City Hall Square, Copenhagen
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City Hall Square (, ) is a
public square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...
in the
centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
of
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
,
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
, 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 variety of events, celebrations and demonstrations. It is often used as a central point for measuring distances from Copenhagen. City Hall Square is located at the southwestern end of the
pedestrian street Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...
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 ...
which connects it to
Kongens Nytorv Kongens Nytorv (literal translation, lit. "The King's New Square") is a town square, public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the Pedestrian zone, pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was l ...
, the other large square of the city centre, passing Gammeltorv/ Nytorv and Amagertorv along the way. Opposite Strøget,
Vesterbrogade Vesterbrogade () is the main shopping street of the Vesterbro, Copenhagen, Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. The 1.5 km long street runs from the City Hall Square, Copenhagen, City Hall Square in the east to Pile Allé in Frederiksbe ...
extends into the Vesterbro district and later crosses the border to
Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...
. H. C. Andersens Boulevard, Copenhagen's most heavily congested street, and Vester Voldgade pass the square on either side of the city hall. Apart from the City Hall, notable buildings around the square include Politikens Hus, the headquarters of national daily newspaper
Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been indepe ...
, and Industriens Hus, the headquarters of the DI.


History


Hay market and exhibition area

City Hall Square is located at the site of Copenhagen's old hay market and the Western City Gate of the
Fortifications of Copenhagen The fortifications of Copenhagen is the broad name for the rings of fortifications surrounding the city of Copenhagen. They can be classified historically as follows: * The medieval fortifications dating from the 12th century * The bastioned for ...
. When the fortifications were disbanded in the 1850s, it was decided to use the vacant land for an exhibition area which played host to first the Nordic Exhibition of 1872 and later the Nordic Exhibition of 1888. Vilhelm Klein designed an exhibition building for the first exhibition which was built at the corner of Vesterbro Passage which was built from 1870 to 1872. The four-winged, two-storey building was built in red brick to a design which was inspired by
Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...
architecture. In 1879 the centre of the complex was re-built into a large domed exhibition hall. On 1 January 1888 the hay market moved to a new location outside Kødbyen, the new cattle and meat market which had opened in 1878. The site is still named Halmtorvet after it. The main venue of the Nordic Exhibition of 1888 was a large timber structure topped by a huge dome with a flag pole at its top. Its architect was the young and unknown
Martin Nyrop Martin Nyrop (11 November 1849 18 May 1921) was a Danish architect. Early life and education Nyrop was born on 11 November 1849 at Holmsland Municipality, Holmsland, Ringkøbing, the son of parish priest Christopher Nyrop (1805–1879) and Helen ...
who was later also to design the new city hall.


The new city hall and its square

In the 1880s, plans were conceived to build a new city hall on the grounds, and in 1888, the expo area was cleared. An architecture competition was held in early 1889. Apart from Nyrop, who won the competition, Vilhelm Dahlerup and Valdemar Koch were among the participating architects. The design of the city hall was greatly inspired by the
Palazzo Pubblico The Palazzo Pubblico (town hall) is a historic palace in Siena, Tuscany, in central Italy. Located on the Piazza del Campo, it is one of the principal architectural landmarks of the city's historic center. Construction began in 1297 to serve ...
in
Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, and the design of the square was accordingly modeled on the shell-shaped
Piazza del Campo Piazza del Campo is the main piazza, public space of the historic center of Siena, a city in Tuscany, Italy, Its name comes from the Italian language, Italian word ''campanilismo,'' which translates to "local pride" and ''campanile'' "bell tower." ...
outside that building. On 28 July 1894, the foundation stone was laid. When it was inaugurated in 1905, the square in front of it became one of the most central and important spaces of the city. The square was redesigned in 1995 and 1996 by KHR Architects, on the occasion of Copenhagen being the
European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...
. The intersecting street leading from Vesterbrogade to Strøget was removed, uniting the two sides of the square. A bus hub was built on the northern side of the square. In 2010, work began on a
metro station A metro station or subway station is a train station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase tickets, board trains, and evacuate the syste ...
on the site, requiring a major reorganisation of the site, with work was opened on 29 September 2019.


Sculptures

* The Dragon Fountain (Danish: ''Dragespringvandet''), depicting a bull and a dragon in combat. Designed by Thorvald Bindesbøll and
Joakim Skovgaard Joakim Frederik Skovgaard (18 November 1856 – 9 March 1933) was a Danish painter. He is remembered above all for the frescos which decorate Viborg Cathedral. Biography Born in Copenhagen, from an early age he was trained in drawing and paintin ...
, out was inaugurated in 1904. * The Weather Girl (Danish: ''vejrpigen'') is perched high on the Richs Building on the corner of Rådhuspladsen and Vesterbrogade. It consists of a pair of gilded sculptures on a large rotary frame that are used to signal the expected weather. When clear weather is expected, a statue depicting a girl on a bicycle rotates to the front. When rain is expected, a second sculpture rotates to the front which depicts the girl with an umbrella walking her dog. The sculpture group is from 1936 and designed by Einar Utzon-Frank. *The Lur Blowers is a bronze depicting two lur blowers standing atop a
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...
on
tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wal ...
s. Standing 20 m tall, it was created in 1911 to 1913 by Siegfried Wagner. *A statue of
Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...
is in the square.


Description

The square's central area is 9800 m². It is often a venue for demonstrations and
buskers 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 pr ...
, and several bars and
nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...
s are located in the vicinity. Rådhuspladsen also houses one of the city's bus centrals.


In popular culture

* In the Danish board game ''Matador'' (an early derivative of the game ''Monopoly''), Rådhuspladsen is the most expensive location (see also Localized versions of the Monopoly game).


See also

* Vester Voldgade * Hotel Bristol (Copenhagen) * 2000 UEFA Cup Final riots


References


External links


Den Nye Rådhusplads



Source
{{DEFAULTSORT:City Hall Square, Copenhagen Odonyms referring to a building Squares in Copenhagen Tourist attractions in Copenhagen Vesterbro, Copenhagen