Copenhagen
Key facts
Copenhagen — or København — is Denmark's largest city.
It is situated on the Baltic Sea side of the island of Zealand (Sjælland) and on the smaller island of Amager, looking east over the Øresund sea channel to Sweden.
The main area of the Municipality of Copenhagen is just 88 sq km, with a population of more than half a million people. The three central areas popular with visitors — North, Central and South — occupy less than 10 sq km and are easily accessible on foot. The municipality is governed by seven committees, each headed by a mayor. Municipal headquarters is the City Hall, or Københavns Rådhus, located in Rådhuspladsen.
Greater Copenhagen is divided into 20 districts (bydele), and includes the municipalities of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg and Gentofte. The even larger Hovedstadsregionen encompasses the municipalities and counties of Copenhagen, Frederiksborg and Roskilde. Hovedstadsregionen covers 2,862 sq km and has a population of at least 1.8 million. This conurbation makes Copenhagen the largest city in Scandinavia.
History
Copenhagen started out as a small fishing village named Havn ('harbour'). This village was given to the Archbishop of Denmark, Bishop Absalon, foster brother and close ally of Valdemar I (the Great), who came to the throne in 1157 and united the country. By 1167, Absalon had built a defensive castle (dismantled 1369) on the small island of Slotsholmen opposite the harbour.
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1238
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The town's first monastery established, on Gråbrødretorv
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1254
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By this date, the town had become Københaven (Merchants' Harbour), a fortified market town
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1343
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Copenhagen designated the capital of Denmark by Valdemar IV (Atterdag)
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1479
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University of Copenhagen founded (1st June) — now the largest research and education facility in Denmark
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1711
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Bubonic plague kills 23,000 people in the city, reducing the population by one third
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1728
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Fire starts in a candle maker's premises and destroys 1,700 buildings, including City Hall and the University
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1795
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Fire destroys the spire of St Nikolaj Church — firemen couldn't open the locked pump house to get water ... the city is rebuilt on a grander scale
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1801
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Nelson leads England to victory during the Battle of Copenhagen on 2nd August
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1807
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Wellington's army bombards the Danish fleet at Copenhagen
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1913
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The Little Mermaid is unveiled in August
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1929
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Copenhagen appoints a Regional Council
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1955
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The Copenhagen-Bonn accord
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1987
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The first international Young Geotechnical Engineers conference
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2002
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The Copenhagen Summit, negotiations end on the enlargement of the European Union
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2009
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Copenhagen hosts a series of international climate change conferences, and declares its intention to be the first carbon neutral city by 2025
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Some odd facts about Copenhagen
In September 2009, the city hosted a 100 percent carbon neutral music and arts festival (CO2PENHAGEN), powered entirely by renewable energy. Electricity was generated by two teams pedalling gym bikes and by people dancing in order to convert energy into lights for the dance floor.
Copenhagen is twinned with Reykjavik in Iceland, and Campeche in Mexico.
The Rådhus (city hall) has the city's highest viewpoint from its 105m tower. It also has a world clock with a calendar for 570,000 years.
The Rundetårn (round tower) has no steps. Access to the top of the 35m tall 15m diameter tower is via a cobbled spiral ramp 209m long. It opened in 1642 as an observatory for the university.
Kongens Nytorv (King's new square) — the city's largest square — is actually oval, and it becomes an ice rink in the winter.
The Tivoli Gardens opened in 1843 and contain almost 1,000 trees and 400,000 flowers, as well as numerous leisure facilities.
The Little Mermaid (Den Lille Havfrue) is just 1.25m high. Her head is modelled on prima ballerina Ellen Price and her body on Eline Eriksen, wife of the bronze statue's sculptor. The mermaid was decapitated in 1964 and her head was never found — the one we see today is a replica.
There are no drivers on the Copenhagen Metro system, it is all automated.
In 2008, Copenhagen was voted the world's most liveable city, in a magazine article.
You can take a guided sightseeing tour of the city on a Segway vehicle during the warmer months.
The 'free state of Christiania' in Copenhagen was established on 13th November 1971 when squatters set up a commune of some 900 residents. Cannabis was traded and used openly in Christiania until 2004.
