A detailed history of COPENHAGEN. Included in this presentation are famous landmarks and buildings and institutes of higher education.

1. Copenhagen

2. Overview
• Copenhagen (Danish: København) is the
capital and largest city of Denmark.
• As of the July 2018 census, it has a
population of 777,218 (616,098 in
Copenhagen Municipality, 103,914 in
Frederiksberg Municipality, 43,005 in
Tårnby Municipality, and 14,201 in Dragør
Municipality).
• It makes up the center of the wider urban
area of Copenhagen (population 1,627,705)
and the Copenhagen metropolitan area
(population 2,057,737).
• Copenhagen is located on the eastern coast
of the island of Zealand (Sjælland); another
small part is located on Amager and is
separated from Malmö, Sweden via the
strait of Øresund; the Øresund Bridge links
the two cities by rail and road.

3. Early history and Middle Ages
• Copenhagen traces its history as far back as the early 10th century, when a
small village existed on the site on which the present-day city currently
stands.
• In 1167, Bishop Absalon of Roskilde constructed a castle on an island off the
coast and secured the town with fortifications and a trench.
• In 1445, Copenhagen was proclaimed the capital of Denmark and the
residence of the royal family.

4. Statue of Bishop Absalon

5. Map of Medieval Copenhagen

6. 16th and 17th centuries
• The city was repeatedly destroyed during the civil and religious conflicts of
the Protestant Reformation.
• Throughout the end of the 16th century, the city’s trade began to prosper;
Copenhagen therefore underwent expansion.
• The new buildings that were inaugurated during this expansion included
the Børsen (Exchange), the Holmens Church, Trinitatis Church, with
the nearby famous Round Tower, and the castle of Rosenborg (now the
museum of the royal family).
• During the wars with Sweden (1658–60), Copenhagen was blockaded for
two years.

7. 16th and 17th centuries (cont.):
Copenhagen in the 16th century

8. 16th and 17th centuries (cont.): Copenhagen, 11 February
1659. Danish soldiers fire at their Swedish invaders.

9. 18th and 19th centuries
• Fires in 1728 and 1795 demolished
several houses and buildings.
• In 1807, the city was attacked by the
British (opposite).
• The fortifications were retired in 1856;
the city has expanded even more since
and integrated many of the contiguous
districts.
• The heart of the city is
the Rådhuspladsen (“Town Hall
Square”).
• From the square, an old curved shopping
street leads northeast to the previous
center of the city, Kongens
Nytorv (“King’s New Square”), created in
the 17th century; buildings there comprise
the Thott Palace (now the French
Embassy) and the Charlottenborg Palace
(now the Royal Academy of Fine Arts),
both built in the 17th century, and the
Royal Theatre, built in 1874.

10. 18th and 19th centuries (cont.)
Copenhagen Fire of 1728 Copenhagen Fire of 1795

11. Copenhagen in 1856

12. 20th century
• Located on the island of Slotsholmen
(“Castle Islet”) is Christiansborg Palace
(opposite), built on the location of the
former castle founded by Bishop Absalon in
1167.
• Since 1928, the palace has been occupied by
Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the
Foreign Office.
• Adjoining buildings contain other
government offices.
• Slotsholmen also contains the Bertel
Thorvaldsen Museum, the Royal Arsenal
Museum, the state archives, and the Royal
Library.
• The Black Diamond, an expansion of the
library, opened in 1999; a modern edifice of
steel and glass, it is situated on the
waterfront.

13. 20th century (cont.): Black Diamond

14. 20th century (cont.)
• Copenhagen boasts many other notable
buildings, including the Prinsens Palace, now
the National Museum (opposite); the Church of
Our Lady; the University of Copenhagen,
founded in 1479; the Petri Church, used after
1585 as a parish church for the German
residents of the city and carefully restored
between 1994–2000; the 17th-century fortress;
and the citadel of Amalienborg.
• The vegetal gardens created in 1874 have an
observatory with a monument of the Danish
astronomer Tycho Brahe.
• A more contemporary attraction named after
the 16th-century astronomer is the Tycho Brahe
Planetarium, which opened in 1989.
• There are numerous additional popular sites:
the Tivoli amusement park and the Ny
Carlsberg Glyptotek, with a first-rate
assortment of traditional and modern art.
• Located at Langelinie Pier is the Little
Mermaid statue (1913), which is based on a
story by Hans Christian Andersen; a Danish
national icon, it is one of the city’s most visited
tourist attractions.

15. 20th century (cont.)
Church of Our Lady University of Copenhagen

16. 21st century
• The old neighborhood of Christianshavn
(opposite) is on the harbor to the south.
• It contains the 17th-century Church of Our
Saviour.
• The western neighborhood comprises the
Frederiksberg Park, with its palace and
a zoological garden.
• During much of the 20th century,
Copenhagen and its nearby areas claimed
most of Denmark’s manufacturing industry.
• By 2000, however, the city’s economy was
dominated by public and private services,
trade, finance, and education.

17. 21st century (cont.)
Church of Our Saviour Frederiksberg Palace

18. 21st century (cont.)
• Numerous arterial streets transport
traffic toward the center, across the
harbor bridges.
• There are electric railways (S-baner;
opposite) for travelers and a system of
city bus lines.
• The last streetcars were withdrawn in
1972.
• In the late 1990s, production started on a
fully automated subway system in
Copenhagen; the first line opened in
2002.
• In 2000, the Øresund Link, a joint
tunnel-and-bridge system linking
Copenhagen with Malmö, Sweden,
opened; it also serves Copenhagen
Airport at Kastrup and upholds
collaboration and regional growth on
both sides of The Sound.

19. 21st century (cont.)
City bus with free internet Øresund Bridge

20. Copenhagen Airport

21. Education
• Apart from the University of Copenhagen, there are numerous other
institutes of higher education.
• These include the Technical University of Denmark (1829), the Engineering
Academy of Denmark (1957), the Royal Danish Academy of Music (1867),
the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural College (1856), and the Copenhagen
School of Economics and Business Administration (1917).

22. Sources
• https://www.britannica.com/place/Copenhagen
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen