Copenhagen Municipality ( da, Københavns Kommune), also known in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as the Municipality of Copenhagen, located in the Capital Region of Denmark, is the largest of the four municipalities that constitute 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 ...

(), the other three being

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 Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

, and

Tårnby Tårnby () is a town in Denmark, the seat of Tårnby Municipality in the Capital Region of Denmark. It is located approximately south of central Copenhagen on the island of Amager. Neighbouring settlements include the Copenhagen suburb of Sundb ...

. The Municipality of Copenhagen constitutes the historical city centre and the majority of its landmarks. It is the most populous in the country with a population of 652,564 inhabitants (), and covers in area,. Copenhagen Municipality is located at the

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

and Amager islands and totally surrounds

Frederiksberg Municipality Frederiksberg Kommune is a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in Denmark. Part of the Capital Region of Denmark and the city of Copenhagen, it is surrounded by Copenhagen Municipality. The municipality, ...

on all sides. The strait of

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 ...

lies to the east. The city of Copenhagen has grown far beyond the municipal boundaries from 1901, when

was made an

enclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

within Copenhagen Municipality. Frederiksberg has the largest population density of the municipalities of Denmark. The municipal seat of government 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 ...

( da, Københavns Rådhus), the headquarters of the

Copenhagen City Council The Copenhagen City Council (Danish: ) is the municipal government of Copenhagen, Denmark, and has its seat at Copenhagen City Hall. The city council is Copenhagen's highest political authority and sets the framework for the committees' tasks ...

. The

Lord Mayor of Copenhagen The lord mayor of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Overborgmester) is the city's mayor and the leader of the Copenhagen City Council. Established in 1938, all lord mayors have since belonged to the Social Democratic Party. List Cur ...

Sophie Hæstorp Andersen Sophie Hæstorp Andersen (born 26 September 1974) is a Danish politician. She is the Lord Mayor of Copenhagen Municipality as of 1 January 2022. She was the regional council chairperson of the Capital Region from 1 January 2014 until 31 July 2021. ...

, since 1 January 2022. The relationship between Copenhagen Municipality and the wider city of Copenhagen is one of an

administrative unit Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

within a significantly larger city, cf. the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

or the City of Brussels. In the

Middle Ages 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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, Copenhagen was defined as the area enclosed within the city walls. The city centre lies in the area originally defined by the old ramparts, which are still referred to as the Fortification Ring () and kept as a partial green band around it. In 1856 the ramparts were pulled down allowing for growth and expansion. In 1901 the city expanded to include Amager and

Valby Valby () is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is in the southwestern corner of Copenhagen Municipality, and has a mixture of different types of housing. This includes apartment blocks, terraced housing, areas with single ...

, while

became an enclave within the municipality. 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 ...

in the second half of the 20th century led to

expansion Expansion may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine * ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004 * ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970 * ''Expansio ...

outside the municipal boundary along the commuter lines of the

S-train The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban-suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble c ...

and the

Lokaltog Lokaltog A/S ( en, Local Trains Ltd) is a Danish railway company responsible for train operation and related passenger services on nine local railways on the islands of Zealand, Lolland and Falster in Denmark. The company was formed on 1 July 201 ...

rail lines going to i.e.

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northe ...

( The Coast Line () northbound) and Stevns Municipality (

East Line East Line may refer to: Railways * East Line (Denmark), a local railway eastern Zealand, Denmark * East line (Macau LRT), a planned rapid transit line in Macau, China * East Line (MARTA), a rapid transit line in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, now ...

(from

Køge Køge (, older spelling ''Kjøge'') is a seaport on the coast of Køge Bugt (''Bay of Køge'') 39 km southwest of Copenhagen. It is the principal town and seat of Køge Municipality, Region Sjælland, Denmark. In 2022, the urban area had a ...

southbound) along the

. The Copenhagen-Ringsted Line makes Køge one of the railway hubs of Eastern Denmark. Road and rail construction is planned to relieve traffic congestion because the narrow

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmu ...

between

Roskilde Fjord Roskilde Fjord is the fjord north of Roskilde, Denmark. It is a long branch of the Isefjord. Cities The cities Frederiksværk, Frederikssund, Jægerspris, Jyllinge and Roskilde (including Himmelev), (home to the famous Roskilde Festival), all ...

and

Køge Bugt Køge (, older spelling ''Kjøge'') is a seaport on the coast of Køge Bugt (''Bay of Køge'') 39 km southwest of Copenhagen. It is the principal town and seat of Køge Municipality, Region Sjælland, Denmark. In 2022, the urban area had a ...

(Køge Bay) forms a

bottleneck Bottleneck literally refers to the narrowed portion (neck) of a bottle near its opening, which limit the rate of outflow, and may describe any object of a similar shape. The literal neck of a bottle was originally used to play what is now known as ...

. Copenhagen Municipality was one of the three last Danish municipalities not belonging to a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, the others being

and Bornholm. On 1 January 2007, the municipality lost its county privileges and became part of the Capital Region of Denmark.

Geography

Copenhagen Municipality is a political division covering the central city (

Indre By Indre By (lit. English, "Inner City"), also known as Copenhagen Center or K or Downtown Copenhagen, is an administrative district (''by'') in central Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. It covers an area of , has a population of 26,223, and a po ...

) and certain additional areas. It encloses

and stretches east to the waterfront. Neighboring municipalities are

Gentofte Gentofte () is a district of Gentofte Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Major landmarks include Gentofte Town Hall, Gentofte Hospital and Gentofte Church. Gentofte Lake with surrounding parkland and nature reserves form ...

Gladsaxe Gladsaxe Kommune is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') near Copenhagen in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and has a total population of 69,681 (2019). Its ma ...

and

Herlev Herlev is a suburb about 9 km northwest of Copenhagen city centre. It is the site of the municipal council of Herlev Municipality, Denmark. Sports Herlev is the hometown of former Vancouver Canuck Jannik Hansen. Herlev is known for its ...

to the north,

Rødovre Rødovre is a town in eastern Denmark, seat of the Rødovre Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden. The town's population 1 January 2019 was 39,907, and in addition 145 persons had no fixed address, which made up a total of 40,052 in the munic ...

and

Hvidovre Hvidovre is the main town in Hvidovre Municipality, Denmark. The town, a suburb of Copenhagen, is about 10 km southwest of the capital's center. It is the 2nd biggest suburb of Copenhagen, only beaten by Frederiksberg. History Hvidovre has ...

to the west, and

to the south. The City Hall Square ( da, Rådhuspladsen) is the old centre of the city, from which an old shopping street leads northeast to

Kongens Nytorv Kongens Nytorv ( lit. "The King's New Square") is a public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was laid out by Christian V in 1670 in connection wit ...

, which was laid out in the seventeenth century. Christiansborg Palace, which houses the

Danish parliament The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands an ...

, is located on the islet 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 c ...

. File:Cityscape and skyline by the Copenhagen Lakes, Denmark - (36018109956).jpg, Nørrebro File:Christiansborg fra Nikolaj Kirken.jpg,

File:Amalienborg and Marble Church view.jpg,

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 interiors aroun ...

and

Frederik's Church Frederik's Church ( da, Frederiks Kirke), popularly known as The Marble Church () for its rococo architecture, is an Evangelical Lutheran church in Copenhagen, Denmark. The church forms the focal point of the Frederiksstaden district; it is loc ...

Districts

The municipality is divided into ten administrative, statistical and tax districts ( da, bydele): Districts of Copenhagen urban area

Official districts: #

Østerbro Østerbro () (literally, "Eastern Bridge") is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located just north of the city centre, outside the old city gate Østerport which, after it was moved around 1700, used to be located clo ...

# Nørrebro #

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 ...

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 Amager Øst (English language, English: Amager East) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It encompasses the part of Copenhagen located on the island of Amager, east of the major shopping street Amagerbrogade.Prior to an admi ...

Amager Vest Amager Vest (English:West Amager) is one of the ten administrative districts of Copenhagen Denmark. It located on in the north-western part of the island of Amager, the largest island in the Øresund. The district is bordered by Amager Øst t ...

Other areas: *

Frederiksstaden Frederiksstaden is a district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Constructed during the reign of 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 included in the 2006 Danis ...

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 are ...

* Holmen * Christiania (Freetown) * Carlsberg *

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 ...

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 Lergrav ...

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 genera ...

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 Bellahøj is an area situated 5 kilometres to the northwest of central Copenhagen, Denmark. It features the Bellahøj Houses, a functionalist housing project, as well as parkland with an open-air theatre. The 37 metre high hill situated in Bellah� ...

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 ...

* Ryparken *

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 ...

The suffix -bro in the names Østerbro, Nørrebro, Vesterbro and Amagerbro should not be confused with the Danish word for bridge, which is also ''bro''. The term is thought to be an abbreviation or short form of the Danish word ''brolagt'' meaning "paved", referring to the roads paved with cobblestones leading to the city's former gates.

Demography

Historic population. The two figures for 1 February 1901 are before and after the municipality annexed some nearby parishes. The apparent decline since the mid-1900s are due to the figures not including the suburban and urban areas – notably Frederiksberg – outside Copenhagen municipality. With the exception of 2005, which saw a decrease of more than 1,000 people, the population of the municipality has been increasing since 1992 after having decreased by 303,539 inhabitants (39.517%) from 1950 to 1992. Note. The two population numbers given for 1901 are the municipality's population before annexation and following annexation of neighbouring municipalities, which in the process made Frederiksberg municipality an enclave within the municipality of Copenhagen.

Politics and government

Copenhagen Municipality is distinct from the wider Copenhagen urban area. The seat of Copenhagen's municipal council is the

('). The council is chaired by the Lord Mayor who oversees the civic duties of the fifty-five representatives of the council. The council usually meets every other week at 17:30 on a Thursday. They discuss a range of issues including labour and employment, business growth, economics, international cooperation and IT, urban planning, housing and construction, and young, old, and disabled peoples' issues, healthcare, and traffic, with a central focus on making the city sustainable and meeting environmental and health targets. All members of the council are elected every four years. In the municipal elections in November 2013 ( see below), the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

remained in first place with 27.8% of the vote (down by 2.2% from 2009), while the Red-Green Alliance was in second place with 19.5%. In the 2021 elections, the Red-Green Alliance secured a higher vote total than the Social Democrats. This was the first time that a party other than the Social Democrats topped the ballot. The Social Democrats have claimed the office of mayor for the past 110 years. The municipal government is divided into seven administrative departments: Employment and Integration, Culture and Leisure, Health and Care, Finance, Child and Youth, Social Services, and Technical and Environmental Administration. It has six political committees and a finance committee. The annual budget for the city is proposed in August and finalized in October and the annual report is published in May of every year. The accounting firm

Deloitte Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of professio ...

is responsible for auditing the City of Copenhagen's accounts.

Lord mayors since 1938

All lord mayors of Copenhagen have belonged to the Social Democratic party. *1938–1946: Viggo Christensen *1946–1956: Hans Peter Sørensen *1956–1962: Sigvard Munk *1962–1976: Urban Hansen *1976–1989:

Egon Weidekamp Egon Holde Weidekamp (14 March 1921, Copenhagen – 26 April 2000, Copenhagen) was a Danish politician.Jens Kramer Mikkelsen Jens Kramer Mikkelsen (born 16 December 1951) was the Lord Mayor of Copenhagen for the Social Democratic Party from 1989 to 2004 and he is the longest-serving mayor in the City of Copenhagen. In 2004, Kramer became the CEO of the ''Ørestad Deve ...

*2004–2005:

Lars Engberg Lars Engberg (27 January 1943 – 17 February 2017) was a Danish politician for the Social Democratic Party. He was a member of the council for Region Hovedstaden The Capital Region of Denmark ( da, Region Hovedstaden, ) is the easternmost a ...

*2006–2009:

Ritt Bjerregaard Ritt Bjerregaard (full name Jytte Ritt Bjerregaard; 19 May 1941 – 21 January 2023) was a Danish politician who was a member of the Danish Social Democrats, and was Lord Mayor of Copenhagen from 1 January 2006 to 2010. Bjerregaard was Educati ...

*2010–2020:

Frank Jensen Frank Jensen (born 28 May 1961) is a former Danish politician of the Danish Social Democrats who served as Lord Mayor of Copenhagen between 1 January 2010 and 19 October 2020. He was Minister for Research 27 September 1994 to 30 December 1996 i ...

*2020–2021: Lars Weiss (acting) *since 2022:

Municipal council

Copenhagen's municipal council consists of 55 members, elected every four years. Copenhagen's municipal council is by far the largest in Denmark, being the only municipal council with more than 31 seats. Below are the municipal councils elected since 1909.

Environmental Policy

In 2009 the Copenhagen

Municipal Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

decided that Copenhagen will become the world's first

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 ...

capital by 2025. In 2012 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 ...

announced that Copenhagen would be the 2014

European Green Capital European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

References

External links

Official website

CPH International Service - Citizen service for expats and students in Copenhagen

Eniro map with named municipalities

Krak searchable/printable map
{{Authority control

Municipality 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 ...

Municipalities in the Capital Region of Denmark Municipalities of Denmark