister of Economic and Internal Affairs. The organization is responsible for creating st ...
, the urban area of Copenhagen
The urban area of Copenhagen (also known as Greater Copenhagen) ( da, Storkøbenhavn or ), lying mostly in the Capital Region of Denmark but also in Region Zealand, consist of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg municipalities and the former Copenhagen ...
() consists of the municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, Frederiksberg, Albertslund, Brøndby, Gentofte, Gladsaxe, Glostrup
Glostrup is a Danish town in Region Hovedstaden, forming one of the western suburbs of Copenhagen. It is the administrative seat of Glostrup Municipality, with an estimated population of 22,357 .
During the 20th century Glostrup developed from ...
, Herlev, Hvidovre, Lyngby-Taarbæk, Rødovre, Tårnby and Vallensbæk
Vallensbæk is a seaside western suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is part of the Greater Copenhagen Area. It forms its own municipality, Vallensbæk Municipality, which is one of the smallest Danish municipalities. It borders Køge Bay, and the ...
as well as parts of Ballerup
Ballerup is a Danish town, seat of the Ballerup Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden.
There are approximately 25 schools in Ballerup Municipality.
Ballerup has its own educational institution specialized in the study, training and research of ...
, Rudersdal and Furesø municipalities, along with the cities of Ishøj and Greve Strand. They are located in the Capital Region
A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...
(). Municipalities are responsible for a wide variety of public service
A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...
s, which include land-use planning, environmental planning, public housing, management and maintenance of local roads, and social security. Municipal administration is also conducted by a mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
, a council
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
, and an executive.
Copenhagen Municipality is by far the largest municipality, with the historic city at its core. The seat of Copenhagen's municipal council is the Copenhagen City Hall
Copenhagen City Hall ( da, Københavns Rådhus) is the headquarters of the Copenhagen City Council as well as the Lord mayor of the Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. The building is situated on City Hall Square in central Copenhagen.
Architect ...
('), which is situated on City Hall Square. The second largest municipality is Frederiksberg, an enclave within Copenhagen Municipality.
Copenhagen Municipality is divided into ten districts (''bydele''): Indre By, Østerbro, Nørrebro
Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station ...
, Vesterbro/Kongens Enghave
Vesterbro/Kongens Enghave is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. The district has an area of 8.22 km² and a population of 53,351.
See also
* Vesterbro
* Kongens Enghave
Kongens Enghave ("king's meadow"), commonly kn ...
, Valby, Vanløse
Vanløse is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It lies on the western border of the municipality. Vanløse covers an area of 6.69 km², and has a population of 36,115, making Vanløse the smallest district of Copenhagen ...
, Brønshøj-Husum
Brønshøj-Husum is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. The district is bisected by Frederikssundsvej and consists mainly of vast areas of single family detached homes. It lies on the northwest border of the municipality. It c ...
, Bispebjerg
Bispebjerg, more commonly referred to as Nordvest (English: North-West), is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. Located on the northern border of the municipality, it covers an area of 5.39 km² and a population of 40,033 ...
, Amager Øst, and Amager Vest. Neighbourhoods of Copenhagen include Slotsholmen
Slotsholmen (English: The Castle Islet) is an island in the harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, and part of Copenhagen Inner City. The name is taken from the successive castles and palaces located on the island since Bishop Absalon constructed the ci ...
, Frederiksstaden
Frederiksstaden is a district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Constructed during the reign of Frederick V of Denmark, Frederick V in the second half of the 18th century, it is considered to be one of the most important rococo complexes in Europe and was in ...
, Islands Brygge
Islands Brygge (English: Iceland's Quay) is a harbourfront area in central Copenhagen, Denmark, located on the north-western coast of Amager. The neighbourhood is noted for its waterfront park Havneparken, which is one of the most popular areas ...
, Holmen, Christiania, Carlsberg Carlsberg may refer to:
Places
* Carlsberg (district), a district in Copenhagen, Denmark
** Carlsberg station, its train station
* Carlsberg, Germany, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
* Carlsberg Fjord, Greenland Other uses
* Carlsbe ...
, Sluseholmen
Sluseholmen (literally "The Sluice Isle") is an artificial peninsula in the South Harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark. It takes its name from Slusen, a lock immediately to the south, regulating water levels in the harbor. Previously the site of heavy ...
, Sydhavn, Amagerbro
Amagerbro is an area in the northern part of the island Amager and a district in Copenhagen. The area is known as a working class area, and has approximately 20,000 inhabitants. The district has two metro stations, Amagerbro station and Lergravs ...
, Ørestad
Ørestad () is a developing city area in Copenhagen, Denmark, on the island of Amager.
The area was developed using the new town concept, closely linked with the M1 line of the Copenhagen Metro. Economically, income for the plan would be generate ...
, Nordhavnen
Nordhavnen, or Nordhavn, is a harbour area at the coast of the Øresund, founded at the end of the 19th century in Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers an area of more than 2 km².
Today, most of Copenhagen Harbour's traditional activities are sit ...
, Bellahøj, Brønshøj
Brønshøj, part of the municipality of Copenhagen, forms, together with Husum, the administrative city district (''bydel'') of Brønshøj-Husum, in Denmark.
History
The first mention of the village Brønshøj (Brunshoga), is in a letter dated Oc ...
, Ryparken Ryparken is an area in the northern part of Østerbro, Copenhagen. Close to the ethnic and diverse neighborhood of Nørrebro, yet still in the 2100 Østerbro zip code, Ryparken defies easy definition. The area is well connected both by buses and by ...
, and Vigerslev
Vigerslev is a working-class neighborhood and is part of Valby, Copenhagen, Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subd ...
.
Law and order
Most of Denmark's top legal courts and institutions are based in Copenhagen. A modern-style court of justice, ''Hof- og Stadsretten
was a modern-style court of justice introduced in Denmark, specifically for Copenhagen, by Johann Friedrich Struensee in 1771. In 1805, it was merged with the new for Eastern Denmark as . It was replaced by the Københavns Byret and Østre Lan ...
'', was introduced in Denmark, specifically for Copenhagen, by Johann Friedrich Struensee
Lensgreve Johann Friedrich Struensee (5 August 1737 – 28 April 1772) was a German-Danish physician, philosopher and statesman. He became royal physician to the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark and a minister in the Danish government. ...
in 1771. Now known as the City Court of Copenhagen (), it is the largest of the 24 city courts in Denmark with jurisdiction over the municipalities of Copenhagen, Dragør
Dragør () is the main town of Dragør Municipality, (Denmark), which includes the village of Store Magleby. The city hall and seat of the municipal council lies on Kirkevej 7 (postal code 2791 Dragør) in Store Magleby, which has enough space f ...
and Tårnby. With its 42 judges, it has a Probate Division, an Enforcement Division and a Registration and Notorial Acts Division while bankruptcy is handled by the Maritime and Commercial Court of Copenhagen. Established in 1862, the Maritime and Commercial Court () also hears commercial cases including those relating to trade marks, marketing practices and competition for the whole of Denmark. Denmark's Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
(), located in Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...
on Prins Jørgens Gård in the centre of Copenhagen, is the country's final court of appeal. Handling civil and criminal cases from the subordinate courts, it has two chambers which each hear all types of cases.
The Danish National Police
The Police of Denmark ( da, Politiet, fo, Løgreglan, kl, Politiit) is the Danish National Police force, and the interior part of the Danish security forces (the Danish military being the exterior) in the Kingdom ( The Danish Realm: Denma ...
and Copenhagen Police headquarters is situated in the Neoclassical-inspired Politigården building built in 1918–1924 under architects Hack Kampmann and Holger Alfred Jacobsen. The building also contains administration, management, emergency department and radio service offices.
The Copenhagen Fire Department forms the largest municipal fire brigade in Denmark with some 500 fire and ambulance personnel, 150 administration and service workers, and 35 workers in prevention. The brigade began as the Copenhagen Royal Fire Brigade on 9 July 1687 under King Christian V. After the passing of the Copenhagen Fire Act on 18 May 1868, on 1 August 1870 the Copenhagen Fire Brigade became a municipal institution in its own right. The fire department has its headquarters in the Copenhagen Central Fire Station which was designed by Ludvig Fenger in the Historicist style and inaugurated in 1892.
Environmental planning
Copenhagen is recognised as one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the world. As a result of its commitment to high environmental standards, Copenhagen has been praised for its green economy
A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological economics, but has a more politi ...
, ranked as the top green city for the second time in the 2014 ''Global Green Economy Index (GGEI)''. In 2001 a large offshore wind farm
A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used Wind power, to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundre ...
was built just off the coast of Copenhagen at Middelgrunden. It produces about 4% of the city's energy. Years of substantial investment in sewage treatment
Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding envir ...
have improved water quality
Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...
in the harbour to an extent that the inner harbour can be used for swimming with facilities at a number of locations.
Copenhagen aims to be carbon-neutral
Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...
by 2025. Commercial and residential buildings are to reduce electricity consumption by 20 percent and 10 percent respectively, and total heat consumption is to fall by 20 percent by 2025. Renewable energy features such as solar panels are becoming increasingly common in the newest buildings in Copenhagen. District heating
District heating (also known as heat networks or teleheating) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating a ...
will be carbon-neutral by 2025, by waste incineration and biomass. New buildings must now be constructed according to Low Energy Class ratings and in 2020 near net-zero energy buildings. By 2025, 75% of trips should be made on foot, by bike, or by using public transit. The city plans that 20–30% of cars will run on electricity or biofuel
Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...
by 2025. The investment is estimated at $472 million public funds and $4.78 billion private funds.
The city's urban planning authorities continue to take full account of these priorities. Special attention is given both to climate issues and efforts to ensure maximum application of low-energy standards. Priorities include sustainable drainage systems, recycling rainwater, green roof
A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...
s and efficient waste management
Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal.
This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring ...
solutions. In city planning, streets and squares are to be designed to encourage cycling and walking rather than driving. Further, the city administration is working with smart city initiatives to improve how data and technology can be used to implement new solutions that support the transition toward a carbon-neutral
Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...
economy. These solutions support operations covered by the city administration to improve e.g. public health, district heating, urban mobility and waste management systems. Smart city operations in Copenhagen are maintained by Copenhagen Solutions Lab, the city's official smart-city development unit under the Technical and Environmental Administration.
Demographics and society
Copenhagen is the most populous city in Denmark and one of the most populous in the Nordic countries. For statistical purposes, Statistics Denmark
Statistics Denmark ( da, Danmarks Statistik) is a Danish governmental organization under the Ministry of the Interior and Housing and which reports to the Minister of Economic and Internal Affairs. The organization is responsible for creating st ...
considers the City of Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
() to consist of the Municipality of Copenhagen plus three adjacent municipalities: Dragør
Dragør () is the main town of Dragør Municipality, (Denmark), which includes the village of Store Magleby. The city hall and seat of the municipal council lies on Kirkevej 7 (postal code 2791 Dragør) in Store Magleby, which has enough space f ...
, Frederiksberg, and Tårnby. Their combined population stands at 763,908 ().
The Municipality of Copenhagen is by far the most populous in the country and one of the most populous Nordic municipalities with 644,431 inhabitants (as of 2022). There was a demographic boom in the 1990s and first decades of the 21st century, largely due to immigration to Denmark. According to figures from the first quarter of 2022, 73.7% of the municipality's population was of Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
descent, defined as having at least one parent who was born in Denmark and has Danish citizenship. Much of the remaining 26.3% were of a foreign background, defined as immigrants (20.3%) or descendants of recent immigrants (6%). There are no official statistics on ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
s. The adjacent table shows the most common countries of origin of Copenhagen residents. Largest foreign groups are Pakistanis (1.3%), Turks (1.2%), Iraqis (1.1%), Germans (1.0%) and Poles (1.0%).
According to Statistics Denmark, Copenhagen's urban area has a larger population of 1,280,371 (). The urban area consists of the municipalities of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg plus 16 of the 20 municipalities of the former counties Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
and Roskilde
Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...
, though five of them only partially. Metropolitan Copenhagen
The Copenhagen metropolitan area or Metropolitan Copenhagen ( da, Hovedstadsområdet, , literally "The Capital Area") is a large commuter belt (the area in which it is practical to commute to work) surrounding Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. ...
has a total of 2,016,285 inhabitants (). The area of Metropolitan Copenhagen is defined by the Finger Plan
The Finger Plan ( da, Fingerplanen) is an urban planning, urban plan from 1947 which provides a strategy for the development of the Copenhagen metropolitan area, Denmark. According to the plan, Copenhagen is to develop along five 'fingers', centre ...
. Since the opening of the Øresund Bridge in 2000, commuting between Zealand and Scania
Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...
in Sweden has increased rapidly, leading to a wider, integrated area. Known as the Øresund Region, it has 4.1 million inhabitants (of whom 2.7 million (August 2021) live in the Danish part of the region).
Religion
A majority (56.9%) of those living in Copenhagen are members of the Lutheran Church of Denmark which is 0.6% lower than one year earlier according to 2019 figures. The National Cathedral, the Church of Our Lady, is one of the dozens of churches in Copenhagen. There are also several other Christian communities in the city, of which the largest is Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
.
Foreign migration to Copenhagen, rising over the last three decades, has contributed to increasing religious diversity; the Grand Mosque of Copenhagen
The Hamad Bin Khalifa Civilisation Center (HBKCC) is a sunni mosque in the Outer Nørrebro borough of Copenhagen, Denmark. Built in 2014, it is the first purposely-built mosque in Denmark and one of the largest in Europe.[Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...]
is the second largest religion in Copenhagen, accounting for approximately 10% of the population. While there are no official statistics, a significant portion of the estimated 175,000–200,000 Muslims in the country live in the Copenhagen urban area, with the highest concentration in Nørrebro
Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station ...
and the Vestegnen. There are also some 7,000 Jews in Denmark, most of them in the Copenhagen area where there are several synagogues. It has a membership of 1,800 members. There is a long history of Jews in the city, and the first synagogue in Copenhagen was built in 1684. Today, the history of the Jews of Denmark can be explored at the Danish Jewish Museum in Copenhagen.
Quality of living
For a number of years, Copenhagen has ranked high in international surveys for its quality of life
Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...
. Its stable economy together with its education services and level of social safety make it attractive for locals and visitors alike. Although it is one of the world's most expensive cities, it is also one of the most liveable with its public transport, facilities for cyclists and its environmental policies. In elevating Copenhagen to "most liveable city" in 2013, '' Monocle'' pointed to its open spaces, increasing activity on the streets, city planning in favour of cyclists and pedestrians, and features to encourage inhabitants to enjoy city life with an emphasis on community, culture and cuisine. Other sources have ranked Copenhagen high for its business environment, accessibility, restaurants and environmental planning. However, Copenhagen ranks only 39th for student friendliness in 2012. Despite a top score for quality of living, its scores were low for employer activity and affordability.
Economy
Copenhagen is the major economic and financial centre
A financial centre ( BE), financial center ( AE), or financial hub, is a location with a concentration of participants in banking, asset management, insurance or financial markets with venues and supporting services for these activities to ta ...
of Denmark. The city's economy is based largely on services and commerce. Statistics for 2010 show that the vast majority of the 350,000 workers in Copenhagen are employed in the service sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
, especially transport and communications, trade, and finance, while less than 10,000 work in the manufacturing industries. The public sector
The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, infra ...
workforce is around 110,000, including education and healthcare. From 2006 to 2011, the economy grew by 2.5% in Copenhagen, while it fell by some 4% in the rest of Denmark. In 2017, the wider Capital Region of Denmark
The Capital Region of Denmark ( da, Region Hovedstaden, ) is the easternmost administrative region of Denmark. The Capital Region has 29 municipalities and a regional council consisting of 41 elected members. As of 1 August 2021 the chairperson ...
had a gross domestic product (GDP) of €120 billion, and the 15th largest GDP per capita
Lists of countries by GDP per capita list the countries in the world by their gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. The lists may be based on nominal or purchasing power parity GDP. Gross national income (GNI) per capita accounts for inflows ...
of regions in the European Union.
Several financial institutions and banks have headquarters in Copenhagen, including Alm. Brand
Alm. Brand (until 2002 Alm. Brand af 1792) is a Danish financial services group operating within the markets for non-life, life and pension insurance.
History
The company was founded in 1792 and its activities were originally limited to mutual ...
, Danske Bank
Danske Bank A/S is a Danish multinational banking and financial services corporation. Headquartered in Copenhagen, it is the largest bank in Denmark and a major retail bank in the northern European region with over 5 million retail customers. ...
, Nykredit and Nordea Bank Danmark
Nordea Bank Danmark A/S is a bank in Denmark. It is part of Nordea - the largest financial group in the Nordic countries. Nordea is the result of a merger in 1997 between the Danish bank Unibank
uniBank (Ghana) Limited, commonly known as uniBa ...
. The Copenhagen Stock Exchange (CSE) was founded in 1620 and is now owned by Nasdaq, Inc.
Nasdaq, Inc. is an American multinational financial services corporation that owns and operates three stock exchanges in the United States: the namesake Nasdaq stock exchange, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, and the Boston Stock Exchange, and ...
Copenhagen is also home to a number of international companies including A.P. Møller-Mærsk, Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsværd, Denmark, with production facilities in nine countries, and affiliates or offices in five countries. Novo Nordisk is controlled by majority shareholder ...
, Carlsberg Carlsberg may refer to:
Places
* Carlsberg (district), a district in Copenhagen, Denmark
** Carlsberg station, its train station
* Carlsberg, Germany, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
* Carlsberg Fjord, Greenland Other uses
* Carlsbe ...
and Novozymes
Novozymes A/S is a global biotechnology company headquartered in Bagsværd outside of Copenhagen, Denmark. The company's focus is the research, development and production of industrial enzymes, microorganisms, and biopharmaceutical ingredients.
...
. City authorities have encouraged the development of business cluster
A business cluster is a geographic concentration of interconnected businesses, suppliers, and associated institutions in a particular field. Clusters are considered to increase the productivity with which companies can compete, nationally and glo ...
s in several innovative sectors, which include information technology, biotechnology
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...
, pharmaceuticals
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and rel ...
, clean technology
Clean technology, in short cleantech, is any process, product, or service that reduces negative environmental impacts through significant energy efficiency improvements, the sustainable use of resources, or environmental protection activities. Cle ...
and smart city solutions.
Life science
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy t ...
is a key sector with extensive research and development
Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...
activities. Medicon Valley
Medicon Valley is a leading international life-sciences cluster in Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. E ...
is a leading bi-national life sciences cluster in Europe, spanning the Øresund Region. Copenhagen is rich in companies and institutions with a focus on research and development
Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...
within the field of biotechnology, and the Medicon Valley initiative aims to strengthen this position and to promote cooperation between companies and academia. Many major Danish companies like Novo Nordisk and Lundbeck, both of which are among the 50 largest pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the world, are located in this business cluster.
Shipping is another import sector with Maersk, the world's largest shipping company, having their world headquarters in Copenhagen. The city has an industrial harbour, Copenhagen Port
The Port of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Havn) is the largest Danish seaport and one of the largest ports in the Baltic Sea basin. It extends from Svanemølle Beach in the north to Hvidovre in the south. Along with Malmö harbour, Copenhagen Po ...
. Following decades of stagnation, it has experienced a resurgence since 1990 following a merger with Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
harbour. Both ports are operated by Copenhagen Malmö Port
Copenhagen Malmö Port AB (CMP) operates the ports in Denmark's capital Copenhagen and in Sweden's third largest city, Malmö. The ports are located either side of Øresund, a strait between the two countries. The combined Øresund Region is the ...
(CMP). The central location in the Øresund Region allows the ports to act as a hub for freight that is transported onward to the Baltic countries
The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...
. CMP annually receives about 8,000 ships and handled some 148,000 TEU in 2012.
Copenhagen has some of the highest gross wages in the world. High taxes mean that wages are reduced after mandatory deduction. A ''beneficial researcher scheme'' with low taxation of foreign specialists has made Denmark an attractive location for foreign labour
A migrant worker is a person who migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work.
Migrant workers who work outsi ...
. It is however also among the most expensive cities in Europe.
Denmark's Flexicurity
Flexicurity (a portmanteau of "flexibility" and "security") is a welfare state model with a pro-active labour market policy. The term was first coined by the social democratic Prime Minister of Denmark Poul Nyrup Rasmussen in the 1990s.
The term ...
model features some of the most flexible hiring and firing legislation in Europe, providing attractive conditions for foreign investment and international companies looking to locate in Copenhagen. In Dansk Industri
The Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) is Denmark's largest business organization (chambers of commerce) and employers' organization. DI's members are 18,000 private enterprises in manufacturing and the service industry, from virtually all sub-s ...
's 2013 survey of employment factors in the ninety-six municipalities of Denmark, Copenhagen came in first place for educational qualifications and for the development of private companies in recent years, but fell to 86th place in local companies' assessment of the employment climate. The survey revealed considerable dissatisfaction in the level of dialogue companies enjoyed with the municipal authorities.
Tourism
Tourism is a major contributor to Copenhagen's economy, attracting visitors due to the city's harbour, cultural attractions and award-winning restaurants. Since 2009, Copenhagen has been one of the fastest growing metropolitan destinations in Europe. Hotel capacity in the city is growing significantly. From 2009 to 2013, it experienced a 42% growth in international bed nights (total number of nights spent by tourists), tallying a rise of nearly 70% for Chinese visitors. The total number of bed nights in the Capital Region surpassed 9 million in 2013, while international bed nights reached 5 million.
In 2010, it is estimated that city break tourism contributed to DKK 2 billion in turnover. However, 2010 was an exceptional year for city break tourism and turnover increased with 29% in that one year. 680,000 cruise passengers visited the port in 2015. In 2019 Copenhagen was ranked first among Lonely Planet's top ten cities to visit. In October 2021, Copenhagen was shortlisted for the European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
's 2022 European Capital of Smart Tourism award along with Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
, Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, Ljubljana
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
, La Palma de Mallorca
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on Figure 8 ( ...
and Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
.
Cityscape
The city's appearance today is shaped by the key role it has played as a regional centre for centuries. Copenhagen has a multitude of districts, each with its distinctive character and representing its own period. Other distinctive features of Copenhagen include the abundance of water, its many parks, and the bicycle paths
Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except wher ...
that line most streets.
Architecture
The oldest section of Copenhagen's inner city is often referred to as (the medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
city). However, the city's most distinctive district is Frederiksstaden
Frederiksstaden is a district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Constructed during the reign of Frederick V of Denmark, Frederick V in the second half of the 18th century, it is considered to be one of the most important rococo complexes in Europe and was in ...
, developed during the reign of Frederick V. It has the Amalienborg
Amalienborg () is the official residence for the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Queen Magrethe ll lives here in winter and autumn. It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo
Rococo (, ...
Palace at its centre and is dominated by the dome of Frederik's Church (or the Marble Church) and several elegant 18th-century Rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
mansions. The inner city includes Slotsholmen
Slotsholmen (English: The Castle Islet) is an island in the harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, and part of Copenhagen Inner City. The name is taken from the successive castles and palaces located on the island since Bishop Absalon constructed the ci ...
, a little island on which Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...
stands and Christianshavn
Christianshavn (literally, "ingChristian's Harbour") is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of th ...
with its canals. Børsen
Børsen (Danish for "the Exchange"), also known as Børsbygningen ("The (Stock) Exchange building" in English), is a 17th-century stock exchange in the center of Copenhagen. The historic building is situated next to Christiansborg Palace, the seat ...
on Slotsholmen and Frederiksborg Palace
Frederiksborg Castle ( da, Frederiksborg Slot) is a palatial complex in Hillerød, Denmark. It was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway in the early 17th century, replacing an older castle acquired by Frederick II ...
in Hillerød are prominent examples of the Dutch Renaissance
The Renaissance in the Low Countries was a cultural period in the Northern Renaissance that took place in around the 16th century in the Low Countries (corresponding to modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands and French Flanders).
Culture in the Low C ...
style in Copenhagen. Around the historical city centre lies a band of congenial residential boroughs ( Vesterbro, Inner Nørrebro, Inner Østerbro) dating mainly from late 19th century. They were built outside the old ramparts when the city was finally allowed to expand beyond its fortifications.
Sometimes referred to as "the City of Spires", Copenhagen is known for its horizontal skyline, broken only by the spires and towers of its churches and castles. Most characteristic of all is the Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
spire of the Church of Our Saviour Church of Our Saviour (or Savior), Church of the Savio(u)r, Church of Our Merciful Savio(u)r, or variations thereof, may refer to many Christian churches dedicated to Our Saviour (Our Lord), including:
Americas United States
(by state)
* Church ...
with its narrowing external spiral stairway that visitors can climb to the top. Other important spires are those of Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...
, the City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
and the former Church of St. Nikolaj that now houses a modern art
Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...
venue. Not quite so high are the Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
spires of Rosenborg Castle and the "dragon spire" of Christian IV's former stock exchange, so named because it resembles the intertwined tails of four dragons.
Copenhagen is recognised globally as an exemplar of best practice urban planning
Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
. Its thriving mixed use city centre is defined by striking contemporary architecture, engaging public spaces and an abundance of human activity. These design outcomes have been deliberately achieved through careful replanning in the second half of the 20th century.
Recent years have seen a boom in modern architecture in Copenhagen both for Danish architecture
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
and for works by international architects. For a few hundred years, virtually no foreign architects had worked in Copenhagen, but since the turn of the millennium the city and its immediate surroundings have seen buildings and projects designed by top international architects. British design magazine '' Monocle'' named Copenhagen the ''World's best design city 2008''.
Copenhagen's urban development in the first half of the 20th century was heavily influenced by industrialisation. After World War II, Copenhagen Municipality adopted Fordism and repurposed its medieval centre to facilitate private automobile infrastructure in response to innovations in transport, trade and communication. Copenhagen's spatial planning in this time frame was characterised by the separation of land uses: an approach which requires residents to travel by car to access facilities of different uses.
The boom in urban development and modern architecture
Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form ...
has brought some changes to the city's skyline. A political majority has decided to keep the historical centre free of high-rise buildings, but several areas will see or have already seen massive urban development. Ørestad
Ørestad () is a developing city area in Copenhagen, Denmark, on the island of Amager.
The area was developed using the new town concept, closely linked with the M1 line of the Copenhagen Metro. Economically, income for the plan would be generate ...
now has seen most of the recent development. Located near Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup ( da, Københavns Lufthavn, Kastrup, ; ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark, Zealand, the Øresund Region, and southern Sweden including Scania. It is the second largest airport in the Nordic coun ...
, it currently boasts one of the largest malls in Scandinavia and a variety of office and residential buildings as well as the IT University and a high school.
Parks, gardens and zoo
Copenhagen is a green city with many parks, both large and small. King's Garden ('), the garden of Rosenborg Castle, is the oldest and most frequented of them all. It was Christian IV who first developed its landscaping in 1606. Every year it sees more than 2.5 million visitors and in the summer months it is packed with sunbathers, picnickers and ballplayers. It serves as a sculpture garden
A sculpture garden or sculpture park is an outdoor garden or park which includes the presentation of sculpture, usually several permanently sited works in durable materials in landscaped surroundings.
A sculpture garden may be private, owned by a ...
with both a permanent display and temporary exhibits during the summer months. Also located in the city centre are the Botanical Gardens noted for their large complex of 19th-century greenhouses donated by Carlsberg Carlsberg may refer to:
Places
* Carlsberg (district), a district in Copenhagen, Denmark
** Carlsberg station, its train station
* Carlsberg, Germany, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
* Carlsberg Fjord, Greenland Other uses
* Carlsbe ...
founder J. C. Jacobsen
Jacob Christian Jacobsen (2 September 1811 – 30 April 1887), mostly known as J. C. Jacobsen, was a Denmark, Danish industrialist and philanthropist best known for founding the brewery Carlsberg Group, Carlsberg.
Biography
He had no formal acad ...
. Fælledparken at is the largest park in Copenhagen.
It is popular for sports fixtures and hosts several annual events including a free opera concert at the opening of the opera season, other open-air concerts, carnival
Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...
and Labour Day celebrations, and the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix, a race for antique car
An antique car is an automobile that is an antique. Narrower definitions vary based on how old a car must be to qualify. The Antique Automobile Club of America defines an antique car as over 25 years of age. However, the legal definitions for the ...
s. A historical green space in the northeastern part of the city is Kastellet, a well-preserved Renaissance citadel
A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core.
In ...
that now serves mainly as a park. Another popular park is the Frederiksberg Gardens, a 32-hectare romantic
Romantic may refer to:
Genres and eras
* The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries
** Romantic music, of that era
** Romantic poetry, of that era
** Romanticism in science, of that e ...
landscape park. It houses a colony of tame grey heron
The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern ...
s and other waterfowl
Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...
. The park offers views of the elephants and the elephant house designed by world-famous British architect Norman Foster of the adjacent Copenhagen Zoo. Langelinie, a park and promenade along the inner Øresund
Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width v ...
coast, is home to one of Copenhagen's most-visited tourist attractions, the Little Mermaid statue.
In Copenhagen, many cemeteries
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
double as parks, though only for the more quiet activities such as sunbathing, reading and meditation. Assistens Cemetery
Assistens Cemetery ( da, Assistens Kirkegård) is the name of a number of cemeteries in Denmark. The common nominator is, as the first part of the name implies (Latin: ''assistens'' meaning assisting), an assisting cemetery for a town's churches. ...
, the burial place of Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales.
Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...
, is an important green space for the district of Inner Nørrebro and a Copenhagen institution. The lesser known Vestre Kirkegaard is the largest cemetery in Denmark () and offers a maze of dense groves, open lawns, winding paths, hedges, overgrown tombs, monuments, tree-lined avenues, lakes and other garden feature
Garden features are physical elements, both natural and manmade, used in garden design.
*Artificial waterfall
*Avenue
*Aviary
*Bog garden
*Borrowed scenery
*Bosquet
* Broderie
*Belvedere
*Chashitsu (tea house)
*Chōzubachi (basin)
* Deck
*Dirty ...
s.
It is official municipal policy in Copenhagen that by 2015 all citizens must be able to reach a park or beach on foot in less than 15 minutes. In line with this policy, several new parks, including the innovative Superkilen
Superkilen is a public park in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. The park is designed to bring immigrants and locals together, promoting tolerance and unity in one of Denmark's most ethnically-diverse and socially-challenged communit ...
in the Nørrebro district, have been completed or are under development in areas lacking green spaces.
Landmarks by district
Indre By
The historic centre of the city, Indre By or the Inner City, features many of Copenhagen's most popular monuments and attractions. The area known as Frederiksstaden
Frederiksstaden is a district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Constructed during the reign of Frederick V of Denmark, Frederick V in the second half of the 18th century, it is considered to be one of the most important rococo complexes in Europe and was in ...
, developed by Frederik V in the second half of the 18th century in the Rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
style, has the four mansions of Amalienborg
Amalienborg () is the official residence for the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Queen Magrethe ll lives here in winter and autumn. It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo
Rococo (, ...
, the royal residence, and the wide-domed Marble Church at its centre. Directly across the water from Amalienborg, the 21st-century Copenhagen Opera House
The Copenhagen Opera House (in Danish usually called Operaen, literally ''The opera'') is the national opera house of Denmark, and among the most modern opera houses in the world. It is also one of the most expensive opera houses ever built at a ...
stands on the island of Holmen. To the south of Frederiksstaden, the Nyhavn canal is lined with colourful houses from the 17th and 18th centuries, many now with lively restaurants and bars. The canal runs from the harbour front to the spacious square of Kongens Nytorv which was laid out by Christian V
Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699.
Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decree ...
in 1670. Important buildings include Charlottenborg Palace, famous for its art exhibitions, the Thott Palace (now the French embassy), the Royal Danish Theatre and the Hotel D'Angleterre, dated to 1755. Other landmarks in Indre By include the parliament building of Christiansborg
Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...
, the City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
and Rundetårn, originally an observatory. There are also several museums in the area including Thorvaldsen Museum
The Thorvaldsen Museum is a single-artist museum in Copenhagen, Denmark, dedicated to the art of Danish Neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844), who lived and worked in Rome for most of his life (1796–1838). The museum is locat ...
dedicated to the 18th-century sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen
Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish and Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in ...
. Closed to traffic since 1964, Strøget, one of the world's oldest and longest pedestrian streets, runs the from Rådhuspladsen to Kongens Nytorv. With its speciality shops, cafés, restaurants, and buskers, it is always full of life and includes the old squares of Gammel Torv
Gammeltorv (Old Market) is the oldest square in Copenhagen, Denmark. With adjoining Nytorv it forms a common space along the Strøget pedestrian zone. While the square dates back to the foundation of the city in the 12th century, most of its build ...
and Amagertorv, each with a fountain. Rosenborg Castle on Øster Voldgade was built by Christian IV in 1606 as a summer residence in the Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
style. It houses the Danish crown jewels and crown regalia, the coronation throne and tapestries illustrating Christian V's victories in the Scanian War
The Scanian War ( da, Skånske Krig, , sv, Skånska kriget, german: Schonischer Krieg) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, ...
.
Christianshavn
Christianshavn
Christianshavn (literally, "ingChristian's Harbour") is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of th ...
lies to the southeast of Indre By on the other side of the harbour. The area was developed by Christian IV in the early 17th century. Impressed by the city of Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, he employed Dutch architects to create canals within its ramparts which are still well preserved today.[ The canals themselves, branching off the central Christianshavn Canal and lined with house boats and pleasure craft are one of the area's attractions. Another interesting feature is ]Freetown Christiania
Freetown Christiania, also known as Christiania ( da, Fristaden Christiania or '), is an intentional community, commune and micronation in the Christianshavn neighbourhood of the Danish capital city of Copenhagen, Christinia, Christianshavn, C ...
, a fairly large area which was initially occupied by squatters during student unrest in 1971. Today it still maintains a measure of autonomy. The inhabitants openly sell drugs on "Pusher Street" as well as their arts and crafts. Other buildings of interest in Christianshavn include the Church of Our Saviour Church of Our Saviour (or Savior), Church of the Savio(u)r, Church of Our Merciful Savio(u)r, or variations thereof, may refer to many Christian churches dedicated to Our Saviour (Our Lord), including:
Americas United States
(by state)
* Church ...
with its spiralling steeple and the magnificent Rococo Christian's Church
Christians's Church ( da, Christianskirken) is a church in Aarhus, Denmark. The church is situated in the northern Christiansbjerg neighbourhood on Frederikshaldsgade. It is a parish church, and the only church in Christians Parish, under the Di ...
. Once a warehouse, the North Atlantic House now displays culture from Iceland and Greenland and houses the Noma
Noma, NoMa, or NOMA may refer to:
Places
* NoMa, the area North of Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., US
** NoMa–Gallaudet U station, on Washington Metro
* Noma, Florida, US
* NOMA, Manchester, a redevelopment in England
* Noma Distr ...
restaurant, known for its Nordic cuisine.
Vesterbro
Vesterbro, to the southwest of Indre By, begins with the Tivoli Gardens
Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli, is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampe ...
, the city's top tourist attraction with its fairground atmosphere, its Pantomime Theatre, its Concert Hall
A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats.
This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...
and its many rides and restaurants. The Carlsberg Carlsberg may refer to:
Places
* Carlsberg (district), a district in Copenhagen, Denmark
** Carlsberg station, its train station
* Carlsberg, Germany, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
* Carlsberg Fjord, Greenland Other uses
* Carlsbe ...
neighbourhood has some interesting vestiges of the old brewery of the same name including the Elephant Gate and the Ny Carlsberg Brewhouse
The Ny Carlsberg Brewhouse (Danish: Ny Carlsberg Bryghus) is a historic, listed building in the Carlsberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark, on the border between Vesterbro and Valby.
History
The Ny Carlsberg Brewhouse was built by Carl Jacobsen ...
. The Tycho Brahe Planetarium is located on the edge of Skt. Jørgens Sø, one of the Copenhagen lakes. Halmtorvet
Halmtorvet (English: The Haymarket) is a public square in the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located next to Copenhagen Central Station in front of the Meat District. The oblong square eventually turns into Sønder Boulevard, ...
, the old hay market behind the Central Station, is an increasingly popular area with its cafés and restaurants. The former cattle market Øksnehallen has been converted into a modern exhibition centre for art and photography. Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, built by Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen
Arne Emil Jacobsen, Hon. FAIA () 11 February 1902 – 24 March 1971) was a Danish architect and furniture designer. He is remembered for his contribution to architectural functionalism and for the worldwide success he enjoyed with simple we ...
for the airline Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) between 1956 and 1960 was once the tallest hotel in Denmark with a height of and the city's only skyscraper until 1969. Completed in 1908, Det Ny Teater
Det Ny Teater (English: The New Theatre) is an established theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, first opened in 1908. It is based in a building which spans a passage between Vesterbrogade and Gammel Kongevej in Copenhagen's theatre district on the borde ...
(the New Theatre) located in a passage between Vesterbrogade and Gammel Kongevej has become a popular venue for musicals since its reopening in 1994, attracting the largest audiences in the country.
Nørrebro
Nørrebro
Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station ...
to the northwest of the city centre has recently developed from a working-class district into a colourful cosmopolitan area with antique shops, non-Danish food stores and restaurants. Much of the activity is centred on Sankt Hans Torv
Sankt Hans Torv ( lit. "St. John's Marketplace") is a public square in the heart of the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is dominated by a large granite sculpture by Jørgen Haugen Sørensen and is known for its thriving café scene. S ...
and around Rantzausgade
Rantzausgade is a street in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs from Åboulevard in the southeast to Jagtvej in the northeast where its name changes to Borups Allé.
History
Rantzausgade was originally called Nordvestvej ("No ...
. Copenhagen's historic cemetery, Assistens Kirkegård halfway up Nørrebrogade, is the resting place of many famous figures including Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( , , ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical texts on ...
, Niels Bohr, and Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales.
Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...
but is also used by locals as a park and recreation area.
Østerbro
Just north of the city centre, Østerbro is an upper middle-class district with a number of fine mansions, some now serving as embassies. The district stretches from Nørrebro to the waterfront where '' The Little Mermaid'' statue can be seen from the promenade known as Langelinie. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales.
Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...
's fairy tale, it was created by Edvard Eriksen
Edvard Eriksen (10 March 1876 – 12 January 1959) was a Danish–Icelandic sculptor.
Biography
He apprenticed as a wood carver, after which he trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts between 1894 and 1899.
Eriksen's most famous work i ...
and unveiled in 1913. Not far from the Little Mermaid, the old Citadel
A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core.
In ...
(''Kastellet'') can be seen. Built by Christian IV, it is one of northern Europe's best preserved fortifications. There is also a windmill in the area. The large Gefion Fountain () designed by and completed in 1908 stands close to the southeast corner of Kastellet. Its figures illustrate a Nordic legend.
Frederiksberg
Frederiksberg, a separate municipality within the urban area of Copenhagen
The urban area of Copenhagen (also known as Greater Copenhagen) ( da, Storkøbenhavn or ), lying mostly in the Capital Region of Denmark but also in Region Zealand, consist of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg municipalities and the former Copenhagen ...
, lies to the west of Nørrebro and Indre By and north of Vesterbro. Its landmarks include Copenhagen Zoo founded in 1869 with over 250 species from all over the world and Frederiksberg Palace built as a summer residence by Frederick IV who was inspired by Italian architecture. Now a military academy, it overlooks the extensive landscaped Frederiksberg Gardens with its follies, waterfalls, lakes and decorative buildings. The wide tree-lined avenue of Frederiksberg Allé
Frederiksberg Allé is a tree-lined avenue which runs through the southernmost part of the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It connects Vesterbrogade at Værnedamsvej to Frederiksberg Runddel in front of the main entrance to Frederik ...
connecting Vesterbrogade with the Frederiksberg Gardens has long been associated with theatres and entertainment. While a number of the earlier theatres are now closed, the Betty Nansen Theatre
Betty or Bettie is a name, a common diminutive for the names Bethany and Elizabeth. In Latin America, it is also a common diminutive for the given name Beatriz, the Spanish and Portuguese form of the Latin name Beatrix and the English name Beatric ...
and Aveny-T are still active.
Amagerbro
Amagerbro (also known as Sønderbro) is the district located immediately south-east of Christianshavn
Christianshavn (literally, "ingChristian's Harbour") is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of th ...
at northernmost Amager
Amager ( or, especially among older speakers, ) in the Øresund is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 212,000 inhabitants (January 2021) a small appendage to Zealand. The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (includi ...
. The old city moats and their surrounding parks constitute a clear border between these districts. The main street is Amagerbrogade
Amagerbrogade is the main shopping street and thoroughfare of the part of Copenhagen, Denmark that is located on the island of Amager . It begins at the end of the causeway which connects Amager to Christianshavn and the city centre on the other si ...
which after the harbour bridge Langebro
Langebro (literally "Long Bridge") is a bascule bridge across the Inner Harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, connecting Zealandside H. C. Andersens Boulevard to Amagerside Amager Boulevard. It is one of only two bridges to carry motor vehicles across t ...
, is an extension of H. C. Andersens Boulevard
H. C. Andersens Boulevard is the most densely trafficked artery in central Copenhagen, Denmark. The 1.3 km long six-lane street passes City Hall Square on its way from Jarmers Plads, a junction just north of Vesterport station, to Lange Bridge wh ...
and has a number of various stores and shops as well as restaurants and pubs. Amagerbro was built up during the two first decades of the twentieth century and is the city's southernmost block built area with typically 4–7 floors. Further south follows the Sundbyøster and Sundbyvester districts.
Other districts
Not far from Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup ( da, Københavns Lufthavn, Kastrup, ; ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark, Zealand, the Øresund Region, and southern Sweden including Scania. It is the second largest airport in the Nordic coun ...
on the Kastrup
Kastrup () is a suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark, on the east coast of Amager in Tårnby Municipality. It is the site of Copenhagen Airport. In Danish, the airport is often called ''Kastrup Lufthavn'' (Kastrup Airport) or ''Københavns Lufthavn, Kast ...
coast, The Blue Planet completed in March 2013 now houses the national aquarium. With its 53 aquariums, it is the largest facility of its kind in Scandinavia. Grundtvig's Church
Grundtvig's Church ( da, Grundtvigs Kirke) is located in the Bispebjerg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a rare example of expressionist church architecture. Due to its originality, it is one of the best known churches in the city.
History ...
, located in the northern suburb of Bispebjerg
Bispebjerg, more commonly referred to as Nordvest (English: North-West), is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. Located on the northern border of the municipality, it covers an area of 5.39 km² and a population of 40,033 ...
, was designed by P.V. Jensen Klint and completed in 1940. A rare example of Expressionist
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
church architecture, its striking west façade is reminiscent of a church organ.
Culture
Apart from being the national capital, Copenhagen also serves as the cultural hub of Denmark and wider Scandinavia. Since the late 1990s, it has undergone a transformation from a modest Scandinavian capital into a metropolitan city of international appeal in the same league as Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
and Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
. This is a result of huge investments in infrastructure and culture as well as the work of successful new Danish architects, designers and chefs. Copenhagen Fashion Week Copenhagen Fashion Week is an international fashion event, held twice a year in Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quart ...
, the largest fashion event in Northern Europe, takes place every year in February and August.
Museums
Copenhagen has a wide array of museums of international standing. The National Museum
A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...
, , is Denmark's largest museum of archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
and cultural history
Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing the ...
, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures alike. Denmark's National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
() is the national art museum with collections dating from the 12th century to the present. In addition to Danish painters, artists represented in the collections include Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
, Rembrandt
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
, Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
, Braque
Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...
, Léger, Matisse
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...
, Emil Nolde
Emil Nolde (born Hans Emil Hansen; 7 August 1867 – 13 April 1956) was a German-Danish painter and printmaker. He was one of the first Expressionists, a member of Die Brücke, and was one of the first oil painting and watercolor painters of the ...
, Olafur Eliasson, Elmgreen and Dragset
Michael Elmgreen (born 1961; Copenhagen, Denmark) and Ingar Dragset (born 1969; Trondheim, Norway) have worked together as an artist duo since 1995. Their work explores the relationship between art, architecture and design.
Elmgreen & Dragset liv ...
, Superflex
Superflex is a Danish artist group founded in 1993 by Jakob Fenger, Rasmus Nielsen and Bjørnstjerne Christiansen. Superflex describe their projects as ''Tools'', as proposals that invite people to participate in and communicate the development o ...
and Jens Haaning
Jens Haaning (born 1965) is a Danish conceptual, contemporary artist living and working in Copenhagen.
Haaning has produced a body of artworks since the 1990s, which attempt to offer an acute reflection of a complex and changing society in the ...
.
Another important Copenhagen art museum is the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek founded by second generation Carlsberg Carlsberg may refer to:
Places
* Carlsberg (district), a district in Copenhagen, Denmark
** Carlsberg station, its train station
* Carlsberg, Germany, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
* Carlsberg Fjord, Greenland Other uses
* Carlsbe ...
philanthropist Carl Jacobsen
Carl Christian Hillman Jacobsen (2 March 1842 – 11 January 1914) was a Danish brewer, art collector and philanthropist. Though often preoccupied with his cultural interests, Jacobsen was a shrewd and visionary businessman and initiated the tra ...
and built around his personal collections. Its main focus is classical Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
, Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
and Greek sculptures and antiquities and a collection of Rodin
François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...
sculptures, the largest outside France. Besides its sculpture collections, the museum also holds a comprehensive collection of paintings of Impressionist
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
and Post-Impressionist
Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...
painters such as Monet
Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...
, Renoir, Cézanne, van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inclu ...
and Toulouse-Lautrec as well as works by the Danish Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...
painters.
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
is a Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
situated on the coast just north of Copenhagen. It is located in the middle of a sculpture garden on a cliff overlooking Øresund
Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width v ...
. Its collection of over 3,000 items includes works by Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
, Giacometti and Dubuffet
Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French Painting, painter and sculpture, sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what ...
. The Danish Design Museum is housed in the 18th-century former Frederiks Hospital and displays Danish design as well as international design and crafts.
Other museums include: the Thorvaldsens Museum, dedicated to the oeuvre
Oeuvre(s) or Œuvre(s) may refer to:
* A work of art; or, more commonly, the body of work of a creator
Books
* ''L'Œuvre'', a novel by Émile Zola
* ''Œuvres'', a work by Emil Cioran
* ''Œuvres'', a work by Auguste Brizeux
* ''Oeuvres'', a wor ...
of romantic Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen
Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish and Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in ...
who lived and worked in Rome; the Cisternerne museum, an exhibition space for contemporary art, located in former cistern
A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...
s that come complete with stalactite
A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via
''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble an ...
s formed by the changing water levels; and the Ordrupgaard Museum, located just north of Copenhagen, which features 19th-century French and Danish art and is noted for its works by Paul Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...
.
Entertainment and performing arts
The new Copenhagen Concert Hall opened in January 2009. Designed by Jean Nouvel, it has four halls with the main auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...
seating 1,800 people. It serves as the home of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Danish: ''DR Symfoniorkestret''; English abbreviation "DNSO"), is a Danish orchestra based in Copenhagen. The DNSO is the principal orchestra of DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation). The DRSO is based at th ...
and along with the Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 24, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Ave ...
in Los Angeles is the most expensive concert hall ever built. Another important venue for classical music is the Tivoli Concert Hall
Tivoli Concert Hall ( da, Tivolis Koncertsal) is a 1,660-capacity concert hall at Tivoli (Copenhagen), Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark. The building, which was designed by Frits Schlegel and Hans Hansen (architect), Hans Hansen, was built be ...
located in the Tivoli Gardens
Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli, is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampe ...
. Designed by Henning Larsen
Henning Larsen, Hon. FAIA (20 August 1925 – 22 June 2013) was a Danish architect. He is internationally known for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Riyadh and the Copenhagen Opera House.
Larsen studied at the Royal Danish Academy ...
, the Copenhagen Opera House
The Copenhagen Opera House (in Danish usually called Operaen, literally ''The opera'') is the national opera house of Denmark, and among the most modern opera houses in the world. It is also one of the most expensive opera houses ever built at a ...
() opened in 2005. It is among the most modern opera houses in the world. The Royal Danish Theatre also stages opera in addition to its drama productions. It is also home to the Royal Danish Ballet. Founded in 1748 along with the theatre, it is one of the oldest ballet troupes in Europe, and is noted for its Bournonville style of ballet.
Copenhagen has a significant jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
scene that has existed for many years. It developed when a number of American jazz musician
This is a list of jazz musicians by instrument based on existing articles on Wikipedia. Do not enter names that lack articles. Do not enter names that lack sources.
Accordion
* Kamil Běhounek (1916–1983)
* Luciano Biondini (born 1971)
* A ...
s such as Ben Webster, Thad Jones, Richard Boone, Ernie Wilkins, Kenny Drew
Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist.
Biography
Drew was born in New York City, United States, and received piano lessons from the age of five.Feather, Leonard, & Ira Gitler (2 ...
, Ed Thigpen, Bob Rockwell, Dexter Gordon, and others such as rock guitarist Link Wray
Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s.
''Rolling Stone'' placed Wray at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 2013 ...
came to live in Copenhagen during the 1960s. Every year in early July, Copenhagen's streets, squares, parks as well as cafés and concert halls fill up with big and small jazz concerts during the Copenhagen Jazz Festival
Copenhagen Jazz Festival is a jazz event every July in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. Copenhagen Jazz Festival was established in 1979, but beginning in 1964 Tivoli Gardens presented a series of concerts under the name Copenhagen Jazz Festiva ...
. One of Europe's top jazz festivals, the annual event features around 900 concerts at 100 venues with over 200,000 guests from Denmark and around the world.
The largest venue for popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
in Copenhagen is Vega
Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only from the Sun, an ...
in the Vesterbro district. It was chosen as "best concert venue in Europe" by international music magazine ''Live''. The venue has three concert halls: the great hall, Store Vega, accommodates audiences of 1,550, the middle hall, Lille Vega, has space for 500 and Ideal Bar Live has a capacity of 250. Every September since 2006, the Festival of Endless Gratitude (FOEG) has taken place in Copenhagen. This festival focuses on indie counterculture
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...
, experimental pop music
Experimental pop is pop music that cannot be categorized within traditional musical boundaries or which attempts to push elements of existing popular forms into new areas. It may incorporate experimental techniques such as musique concrète, a ...
and left field music combined with visual arts exhibitions.
For free entertainment one can stroll along Strøget, especially between Nytorv
Nytorv ( English: New Square or New Market) is a public square in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. Together with the adjoining Gammeltorv it forms a common space, today part of the Strøget pedestrian zone. The square is dominated by the imposi ...
and Højbro Plads
Højbro Plads (literally "High Bridge Square") is a rectangular public square located between the adjoining Amagertorv and Slotsholmen Canal in the City Centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. It takes its name from the Højbro Bridge which connects it t ...
, which in the late afternoon and evening is a bit like an impromptu three-ring circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...
with musicians, magicians, jugglers and other street performers
Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pra ...
.
Literature
Most of Denmarks's major publishing houses are based in Copenhagen. These include the book publishers Gyldendal and Akademisk Forlag Akademisk Forlag is a Danish book publishing company based in Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and so ...
and newspaper publishers Berlingske
''Berlingske'', previously known as ''Berlingske Tidende'' (, ''Berling's Times''), is a Danish national daily newspaper based in Copenhagen. It is considered a newspaper of record for Denmark. First published on 3 January 1749,
''Berlingske'' ...
and Politiken (the latter also publishing books). Many of the most important contributors to Danish literature such as Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) with his fairy tales, the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) and playwright Ludvig Holberg (1684–1754) spent much of their lives in Copenhagen. Novels set in Copenhagen include '' Baby'' (1973) by Kirsten Thorup
Kirsten Thorup is a Danish author.
Background and education
Kirsten Thorup was born in Gelsted, Funen, Denmark in 1942. After a brief stay in Cambridge as an au pair, she studied English at the University of Copenhagen. She quit university alre ...
, '' The Copenhagen Connection'' (1982) by Barbara Mertz
Barbara Louise Mertz (September 29, 1927 – August 8, 2013) was an American author who wrote under her own name as well as under the pseudonyms Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels. In 1952, she received a PhD in Egyptology from the Univers ...
, ''Number the Stars
''Number the Stars'' is a work of historical fiction by the American author Lois Lowry about the escape of a family of Jews from Copenhagen, Denmark, during World War II.
The story centers on 10-year-old Annemarie Johansen, who lives with her ...
'' (1989) by Lois Lowry, ''Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow
''Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow'' (published in America as ''Smilla's Sense of Snow'') (Danish: ''Frøken Smillas fornemmelse for sne'') is a 1992 novel by Danish author Peter Høeg tracing the investigation into the suspicious death of a Greenl ...
'' (1992) and ''Borderliners
''Borderliners'' is the English translation of ''De måske egnede'', a novel written by Danish author Peter Høeg in 1993. It is about three children – Peter, Katarina, and August – who attend a private school in Copenhagen in the mid-1970s. ...
'' (1993) by Peter Høeg
Peter Høeg (born 17 May 1957) is a Danish writer of fiction. He is best known for his novel '' Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow'' (1992).
Early life
Høeg was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Before becoming a writer, he worked variously as a sailor, ...
, ''Music and Silence
''Music and Silence'' is a historical novel written by English author Rose Tremain. It is set in and around the court of Christian IV of Denmark in the years 1629 and 1630.
The book won Best Novel at the 1999 Whitbread Awards.
The main histo ...
'' (1999) by Rose Tremain, ''The Danish Girl
''The Danish Girl'' is a novel by American writer David Ebershoff, published in 2000 by the Viking Press in the United States and Allen & Unwin in Australia.
Summary
The novel is a fictionalized account of the life of Lili Elbe, one of the fir ...
'' (2000) by David Ebershoff, and ''Sharpe's Prey
''Sharpe's Prey'' is the fifth historical novel in the Sharpe (novel series), Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, first published in 2001. The story is set in 1807 during the Napoleonic Wars .
Second Lieutenant Richard Sharpe is sent to ...
'' (2001) by Bernard Cornwell. Michael Frayn's 1998 play ''Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
'' about the meeting between the physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe.
Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...
s Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg
Werner Karl Heisenberg () (5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist and one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics. He published his work in 1925 in a breakthrough paper. In the subsequent series ...
in 1941 is also set in the city. On 15–18 August 1973, an oral literature conference took place in Copenhagen as part of the 9th International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences.
The Royal Library, belonging to the University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...
, is the largest library in the Nordic countries with an almost complete collection of all printed Danish books since 1482. Founded in 1648, the Royal Library is located at four sites in the city, the main one being on the Slotsholmen waterfront. Copenhagen's public library network has over 20 outlets, the largest being the Central Library () on Krystalgade
Krystalgade (literally "Crystal Street") is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, connecting Nørregade to Købmagergade. Copenhagen Central Library and the Great Synagogue (Copenhagen), Great Synagogue of Copenhagen are located in the street.
...
in the inner city.
Art
Copenhagen has a wide selection of art museums and galleries displaying both historic works and more modern contributions. They include Statens Museum for Kunst, i.e. the Danish national art gallery, in the Østre Anlæg
Østre Anlæg is a public park in Copenhagen. Once it was a part of the old city fortifications. The park was designed by landscape architect H.A. Flindt who also designed Ørstedsparken and Copenhagen Botanical Garden on the old fortification. ...
park, and the adjacent Hirschsprung Collection specialising in the 19th and early 20th century. Kunsthal Charlottenborg in the city centre exhibits national and international contemporary art. Den Frie Udstilling near the Østerport Station exhibits paintings created and selected by contemporary artists themselves rather than by the official authorities. The Arken Museum of Modern Art
ARKEN Museum of Modern Art ( da, ARKEN Museum for Moderne Kunst) is a private non-for-profit charity, state authorised, contemporary art museum in Ishøj near Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. The museum is amongst Denmark's major contemporary a ...
is located in southwestern Ishøj. Among artists who have painted scenes of Copenhagen are Martinus Rørbye
Martinus Christian Wesseltoft Rørbye (; 17 May 1803 – 29 August 1848) was a Danish painter, known both for genre works and landscapes. He was a central figure of the Golden Age of Danish painting during the first half of the 19th century.
Th ...
(1803–1848), Christen Købke (1810–1848) and the prolific Paul Gustav Fischer
Paul Gustav Fischer (22 July 1860 – 1 May 1934) was a Danish painter.
Biography
Paul Fischer was born in Copenhagen, Denmark.
He belonged to the fourth generation of a Jewish family which originally came from Poland.
He was the son of P ...
(1860–1934).
A number of notable sculptures can be seen in the city. In addition to ''The Little Mermaid'' on the waterfront, there are two historic equestrian statues in the city centre: Jacques Saly
Jacques François Joseph Saly, also known as Jacques Saly (20 June 1717 – 4 May 1776), French-born sculptor who worked in France, Italy and Malta. He is commonly associated with his time in Denmark he served as Director of the Royal Danis ...
's '' Frederik V on Horseback'' (1771) in Amalienborg Square and the statue of Christian V
Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699.
Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decree ...
on Kongens Nytorv created by Abraham-César Lamoureux in 1688 who was inspired by the statue of Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...
in Paris. Rosenborg Castle Gardens
Rosenborg Castle Gardens (Danish: Kongens Have literally The King's Garden) is the oldest and most visited park in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Established in the early 17th century as the private gardens of King Christian IV's Rosenborg Castle, th ...
contains several sculptures and monuments including August Saabye
August Vilhelm Saabye (7 August 1823 – 12 November 1916), also known as August Wilhelm Saabye, was a Danish sculptor.
Early life and education
Saabye was born in Skivholme, , Aarhus, the son of vicar Erhard Saabye (1778–1851) and Susa ...
's Hans Christian Andersen, Aksel Hansen's Echo, and Vilhelm Bissen
Christian Gottlieb Vilhelm Bissen (5 August 1836 – 20 April 1913) was a Danish sculptor. He was also a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts with great influence on the next generation of Danish sculptors and for a while serv ...
's Dowager Queen Caroline Amalie.
Copenhagen is believed to have invented the photomarathon A photomarathon is a photography competition in which participants must take a series of photographs on predetermined subjects in a set period of time, typically 12 to 24 hours. On most competitions, part of the rules is that photos should be handed ...
photography competition, which has been held in the City each year since 1989.
Cuisine
, Copenhagen has 15 Michelin-starred
The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...
restaurants, the most of any Scandinavian city. The city is increasingly recognized internationally as a gourmet destination. These include Den Røde Cottage, Formel B Restaurant, Grønbech & Churchill, Søllerød Kro, Kadeau, Kiin Kiin (Denmark's first Michelin-starred Asian gourmet restaurant), the French restaurant Kong Hans Kælder, Relæ, Restaurant AOC with two Stars, and Noma
Noma, NoMa, or NOMA may refer to:
Places
* NoMa, the area North of Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., US
** NoMa–Gallaudet U station, on Washington Metro
* Noma, Florida, US
* NOMA, Manchester, a redevelopment in England
* Noma Distr ...
(short for Danish: ''no''rdisk ''ma''d, English: Nordic food) as well as Geranium
''Geranium'' is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, but mostly in ...
with three. Noma was ranked as the Best Restaurant in the World
The World's Best 50 Restaurants is a list produced by UK media company William Reed, which originally appeared in the British magazine ''Restaurant'' in 2002. The list and awards however are no longer directly related to ''Restaurant'' magazine ...
by ''Restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
'' in 2010, 2011, 2012, and again in 2014, sparking interest in the New Nordic Cuisine
New Nordic Cuisine ( da, Det nye nordiske køkken, sv, Det nya nordiska köket, no, Det nye nordiske kjøkken, fi, Uusi pohjoismainen keittiö) is a culinary movement which has been developed in the Nordic countries, and Scandinavia in parti ...
.
Apart from the selection of upmarket restaurants, Copenhagen offers a great variety of Danish, ethnic and experimental restaurants. It is possible to find modest eateries serving open sandwich
An open sandwich, also known as an open-face/open-faced sandwich, bread baser, bread platter or tartine, consists of a slice of bread or toast with one or more food items on top.
History
During the start of the middle ages, thin slabs of coarse ...
es, known as smørrebrød
(; originally , "butter and bread") smørbrød "butter bread" (Norwegian language, Norwegian), is a traditional open-faced sandwich in the cuisine of Denmark, cuisines of Denmark, Cuisine of Norway, Norway and Cuisine of Sweden, Sweden that usua ...
– a traditional, Danish lunch dish; however, most restaurants serve international dishes. Danish pastry
A Danish pastry ( da, wienerbrød ) sometimes shortened to just Danish, especially in American English) is a multilayered, laminated sweet pastry in the ''viennoiserie'' tradition. The concept was brought to Denmark by Austrian bakers, where the r ...
can be sampled from any of numerous bakeries found in all parts of the city. The Copenhagen Bakers' Association (Danish: ) dates back to the 1290s and Denmark's oldest confectioner's shop still operating, ''Conditori La Glace'', was founded in 1870 in Skoubogade by Nicolaus Henningsen, a trained master baker from Flensburg
Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...
.
Copenhagen has long been associated with beer. Carlsberg Carlsberg may refer to:
Places
* Carlsberg (district), a district in Copenhagen, Denmark
** Carlsberg station, its train station
* Carlsberg, Germany, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
* Carlsberg Fjord, Greenland Other uses
* Carlsbe ...
beer has been brewed at the brewery's premises on the border between the Vesterbro and Valby districts since 1847 and has long been almost synonymous with Danish beer production. However, recent years have seen an explosive growth in the number of microbreweries so that Denmark today has more than 100 breweries, many of which are located in Copenhagen. Some like Nørrebro Bryghus also act as brewpubs
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...
where it is also possible to eat on the premises.
Nightlife and festivals
Copenhagen has one of the highest number of restaurants and bars per capita in the world. The nightclubs and bars stay open until 5 or 6 in the morning, some even longer. Denmark has a very liberal alcohol culture and a strong tradition for beer breweries, although binge drinking is frowned upon and the Danish Police take driving under the influence
Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...
very seriously. Inner city areas such as Istedgade
Istedgade (also called ''Strassen'') is a 1-kilometer straight street in the district of Vesterbro in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. It starts at Copenhagen Central Station and runs parallel to Vesterbrogade to Enghave Plads and Enghaveparken. ...
and Enghave Plads
Enghave Plads is a central public square of the Vesterbro district in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located where Istedgade reaches Enghavevej, which separates the square from Enghave Park.
History
Enghave Plads was established when the Vesterbro ...
in Vesterbro, Sankt Hans Torv
Sankt Hans Torv ( lit. "St. John's Marketplace") is a public square in the heart of the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is dominated by a large granite sculpture by Jørgen Haugen Sørensen and is known for its thriving café scene. S ...
in Nørrebro and certain places in Frederiksberg are especially noted for their nightlife. Notable nightclubs include Bakken Kbh, ARCH (previously ZEN), Jolene, The Jane, Chateau Motel, KB3, At Dolores (previously Sunday Club), Rust, Vega Nightclub, Culture Box and Gefährlich, which also serves as a bar, café, restaurant, and art gallery.
Copenhagen has several recurring community festivals, mainly in the summer. Copenhagen Carnival
Copenhagen Carnival is an annual carnival event taking place in Fælledparken and on the streets of Copenhagen, Denmark for three days (Friday-Sunday) during the Whitsun Holiday.
Over the years it has developed into the largest Danish festival f ...
has taken place every year since 1982 during the Whitsun Holiday in Fælledparken and around the city with the participation of 120 bands, 2,000 dancers and 100,000 spectators. Since 2010, the old B&W Shipyard at Refshaleøen in the harbour has been the location for Copenhell
Copenhell is a heavy metal festival held annually at Refshaleøen in Copenhagen, Denmark, since 2010. It was one of the first open-air heavy metal festivals in Denmark.
The festival started in 2010 with two stages, the main stage Helviti and se ...
, a heavy metal rock music festival. Copenhagen Pride is a gay pride festival taking place every year in August. The Pride has a series of different activities all over Copenhagen, but it is at the City Hall Square that most of the celebration takes place. During the Pride the square is renamed Pride Square. Copenhagen Distortion
Copenhagen Distortion is a celebration of "Copenhagen Night Life and New Dance Music". With an estimated 100,000 guests per day, it is one of the largest annual gatherings in Europe. The Distortion week starts with 20-40 street parties in the N ...
has emerged to be one of the biggest street festivals in Europe with 100,000 people joining to parties in the beginning of June every year.
Amusement parks
Copenhagen has the two oldest amusement parks in the world.
Dyrehavsbakken
(), commonly referred to as (), is an amusement park in Lyngby-Taarbæk Kommune, Denmark, near Klampenborg (Gentofte municipality), about north of central Copenhagen.
It opened in and is the world's oldest operating amusement park.
With 2. ...
, a fair-ground and pleasure-park established in 1583, is located in Klampenborg
Klampenborg is a northern suburb to Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located in Gentofte Municipality, directly on Øresund, between Taarbæk and Skovshoved. Like other neighbourhoods along the Øresund coast, Klampenborg is an affluent area with many ...
just north of Copenhagen in a forested area known as Dyrehaven. Created as an amusement park complete with rides, games and restaurants by Christian IV, it is the oldest surviving amusement park in the world. Pierrot ( da, links=no, Pjerrot), a nitwit dressed in white with a scarlet grin wearing a boat-like hat while entertaining children, remains one of the park's key attractions. In Danish, Dyrehavsbakken is often abbreviated as . There is no entrance fee to pay and Klampenborg Station on the C-line, is situated nearby.
The Tivoli Gardens
Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli, is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampe ...
is an amusement park and pleasure garden located in central Copenhagen between the City Hall Square and the Central Station. It opened in 1843, making it the second-oldest amusement park in the world. Among its rides are the oldest still operating rollercoaster from 1915 and the oldest ferris wheel still in use, opened in 1943. Tivoli Gardens also serves as a venue for various performing arts and as an active part of the cultural scene in Copenhagen.
Education
Copenhagen has over 94,000 students enrolled in its largest universities and institutions: University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...
(38,867 students), Copenhagen Business School
Copenhagen Business School (Danish'': Handelshøjskolen i København'') often abbreviated and referred to as CBS (also in Danish), is a public university situated in Copenhagen, Denmark and is considered one of the most prestigious business schoo ...
(20,000 students), Metropolitan University College
The Metropolitan University College ( da, Professionshøjskolen Metropol), also referred to as Metropolitan UC or MUC, is a university college offering a range of bachelor's degree and academy profession degree programmes in Copenhagen, Denmark. A ...
and University College Capital
University College Capital( da, Professionshøjskolen UCC) is one of eight new regional organizations of different study sites in Denmark ( da, professionshøjskoler) offering bachelor courses of all kinds in Copenhagen and North Zealand.
Profess ...
(10,000 students each), Technical University of Denmark
The Technical University of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet), often simply referred to as DTU, is a polytechnic university and school of engineering. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's fi ...
(7,000 students), KEA (c. 4,500 students), IT University of Copenhagen (2,000 students) and the Copenhagen campus of Aalborg University (2,300 students).
The University of Copenhagen is Denmark's oldest university founded in 1479. It attracts some 1,500 international and exchange students every year. The Academic Ranking of World Universities
The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong University ...
placed it 30th in the world in 2016.
The Technical University of Denmark is located in Lyngby in the northern outskirts of Copenhagen. In 2013, it was ranked as one of the leading technical universities in Northern Europe. The IT University is Denmark's youngest university, a mono-faculty institution focusing on technical, societal and business aspects of information technology.
The Danish Academy of Fine Arts
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark.
History
The Royal Dani ...
has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years. It includes the historic School of Visual Arts, and has in later years come to include a School of Architecture
This is a list of architecture schools at colleges and universities around the world.
An architecture school (also known as a school of architecture or college of architecture), is an institution specializing in architectural education.
Africa
...
, a School of Design and a School of Conservation. Copenhagen Business School
Copenhagen Business School (Danish'': Handelshøjskolen i København'') often abbreviated and referred to as CBS (also in Danish), is a public university situated in Copenhagen, Denmark and is considered one of the most prestigious business schoo ...
(CBS) is an EQUIS-accredited business school located in Frederiksberg.
There are also branches of both University College Capital
University College Capital( da, Professionshøjskolen UCC) is one of eight new regional organizations of different study sites in Denmark ( da, professionshøjskoler) offering bachelor courses of all kinds in Copenhagen and North Zealand.
Profess ...
and Metropolitan University College
The Metropolitan University College ( da, Professionshøjskolen Metropol), also referred to as Metropolitan UC or MUC, is a university college offering a range of bachelor's degree and academy profession degree programmes in Copenhagen, Denmark. A ...
inside and outside Copenhagen.
Sport
The city has a variety of sporting teams. The major football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
teams are the historically successful FC København
Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...
and Brøndby. FC København plays at Parken
Parken Stadium, also known simply as Parken and as Telia Parken (2014–2020), is a football stadium in the Indre Østerbro (''Inner Østerbro'') district of Copenhagen, Denmark, built from 1990 to 1992. The stadium, which features a retractable ...
in Østerbro. Formed in 1992, it is a merger of two older Copenhagen clubs, B 1903
Boldklubben 1903 or B 1903 is a football club founded on 2 June 1903, located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Seven times winner of the Danish championship (introduced 1913) in 1920, 1924, 1926, 1938, 1969, 1970 and 1976 and twice winner of the Danish ...
(from the inner suburb Gentofte) and KB (from Frederiksberg). Brøndby plays at Brøndby Stadion in the inner suburb of Brøndbyvester
Brøndbyvester () is a Danish town, seat and main settlement of the Brøndby Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden. It is known for housing the stadium of football team Brøndby IF.
History
The town is the original core of Brøndby and somet ...
. BK Frem
Boldklubben Frem (also known as Frem, BK Frem or BK Frem Copenhagen) is a Danish sports club based in the Valby- Sydhavnen area of Copenhagen. It is best known for its semi-professional football team. Since its foundation in 1886, Frem has wo ...
is based in the southern part of Copenhagen (Sydhavnen, Valby). Other teams of more significant stature are FC Nordsjælland (from suburban Farum
Farum is a town on the northeast of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark, 20 km northwest of Copenhagen. The town has a population of 20,312 (1 January 2022). ), Fremad Amager, B93, AB, Lyngby and Hvidovre IF.
Copenhagen has several handball teams—a sport which is particularly popular in Denmark. Of clubs playing in the "highest" leagues, there are Ajax, Ydun, and HIK (Hellerup
Hellerup () is a very affluent district of Gentofte Municipality in the suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. The most urban part of the district is centred on Strandvejen and is bordered by Østerbro to the south and the Øresund to the east. It compri ...
).[ The København Håndbold women's club has recently been established. Copenhagen also has ]ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
teams, of which three play in the top league, Rødovre Mighty Bulls
The Rødovre Mighty Bulls is a Danish professional ice hockey team based in Rødovre, Denmark, playing in the Metal Ligaen, the top tier of Danish ice hockey. The club was founded in 1961 and play their home games in the Rødovre Skøjte Arena w ...
, Herlev Eagles
The Herlev Eagles are a Danish ice hockey team based in Herlev, part of the Urban area of Copenhagen, that plays in the Metal Ligaen the top tier of the sport in Denmark. The team is based in Herlev and play their home games at the Herlev Skøjte ...
and Hvidovre Ligahockey all inner suburban clubs. Copenhagen Ice Skating Club founded in 1869 is the oldest ice hockey team in Denmark but is no longer in the top league.
Rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
is also played in the Danish capital with teams such as CSR-Nanok, Copenhagen Business School Sport Rugby, Frederiksberg RK, Exiles RUFC
The Technical University of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet), often simply referred to as DTU, is a polytechnic university and school of engineering. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's fi ...
and Rugbyklubben Speed. Rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
is now played in Copenhagen, with the national team playing out of Gentofte Stadion. The Danish Australian Football League, based in Copenhagen is the largest Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
competition outside of the English-speaking world
Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest languag ...
.[
Copenhagen Marathon, Copenhagen's annual ]marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
event, was established in 1980.
Round Christiansborg Open Water Swim Race is a open water swimming
Open water swimming is a swimming discipline which takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, lakes, and rivers.
The beginning of the modern age of open water human swimming, swimming is sometimes taken to be May 3, 1810, when L ...
competition taking place each year in late August. This amateur event is combined with a Danish championship. In 2009 the event included a FINA World Cup competition in the morning. Copenhagen hosted the 2011 UCI Road World Championships
The 2011 UCI Road World Championships took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, over 19–25 September 2011. The event consisted of a cycling road race and a time trial for men, women, men under 23, and for the first time since 2004 the junior men and j ...
in September 2011, taking advantage of its bicycle-friendly infrastructure. It was the first time that Denmark had hosted the event since 1956, when it was also held in Copenhagen.
Transport
Airport
The greater Copenhagen area has a very well established transportation infrastructure making it a hub in Northern Europe. Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup ( da, Københavns Lufthavn, Kastrup, ; ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark, Zealand, the Øresund Region, and southern Sweden including Scania. It is the second largest airport in the Nordic coun ...
, opened in 1925, is Scandinavia's largest airport, located in Kastrup
Kastrup () is a suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark, on the east coast of Amager in Tårnby Municipality. It is the site of Copenhagen Airport. In Danish, the airport is often called ''Kastrup Lufthavn'' (Kastrup Airport) or ''Københavns Lufthavn, Kast ...
on the island of Amager. It is connected to the city centre by metro and main line railway services. October 2013 was a record month with 2.2 million passengers, and November 2013 figures reveal that the number of passengers is increasing by some 3% annually, about 50% more than the European average.
Road, rail and ferry
Copenhagen has an extensive road network including motorways connecting the city to other parts of Denmark and to Sweden over the Øresund Bridge. The car is still the most popular form of transport within the city itself, representing two-thirds of all distances travelled. This can however lead to serious congestion in rush hour traffic. The Øresund train links Copenhagen with Malmö 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Copenhagen is also served by a daily ferry connection to Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
in Norway. In 2012, Copenhagen Harbour handled 372 cruise ships and 840,000 passengers.
The Copenhagen S-Train, Copenhagen Metro
The Copenhagen Metro ( da, Københavns Metro, ) is a 24/7 rapid transit system in Copenhagen, Denmark, serving the municipalities of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, and Tårnby.
The original system opened in October 2002, serving nine stations on t ...
and the regional train networks are used by about half of the city's passengers, the remainder using bus services. Nørreport Station near the city centre serves passengers travelling by main-line rail, S-train, regional train, metro and bus. Some 750,000 passengers make use of public transport facilities every day.[ Copenhagen Central Station is the hub of the ]DSB DSB may refer to:
Science, technology and devices
* DsbA, a bacterial member of the Dsb (disulfide bond) family of enzymes
* Double strand break, a break in both DNA strands, part of DNA repair
* in telecommunications, double-sideband transmission ...
railway network serving Denmark and international destinations.
The Copenhagen Metro
The Copenhagen Metro ( da, Københavns Metro, ) is a 24/7 rapid transit system in Copenhagen, Denmark, serving the municipalities of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, and Tårnby.
The original system opened in October 2002, serving nine stations on t ...
expanded radically with the opening of the City Circle Line (M3) on 29 September 2019. The new line connects all inner boroughs of the city by metro, including the Central Station, and opens up 17 new stations for Copenhageners. On 28 March 2020, the Nordhavn extension of the Harbour Line ( M4) opened. Running from Copenhagen Central Station, the new extension is a branch line of M3 Cityring to Østerport. The M4 Sydhavn branch is expected to open in 2024. The new metro lines are part of the city's strategy to transform mobility towards sustainable modes of transport such as public transport and cycling as opposed to automobility.
Copenhagen is cited by urban planners for its exemplary integration of public transport and urban development. In implementing its Finger Plan
The Finger Plan ( da, Fingerplanen) is an urban planning, urban plan from 1947 which provides a strategy for the development of the Copenhagen metropolitan area, Denmark. According to the plan, Copenhagen is to develop along five 'fingers', centre ...
, Copenhagen is considered the world's first example of a transit metropolis, and areas around S-Train stations like Ballerup
Ballerup is a Danish town, seat of the Ballerup Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden.
There are approximately 25 schools in Ballerup Municipality.
Ballerup has its own educational institution specialized in the study, training and research of ...
and Brøndby Strand are among the earliest examples of transit-oriented development.
Cycling
Copenhagen has been rated as one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world since 2015, with bicycles outnumbering its inhabitants. In 2012 some 36% of all working or studying city-dwellers cycled to work, school, or university. With 1.27 million km covered every working day by Copenhagen's cyclists (including both residents and commuters), and 75% of Copenhageners cycling throughout the year. The city's bicycle paths
Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except wher ...
are extensive and well used, boasting of cycle lanes not shared with cars or pedestrians, and sometimes have their own signal systems – giving the cyclists a lead of a couple of seconds to accelerate.
Healthcare
Promoting health is an important issue for Copenhagen's municipal authorities. Central to its sustainability mission is its "Long Live Copenhagen" () scheme in which it has the goal of increasing the life expectancy of citizens, improving quality of life through better standards of health, and encouraging more productive lives and equal opportunities. The city has targets to encourage people to exercise regularly and to reduce the number who smoke and consume alcohol.[
Copenhagen University Hospital forms a conglomerate of several hospitals in Region Hovedstaden and Region Sjælland, together with the faculty of ]health sciences
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to health sciences:
Health sciences are those sciences which focus on health, or health care, as core parts of their subject matter. Health sciences relate to multiple acad ...
at the University of Copenhagen; Rigshospitalet
Rigshospitalet (meaning ''The National'', ''State'' or ''Hospital of the Realm'', but not usually translated) is the largest public and teaching hospital in Copenhagen and the most highly specialised hospital in Denmark. The hospital's main buildi ...
and Bispebjerg Hospital
Bispebjerg Hospital is one of the hospitals in the Capital Region of Denmark. Along with a number of other hospitals and the University of Copenhagen (the Faculty of Health Sciences), Bispebjerg Hospital forms part of the Copenhagen University Hos ...
in Copenhagen belong to this group of university hospitals. Rigshospitalet began operating in March 1757 as Frederiks Hospital, and became state-owned in 1903. With 1,120 beds, Rigshospitalet has responsibility for 65,000 inpatients and approximately 420,000 outpatients annually. It seeks to be the number one specialist hospital in the country, with an extensive team of researchers into cancer treatment, surgery and radiotherapy. In addition to its 8,000 personnel, the hospital has training and hosting functions. It benefits from the presence of in-service students of medicine and other healthcare sciences, as well as scientists working under a variety of research grants. The hospital became internationally famous as the location of Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier (''né'' Trier; 30 April 1956) is a Danish filmmaker, actor, and lyricist. Having garnered a reputation as a highly ambitious, polarizing filmmaker, he has been the subject of several controversies: Cannes, in addition to nominat ...
's television horror mini-series '' The Kingdom''. Bispebjerg Hospital was built in 1913, and serves about 400,000 people in the Greater Copenhagen area, with some 3,000 employees. Other large hospitals in the city include Amager Hospital (1997), Herlev Hospital (1976), Hvidovre Hospital
Hvidovre Hospital is a hospital in Hvidovre near Copenhagen in Denmark. It is administered by the Capital Region of Denmark.
The hospital was built from 1968 to 1979 and was officially opened on March 26, 1976. The hospital stands out for not ...
(1970), and Gentofte Hospital
Gentofte Hospital (Copenhagen University Hospital Gentofte) is located in Gentofte within Copenhagen in Denmark. Administratively, it is part of the hospital service of Region Hovedstaden. The hospital primarily serves the municipalities of Gentof ...
(1927).
Media
Many Danish media corporations are located in Copenhagen. DR, the major Danish public service
A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...
broadcasting corporation consolidated its activities in a new headquarters, DR Byen
DR Byen (; literally: "the DR City") is the headquarters of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, DR, located in Copenhagen, Denmark.
DR moved all employees from Radiohuset in Frederiksberg and TV-Byen in Søborg to DR Byen during 2006 and 2007. ...
, in 2006 and 2007. Similarly TV2 Channel 2 or TV 2 may refer to:
Television networks, channels and stations
*Channel 2 (Iran), operated by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting
*Channel 2 (Israel), a commercial television station
*, entertainment and music television in Latvia
* ...
, which is based in Odense, has concentrated its Copenhagen activities in a modern media house in Teglholmen. The two national daily newspapers '' Politiken'' and ''Berlingske
''Berlingske'', previously known as ''Berlingske Tidende'' (, ''Berling's Times''), is a Danish national daily newspaper based in Copenhagen. It is considered a newspaper of record for Denmark. First published on 3 January 1749,
''Berlingske'' ...
'' and the two tabloid
Tabloid may refer to:
* Tabloid journalism, a type of journalism
* Tabloid (newspaper format), a newspaper with compact page size
** Chinese tabloid
* Tabloid (paper size), a North American paper size
* Sopwith Tabloid, a biplane aircraft
* ''Ta ...
s '' Ekstra Bladet'' and '' BT'' are based in Copenhagen. ''Kristeligt Dagblad
''Kristeligt Dagblad'' is a Danish newspaper in Copenhagen, Denmark.
History and profile
''Kristeligt Dagblad'' was established in 1896. It was an initiative of the Lutheran Inner Mission created to oppose radicalism and atheism. The paper is ow ...
'' is based in Copenhagen and is published six days a week. Other important media corporations include Aller Media which is the largest publisher of weekly and monthly magazines in Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
, the Egmont Egmont may refer to:
* Egmont Group, a media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark
* Egmond family (often spelled "Egmont"), an influential Dutch family, lords of the town of Egmond
** Lamoral, Count of Egmont (1522–1568), the bes ...
media group
A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, film, motion pictures, theme parks, or the Internet. According t ...
and Gyldendal, the largest Danish publisher of books.
Copenhagen has a large film and television industry. Nordisk Film
Nordisk Film A/S (lit. "Nordic Film") is a Danish entertainment company established in 1906 in Copenhagen by filmmaker Ole Olsen. It is the fourth-oldest film studio in the world behind the Gaumont Film Company, Pathé, and Titanus ...
, established in Valby, Copenhagen in 1906 is the oldest continuously operating film production company in the world. In 1992 it merged with the Egmont media group and currently runs the 17-screen Palads Cinema in Copenhagen. Filmbyen Filmbyen (English: Film City) is a film studio complex located in Hvidovre just outside Copenhagen, Denmark.
Filmbyen is a former military base. It houses many film-related companies. Many films and TV-series have been shot there.
It was founded b ...
(movie city), located in a former military camp in the suburb of Hvidovre, houses several movie companies and studios. Zentropa
Zentropa, or Zentropa Entertainments, is a Danish film company started in 1992 by director Lars von Trier and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen. Zentropa is named after the train company Zentropa in the film ''Europa'' (1991), which started the colla ...
is a film company, co-owned by Danish director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''Di ...
Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier (''né'' Trier; 30 April 1956) is a Danish filmmaker, actor, and lyricist. Having garnered a reputation as a highly ambitious, polarizing filmmaker, he has been the subject of several controversies: Cannes, in addition to nominat ...
. He is behind several international movie productions as well and founded the Dogme Movement. CPH:PIX is Copenhagen's international feature film festival, established in 2009 as a fusion of the 20-year-old NatFilm Festival
The NatFilm Festival, staged annually across 16 cinemas in Copenhagen, in addition to several in Odense, Aalborg (replaced by Kolding in 2007) and Århus, shows the widest programme of films to the largest festival audience in Denmark. Establishe ...
and the four-year-old CIFF. The CPH:PIX festival takes place in mid-April. CPH:DOX is Copenhagen's international documentary film festival, every year in November. In addition to a documentary film programme of over 100 films, CPH:DOX includes a wide event program
A programme or program (see spelling differences) is a booklet available for patrons attending a live event such as theatre performances, concerts, fêtes, sports events, etc. It is a printed leaflet outlining the parts of the event scheduled ...
me with dozens of events, concerts, exhibitions and parties all over town.
Twin towns – sister cities
Copenhagen is twinned with:
* Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, China
* Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, France
* Reykjavik, Iceland
Honorary citizens
People awarded the honorary citizenship
Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...
of Copenhagen are:
While honorary citizenship is no longer granted in Copenhagen, three people have been awarded the title of honorary Copenhageners (''æreskøbenhavnere'').
See also
* : People from Copenhagen
*2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference
The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit, was held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, between 7 and 18 December. The conference included the 15th session of the Conference of the Partie ...
in Copenhagen
* Architecture in Copenhagen
* Carlsberg Fault zone, a concealed tectonic formation that runs across the city
* Copenhagen Climate Council
*List of urban areas in Denmark by population
This is a list of urban areas in Denmark by population. For a list on cities in Denmark please see List of cities in Denmark by population.
The population is measured by Statistics Denmark for urban areas (Danish: ''byområder'' or ''bymæssige om ...
*Outline of Denmark
The following Outline (list), outline is provided as an overview, and topical guide to Denmark.
Denmark – country located in Scandinavia of Northern Europe. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries. The mainland is bordered to the s ...
* Ports of the Baltic Sea
Footnotes
Citations
Copenhagen City - Driving in Denmark
References
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Further reading
External links
VisitCopenhagen.dk
– Official VisitCopenhagen tourism website
{{Authority control
Capitals in Europe
Cities and towns in the Capital Region of Denmark
Municipal seats in the Capital Region of Denmark
Municipal seats of Denmark
Populated places established in the 11th century
Port cities and towns in Denmark
Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea
Port cities and towns of the Øresund