Kultorvet (literally "The Coal Market") is a

public square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true square, geometric square, used for community gathe ...

in the Old Town 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 ...

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 ...

. Together with

Købmagergade Købmagergade is a pedestrian shopping street in the Old Town of Copenhagen, Denmark. It connects Amagertorv on Strøget to Nørreport station, although the last section, north of Kultorvet, is part of Frederiksborggade, which continues on the ...

and the southern part of

Frederiksborggade Frederiksborggade is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs from Kultorvet square in the southeast to Søtorvet where Queen Louise's Bridge connects it to Nørrebrogade in Nørrebro on the other side of The Lakes. The street is effect ...

, it forms a pedestrian zone between

Nørreport station Nørreport station is an S-train, metro and main line railway station in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located in the district of Indre By, and is named after the historic '' Nørreport city gate'', at the original location of which it is located ...

and

Amagertorv Amagertorv (English: Amager Square), today part of the Strøget pedestrian zone, is often described as the most central square in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Second only to Gammeltorv, it is also one of the oldest, taking its name from the Amage ...

Strøget Strøget () is a pedestrian, car free shopping area in Copenhagen, Denmark. This popular tourist attraction in the centre of town is one of the longest pedestrian shopping streets in Europe at 1.1 km. Located at the centre of the old city o ...

. The square is lined with cafés and shops and is a popular venue for outdoor concerts in the summer time. Copenhagen Central Library was from the 1950s based on the square but has now relocated to a building in

Krystalgade Krystalgade (literally "Crystal Street") is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, connecting Nørregade to Købmagergade. Copenhagen Central Library and the Great Synagogue of Copenhagen are located in the street. History The street is menti ...

. Its old building has now been taken over by

Niels Brock Copenhagen Business College Niels Brock Copenhagen Business College, usually referred to simply as Niels Brock, is a school of secondary education and post-secondary education in Copenhagen, Denmark. The school offers programmes within business and management including Voca ...

History

18th century

Kultorvet was created after the

Copenhagen Fire of 1728 The Copenhagen Fire of 1728 was the largest fire in the history of Copenhagen, Denmark. It began on the evening of 20 October 1728 and continued to burn until the morning of 23 October. It destroyed approximately 28% of the city (measured by coun ...

which destroyed a large part of the city. It was initially known as ''Ny Nørre Torv oven for Rundetårn'' ("New North Market above the Round Tower"). The current, more easy-on-the-tongue name gradually took over, referring to the market trade which dominated the site. Prior to the fire, trade in charcoal, fire wood and peat had taken place just inside the Northern City Gate, a practical location since it was controlled by colliers,

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

gatherers and farmers from the forest-clad

North Zealand North Zealand, also North Sealand ( da, Nordsjælland), refers to the northern part of the Danish island of Zealand which is not clearly defined but generally covers the area north of Copenhagen. The Danish tourist authorities have recently in ...

. The original market square was considerably smaller but its area has gradually been increased in connection with demolitions and construction of new buildings.

19th century

. T. M. Werner, a hardware and kitchenware wholesaler, opened at No. 4 on 1 June 1955. In 1950 at was still based at the site. One of the most well-known stores on the square was

Francis Zachariae Francis James Zachariae (29 March 1852 – 6 September 1936) was a Danish businessman, local historic publisher and philanthropist. He is today mainly remembered for publishing ''Før og Nu'' (I-IX and Supplements I-II) with topographical-historic ...

's clothing store. It opened on 16 October 1874 and was still based there in 1950. Københavns Sporveje's Line 12 trams passed the square from 7 December 1895 on their way between Søtorvet and

. Kultorvet was pedestrianised and cleared of parking places in 1973 following the successful pedestrianisation of

in the early 1960s.

20th and 21st century

The buildings on both sides of Købmagergade were replaced by modern buildings in the 1900s. A new building for Copenhagen Central Library was built on the east side of the square in 1957. The square was refurbished between 2011 and 2013 together with the rest of the pedestrian zone and Hauser Plads on the other side of the Library House. The new square was designed by Polyform.

The square

The 2013 renovation installed a large, circular water feature which doubles as a band stand for special events. One of Copenhagen's old

telephone kiosk A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box, telephone box or public call box is a tiny structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience; usually the user steps into the booth and closes the booth ...

s is found on the square. It was installed and operated by A/S Kjøbenhavns Telefonkiosker. On the square is Hanne Varming's bronze statue ''The Elder Mother'' (''Hyldemor''), presenting an elderly couple seated on a bench in quiet contemplation. The statue takes its name after

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 tale of the same name from 1851 but was also inspired by a memory of the artist's own great grand parents.

Architecture

Built in the 1730, No. 14 on the corner with Sankt Gertruds Stræde is the only building of the square that survives from the rebuilding of the square in the years after the Fire of 1728. No. 5, 7, 9–11 and 15 (designed by

Christian Frederik Hansen Christian Frederik Hansen (29 February 1756 – 10 July 1845), known as C. F. Hansen, was the leading Danish architect between the late 18th century and the mid 19th century, and on account of his position at the Royal Danish Academy of Art (''De ...

) all date from the 1810s. No. 17 is the former Kultorvet Pharmacy. The Historicist building is from 1895 and was designed by

Valdemar Ingemann Valdemar Ingemann (21 February 1840 – 10 October 1911) was a prolific Danish architect active during the late 19th and early 20th century. His works include the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactury (now Porcelænshaven) in Frederiksberg, ...

. It was originally topped by a tall spire but it was dismantled after a few years The building on the corner of Købmagergade, also in the Historiccist style, is from 1908. The former Copenhagen Central Library (No. 2) is now home to one of several campuses of the

Transport

The nearest railway station is Nørreport station. It is served both by

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 co ...

and 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 ...

M1 and M2 lines.

References

External links

Kultorvet
on indenforvoldene.dk
Renovation
on Polyform's website {{coord, 55.6825, 12.5741, type:landmark_region:DK, display=title Squares in Copenhagen Pedestrian streets in Copenhagen