Copenhagen, Denmark

We visit the Danish capital and see many of the city's delights including the Cathedral, Royal Palace and the statue of the Little Mermaid.

From its humble origins as a fishing village to its heyday as the glittering capital of the Danish Empire, to its current position as one of the world's premier design capitals, the stories and characters of Copenhagen's history can be discovered in its sumptuous palaces, copper-roofed town houses and atmospheric cobbled squares. From the Viking Age there was a fishing village by the name of "Havn" (harbour) at the site. From the middle of the 12th century it grew in importance after coming into the possession of the Bishop Absalon, who fortified it in 1167, the year traditionally marking the foundation of Copenhagen. The excellent harbour encouraged Copenhagen's growth until it became an important centre of commerce (hence its name - the first part of the word denoting commerce in Danish language). It was repeatedly attacked by the Hanseatic League as the Germans took notice. In 1254, it received its charter as a city under Bishop Jakob Erlandsen.


Copenhagen c. 1895During 1658-59 it withstood a severe siege by the Swedes under Charles X and successfully repelled a major assault. In 1801 a British fleet under Admiral Parker fought a major battle, the Battle of Copenhagen, with the Danish Navy in Copenhagen harbour. It was during this battle Lord Nelson famously "put the telescope to the blind eye" in order not to see Admiral Parker's signal to cease fire. When a British expeditionary force bombarded Copenhagen in 1807, to gain control of the Danish Navy, the city suffered great damage and hundreds of people were killed. The reason why the devastation was so great was that Copenhagen relied on an old defence-line rendered virtually useless by the increase in shooting range available to the British. But not until the 1850s were the ramparts of the city opened to allow new housing to be built around the lakes ("Søerne") which bordered the old defence system to the west. This dramatic increase of space was long overdue, not only because the old ramparts were out of date as a defence system, but also because of bad sanitation in the old city. Before the opening, Copenhagen Center was inhabited by approximately 125,000 people, peaking in the census of 1870 (140,000); today the figure is around 25,000. In 1901, Copenhagen expanded further, incorporating communities with 40,000 people, and in the process making Frederiksberg an enclave within Copenhagen.

During World War II, Copenhagen was occupied by German troops along with the rest of the country from 9 April 1940 until 4 May 1945. In August 1943, when the government's collaboration with the occupation forces collapsed, several ships were sunk in Copenhagen Harbour by the Royal Danish Navy to prevent them being used by the Germans. The city has grown greatly since the war, in the seventies using the so-called five-finger-plan of commuter trainlines to surrounding towns and suburbs.


Kongens Nytorv
View from RundetårnSince the summer 2000, the cities of Copenhagen and Malmö have been connected by a toll bridge/tunnel (Øresund Bridge), which allows both rail and road passengers to cross. As a result, Copenhagen has become the centre of a larger metropolitan area which spans both nations. The construction of the bridge has led to a large number of changes to the public transportation system and the extensive redevelopment of Amager, south of the main city.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• copenhagen
• denmark
• danish
• royal
• palace
• scandinavia
• mary
• crown
• prince
• princess
• little
• mermaid
• cathedral

[MyDearKyoKun]

You know more about Denmark than I do and I'm Danish. FML.

[YOUcrash1234]

æøå



[ortmannic]

Skrid .... det plejer i at sige, men hvis du ikke kan snakke pænt om DK og hvis du ikke føgler dig hjemme ... ? så pak dit lort og pis ud af danmark.. vi har gjort alt og mere til for jer, i pisser bare på danmark og deres love og normer, FY for satan... så er i ikke velkommen AFGANG

[sami103435]

@lyue1996 are you trying to say that Denmark is shit?

[lyue1996]

@sami103435 Omg, you are using google translate. You don't even know a SHIT about denmark, you don't even live here. And now you use google translate so you think people would believe more about what you say about denmark? lol

[sami103435]

@Sakkura1 Don't say it to me, say it to the company that made Google translate.

[sami103435]

@lyue1996 Det er ikke sandt.

[sami103435]

@PYDDZIExTHECRAFTER Hvilket udsagn?

[Sakkura1]

@sami103435 Google translate sucks.

[PYDDZIExTHECRAFTER]

@sami103435 Den sætning gav ingen mening.

[sami103435]

@PYDDZIExTHECRAFTER Dig blive en moden taber.

[sami103435]

@Sakkura1 Det er så halt, hvad du taler om.