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The fortifications of Copenhagen is the broad name for the rings of
fortifications A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
surrounding 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 ...
. They can be classified historically as follows: * The medieval fortifications dating from the 12th century * The
bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with f ...
ed fortifications dating from the 17th century * The ring fortification system dating from the 19th century


Medieval fortifications (12th–15th centuries)

The first fortification was the
castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified ...
built by bishop
Absalon Absalon (21 March 1201) was a Danish statesman and prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Roskilde from 1158 to 1192 and archbishop of Lund from 1178 until his death. He was the foremost politician and church father of Denma ...
in 1167 on Slotsholmen at the foundation of the city. This stood for 200 years until it was destroyed by the
Hanse 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 ...
in 1369. It was replaced in 1417 by the
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 ...
built by the then bishop, but taken over by the king,
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 ...
. The ruins of both these castles are visible to the public view under the
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 Suprem ...
.


Bastioned Fortifications (17th century)

The city was extensively fortified by
Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian mona ...
in the mid 17th century. To the west the city was protected by a series of ramparts and bastions northwards from the Indrehavn, below Langebro. The remains of these works can be seen in the parks at Tivoli, Ørstedsparken, the
Botanical Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
and
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. ...
. To the north, at the end of the wall, a fort was built, the '' Kastellet''. To the east land was reclaimed from the sea to enclose the harbour; this land was also fortified with a rampart and ditch and a series of bastions. This now forms 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 ...
.


Ring Fortification system (1886–94)

The most recent fortification of Copenhagen dates from the late 19th century. To the west was a fortification ring consisting of a rampart and ditch, with numerous bastions and batteries ('' Vestvolden''). To the north, beyond a line of inundations around Utterslev Mose, lie 5 detached land forts ('' Bagsværd Fort'', '' Fortunfortet'', '' Garderhøj Fort'', '' Gladsaxe Fort'', '' Lyngby Fort''), backed to the south by 7 small batteries. Along the coast, and connecting with the land defences were two bands of Naval forts or batteries; the first (inner) band comprising 3 older forts ('' Trekroner'', '' Lynetten'' and '' Strickers Batteri'') and 3 new ('' Kalkbrænderi Batteri'', '' Mellemfortet'' and '' Prøvestenen''); and a second of 2 coastal forts (''
Charlottenlund Charlottenlund is a suburban area on the coast north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the administrative seat of Gentofte Municipality. Bordered to the east by the Øresund, to the South by Hellerup and to the north by Klampenborg, it is one of the ...
'', '' Kastrup'') and a sea fortress ('' Middelgrundsfortet''), plus 2 inland batteries ('' Avedøre'' and '' Hvidøre'') to reinforce the ''Vestvolden''. A third, outer line was added fifteen years later. The design of the forts was guided by the principles of
Brialmont Henri-Alexis Brialmont (Venlo, 25 May 1821 – Brussels, 21 July 1903), nicknamed The Belgian Vauban after the French military architect, was a Belgian army officer, politician and writer of the 19th century, best known as a military arch ...
.


Coastal defenses (1909–16)

The group of new coastal forts were constructed at the beginning of World War I. These were (clockwise): '' Taarbæk Fort'', connecting to the northern fort line; Flakfortet, at sea beyond '' Middelgrundsfortet''; and '' Dragør Fort'', '' Kongelundsfortet'', Mosede Fort to the south.


References

* ''The Fortifications of Copenhagen: A Guide to 900 Years of Fortification History'', Copenhagen: The National Forest and Nature Agency, The Ministry of Environment and Energy 1998. * ''Rough Guide to Copenhagen'', Lone Mouritsen, Caroline Osborne, 2007


External links


Project for the revitalization of the Copenhagen fortifications, in Danish

The fortification of Copenhagen 1880-1920. Danish / English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortifications Of Copenhagen Tourist attractions in Copenhagen Coastal fortifications no:Københavns voller sv:Köpenhamns vallar