According to Countryaah.com, Copenhagen (Danish København), is the capital, residence and most important port city, cultural and economic center of Denmark.
Copenhagen is located on the Öresund in the east of Zealand and on Amager and has (2018) 613 319 residents (with suburbs 1.3 million). With several universities, academies, theaters and the Royal National Library, Copenhagen is the country’s center of education. Finance, trade and transport, pharmaceutical industry and tourism are the pillars of the economy.
Worth seeing are the castles Rosenborg (1610–26), Christiansborg (1732–40), Amalienborg (1754–60; today’s residence) as well as the numerous churches and museums of the city. The symbol of Copenhagen is the “Little Mermaid” (1913) on a rock by the harbor.
Copenhagen dates back to a fishing village in the early Middle Ages. It received town charter in 1254 and has been a residence since 1445. Fires destroyed large parts of the city in 1728 and 1795.
Attractions
Modern churches are the Bethlehems Kirke (1935–37) by K. Klint and the Grundtvigs Kirke (1921 ff.) By P. V. Jensen-Klint and the Bagsværd Kirke (1973–76) by J. Utzon. Other architecturally important public buildings are the police headquarters built by H. Kampmann 1918–24, the radio building (Radiohuset, 1937–45) by V. Lauritsen and the 18-story Codan House (1961) by O. Hagen. Numerous housing developments were built in the outskirts, including by A. Jacobsen: Ved Bellevue Bugt, 1930–35; Bellavista, 1933-34; Søholm, 1950-55. O. Birch created the settlement Hyldespjældet and J. Sørensen in 1976 1977–80 the settlement of Solbjerg Have.
When it was named “European City of Culture 1996”, numerous urban development projects were implemented. In addition to the redesign of inner-city areas (Rathausplatz), new buildings and extensions (including the house of the National Association of Danish Architects von Nielsen, Nielsen & Nielsen, opened in 1996), attention was also focused on careful renovation, restoration and additions (including the Vesterbro district nearby of the main train station). Particularly noteworthy is the new building of the Museum of Modern Art (»Arken«) in Ishøj near Copenhagen by Søren Robert Lund with its extravagant architecture in the form of a ship (opened in 1996), the cubic extension of the Royal Library by Schmidt, Hammer & Lassen (1995–99), the transformation of the library’s former boathouse by D. Libeskind into the Jewish Museum (opened in 2004) on Slotsholmen and the new building of the opera house by H. Larsen (2001–05) on the Holmen dock area in the immediate vicinity of Amalienborg Palace. Also in the harbor, opposite the opera house, is the elegant new building of the Royal Theater (opened in 2008) by the Danish architects Boje Lundgaard (* 1943, † 2004) and Lene Tranberg (* 1956). The new district of Ørestad is being built on the Amager peninsula to the south, including with a representative cultural quarter (the center is the concert hall, which opened in 2009, based on plans by J. Nouvel).
History
Between 1158 and 1167, King Waldemar I gave the town of Havn, which was first mentioned without a name in 1026, to Bishop Absalon von Roskilde. The harbor town with its protective castle developed quickly and received city rights in 1254. During the war with the Hanseatic League (1362–68) the up-and-coming Köbmandshavn (Portus Mercatorum) was inhibited in its development. In 1416, Copenhagen came from episcopal ownership to King Eric VII, under whom it became the capital of the three northern kingdoms, which had been united since 1397. King Christoph III. moved the royal residence from Roskilde to Copenhagen in 1443, Christian I became the first Danish king in 1448 . crowned here. In 1536 Copenhagen joined the Reformation. Christian IV sustainably promoted the development of Copenhagen. He had inter alia create the naval port and strengthen the fortifications. In the 18th century, the porcelain industry took off in Copenhagen.
Fires destroyed large parts of the city in 1728 and 1795, which was defended against an attack by the English fleet under H. Parker and H. Nelson in 1801 (“Battle of the Roads”). Severe destruction caused the city to be bombarded by British warships in 1807. In 1857 Copenhagen was given a comprehensive statute of self-government; The free port was opened in 1894. During the Second World War, Copenhagen was under German occupation from 1940–45.
Founded in 1971 by young Danes as a “social experiment” on a former barracks site in the Christianshavn district, the “free town of Christiania” was granted limited legal status by the government in 1986.
Other Major Cities in Denmark
Limfjord
Limfjord [-fjo ː r], west- eastern estuary through North Jutland, Denmark, 180 km long, up to 24 m deep, 1,700 km 2 area, widened like a lake and a lake in the western part, connects the Kattegat and the North Sea, separates Vendsyssel-Thy from the rest of Jutland. Islands and shallows make shipping difficult; Bank connection through bridges, a 581 m long tunnel and ferries; in the lakes oyster farming (»bredning«). The largest of the islands in the west is Mors (363 km 2; Morsø municipality, 20,600 residents).
Fanø
Fano [ fa ː NØ ː ], island off the west coast of Jutland in Esbjerg, Denmark 56 km 2, 17 km long, 3 300 residents. Fanø consists mainly of dunes and heathland, some of which are afforested; marshes to the east. The center of international bathing traffic is Vesterhavsted, the administrative center is the fishing village Nordby (with a navigation school).
Rømø
Romo [ Römo ː ], German Rom, largest Danish North Sea island, in the region of Southern Denmark, 129 km 2, connected with 600 residents to the mainland by a 9 km long causeway, the island of Sylt by a ferry; The main town is Havneby(fishing and ferry port).
Rømø has a heather-covered dune landscape with a sandy beach up to 4 km wide; narrow marching strips in the south-east and north-east; Tourist area with summer houses. The settlements (in the east), built in the Frisian style, keep numerous memorabilia of the whaling captains who lived here in the 18th century.
Jutland
Jutland (Danish Jylland), Danish peninsula between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, which forms the mainland part of Denmark (with offshore islands: 29 778 km 2). A ridge divides Jutland into the fertile ground moraine landscape in the east with larger cities and ports and the sparsely populated Geestland in the west.