Profile of Copenhagen
Since its foundation in 1167, Copenhagen has grown over the centuries but always remained reasonably compact. Its strategic location at the mouth of the Baltic Sea has made it an important commercial hub, and today it is a thriving city with the gastronomic and cultural offerings of a far larger one.
As a small fishing village in the 12th century, Copenhagen attracted the protection of Bishop Absalon and the dastardly attentions of Wendish pirates. One century later, German traders of the Hanseatic League were pounding on its doors. By the 15th century, the Sound was even more of a cash cow with its herring salted and exported all over Europe and the king charging a toll on every ship that passed on its way to the Baltic.
In the 16th century, under the aegis of Christian IV, the city’s fortifications were extended east. The fortress Kastellet was built, and the East Gate and rampart moved up near it, thus bringing Rosenborg within the walls. To the south, Christianshavn was built up and a series of new islands created with naval yards and protective bastions. Nyboder, near østerport, was built to house the naval workers. At the same time, Christian IV created some of the most lasting buildings of the entire city; boasting an elegant Renaissance style, they are still standing today.
Fire damage and over-crowding
Fire was always a threat in a town made of wood and the 18th century saw two shocking blazes that destroyed almost the whole of the medieval centre. With the odd exception (including, fortunately, most of Christian IV’s marvellous buildings), what the visitor sees today is 18th-century neoclassical architecture.
By the 19th century, Copenhagen was packed with people and had no sanitation to speak of. After cholera broke out in 1853, the old ramparts were pulled down to improve conditions and the populace spread into the countryside, which soon became the districts of Nørrebro, Vesterbro, østerbro and Frederiksberg. Thanks to the architect and town planner Ferdinand Meldahl, these districts were conserved as the parks that ring the inner city today.
Modernisation
The 20th and 21st centuries have seen further changes to the city. The old quarter was pedestrianised from the 1960s; the docks are being rejuvenated; and the authorities have taken a particular interest in updating the city’s landscape with startling modern buildings such as the Black Diamond, the Opera House, the Royal Danish Playhouse and the Blue Planet aquarium. A whole new ‘downtown’ area, ørestad, has been created from scratch on Amager island, and other areas of the suburbs are undergoing huge regeneration.
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