Copenhagen København
Clockwise: Slotsholmen, Tivoli Gardens, City Hall Square and The Marble Church
Coat of arms
Copenhagen Location in Denmark
Coordinates: 55°40′34″N 12°34′06″E / 55.67611°N 12.56833°E / 55.67611; 12.56833Coordinates: 55°40′34″N 12°34′06″E / 55.67611°N 12.56833°E / 55.67611; 12.56833
Country	Denmark
Region	Capital Region of Denmark
First mention	11th century
City Status	13th century
Government
• Lord Mayor	Frank Jensen (S)
Area
• City	88.25 km2 (34.07 sq mi)
• Metro	3,030 km2 (1,170 sq mi)
Population (2012)[1][2]
• City	551,580
• Density	6,300/km2 (16,000/sq mi)
• Urban	1,213,822 (details)
• Metro	1,935,746 (details)
• Metro density	639/km2 (1,660/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Website	www.kk.dk

Copenhagen ( /ˈkoʊpənheɪɡən/ or /ˈkoʊpənhɑːɡən/; Danish: København pronounced [kʰøb̥m̩ˈhɑʊ̯ˀn] ( listen), Latin: Hafnia) is the capital of Denmark and its most populous city, with an urban population of 1,213,822 (as of 1 January 2012 (2012 -01-01)^[update]) and a metropolitan population of 1,935,746 (as of 1 April 2012 (2012 -04-01)^[update]). With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region. Within this region, Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmö are growing into a combined metropolitan area.^[3][4][5] Copenhagen is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager.

First documented in the 11th century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the beginning of the 15th century. During the 17th century, under the reign of Christian IV, it became a significant regional centre.

Copenhagen is a major regional centre of culture, business, media, and science, as indicated by several international surveys and rankings (see International rankings below). Life science, information technology and shipping are important sectors, and research & development plays a major role in the city's economy. Its strategic location and excellent infrastructure, with the largest airport in Scandinavia,^[6] Kastrup, located 14 minutes by train from the city centre, have made it a regional hub and a popular location for regional headquarters^[7] and conventions.

Copenhagen has repeatedly been recognized as one of the cities with the best quality of life.^[8][9][10] It is also considered one of the world's most environmentally friendly cities. The water in the inner harbour is clean and safe for swimming. 36% of all citizens commute to work by bicycle. Every day, they cycle a combined 1.2 million km.^[11]

Since the turn of the millennium, Copenhagen has seen a strong urban and cultural development. This is partly due to massive investments in cultural facilities as well as infrastructure and a new wave of successful designers, chefs and architects.^[9]

History[link]

Reconstruction of Copenhagen as of c. 1500

Copenhagen's founding has traditionally been dated to Bishop Absalon's construction of a castle on the small island of Slotsholmen in 1167 where Christiansborg Palace stands today. Recent archeological finds indicate that by the 11th century, Copenhagen had already grown into a small town with a large estate, a church, a market, at least two wells and many smaller habitations spread over a fairly wide area.^[12] Many historians believe that the town dates to the late Viking age, and was possibly founded by Sweyn I Forkbeard. From the middle of the 12th century it grew in importance, after coming into Absolon's possession, 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. However it did not become the nation's capital until the middle of the 15th century, and the archbishop still has residence in Roskilde.

The city's origin as a harbour and a place of commerce is reflected in its name. Its original designation, from which the contemporary Danish name is derived, was Køpmannæhafn, meaning "merchants' harbour" or "buyer's haven" (cf. German "Kaufmannshafen"). The English name for the city is derived from its Low German name, Kopenhagen. The element hafnium is also named for Copenhagen, whose Latin name is Hafnia,^[13] derived from the city's original name, Hafnæ ("harbour"). The bacterium Hafnia is also named for Copenhagen, being coined in 1954 by Vagn Møller of the Statens Seruminstitut in Copenhagen. ^[14]

As the town rose in prominence, it was repeatedly attacked by the Hanseatic League. In 1254 it received its charter as a city under Bishop Jakob Erlandsen. During 1658–59 it withstood a siege by the Swedes under Charles X and successfully repelled a major assault. In 1711 the plague reduced Copenhagen's population of about 65,000 by one-third.^[15]

On 2 April 1801 a British fleet under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker defeated a Danish-Norwegian fleet anchored near Copenhagen. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson led the main attack.^[16][17][18] He famously disobeyed Parker's order to withdraw, destroying many of the Dano-Norwegian ships before a truce was agreed.^[16][19][20] Copenhagen is often considered to be Nelson's hardest-fought battle, surpassing even the heavy fighting at Trafalgar.^{[16][19][21][22][23]} It was during this battle that Lord Nelson famously "put the telescope to the blind eye" in order not to see Admiral Parker's signal to cease fire.^[21]

The Second Battle of Copenhagen (or the Bombardment of Copenhagen) (16 August – 5 September 1807) was from a British point of view a preemptive attack on Copenhagen, targeting the civilian population in order to seize the Dano-Norwegian fleet.^{[19][21][24][25]} But from a Danish point of view the battle was a terror bombardment on their capital. Particularly notable was the use of incendiary Congreve rockets (containing phosphorus, which cannot be extinguished with water) that randomly hit the city. Few houses with straw roofs remained after the bombardment. The largest church, Vor frue kirke, was destroyed by the sea artillery. The battle is considered the first terror attack against a major European city in modern times by several historians.^[25][26] The confiscation of the navy, would later source the term to Copenhagenize.

Slotsholmen canal, as seen from Børsen (1890–1900). In the background from left to right: Church of the Holy Ghost, Rundetårn, Trinity Church, St. Nicholas Church (before the spire was rebuilt) and Holmen Church.

The British landed 30,000 men and surrounded Copenhagen.^[19][21] The attack continued for the next three days, killing some 2,000 civilians and destroying most of the city.^[19][21] The devastation was so great because Copenhagen relied on an old defence-line whose limited range could not reach the British ships and their longer-range artillery.^[27] Not until the 1850s were the ramparts of the city opened to allow new housing to be built around The Lakes (Danish: Søerne) that bordered the old defences to the west. This dramatic increase of space was long overdue, because the old ramparts were out of date as a defence system, and because of bad sanitation in the old city. Before the opening, central Copenhagen 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. The occupation was not a part of the Nazi German expansion, and in the first years German authorities wanted a kind of understanding with the Danish government. Even a general parliamentary election was granted in 1941, with only the Communist Party excluded. But in August 1943, when the government's collaboration with the occupation forces collapsed, several ships were scuttled in Copenhagen Harbour by the Royal Danish Navy to prevent their use by the Germans. Around that time the Nazis started to arrest Jews, although many managed to escape to Sweden.

After the Normandy invasion the Germans feared that the Danish police could become a problem, and in early September 1944 the entire Danish police force was meant to be arrested. But a majority of the Danish police managed to either hide or escape to Sweden. Out of 2,000 policemen captured and deported to Germany fewer than half returned after the war. During the last eight months of occupation Copenhagen suffered a high rate of common criminality.

Ole Lippman, the leader of the Danish resistance movement (SOE), asked for RAF assistance in attacking Nazi headquarters in Copenhagen. Accordingly, vice Air Marshall Sir Basil Embry drew the plans for a spectacular precision attack on the SD and Gestapo building, the former office of the Shell Oil Company. Political prisoners were kept in the attic to prevent an air raid, so the RAF had to bomb the lower levels of the building. The attack came on 22 March 1945, coming in three small waves. All six planes (carrying one bomb each) in the first wave hit their target, but unfortunately one of the aircraft crashed near Frederiksberg girls school. Due to this crash four of the planes in the two following waves assumed the school was the target, and aim their bombs at the school. Several teachers and some 15 students were killed, but 18 (of 20 total) political prisoners managed to escape, the Gestapo archives were completely destroyed, and Hitler became so insecure of the situation that he withdrew only half of the roughly 200,000 soldiers in Denmark to reinforce German forces on the Rhine.^[28][29][30]

Since the summer of 2000, Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmö have been connected by a toll bridge/tunnel (Øresund Bridge), which carries railroad and automobile traffic. 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 many changes to the public transport system and extensive redevelopment of Amager, south of Copenhagen.

In December 2009 Copenhagen hosted the worldwide climate meeting COP15. When US President Barack Obama participated in the end of this meeting it was the fourth time an American President had visited Copenhagen during his term (Obama also visited Copenhagen in October 2009, George W. Bush in 2005 and Bill Clinton in the 1990s).

Geography[link]

Amager Square seen from St. Nicholas Church

Location[link]

Copenhagen is located on the eastern shore of the island of Zealand, partly on the island of Amager and on a number of natural and artificial islets between the two. Copenhagen faces the Øresund to the east, the strait of water that separates Denmark from Sweden, and which connects the North Sea with the Baltic Sea. The Swedish towns of Malmö and Landskrona lie on the Swedish side of the sound directly across from Copenhagen.

Copenhagen is part of the Øresund region, which consists of Zealand, Lolland-Falster and Bornholm in Denmark and Scania in Sweden.

Copenhagen Municipality[link]

Copenhagen Municipality is an administrative unit which covers the central part of the actual city of Copenhagen. It is a fairly small part of the actual city which falls within the municipality both because it covers a confined area and because the enclave of Frederiksberg is an independent municipality. Since a reform in 2006–08, Copenhagen is divided into 10 official districts (Danish: Bydele).^[31]

The suffix -bro in the names Østerbro, Nørrebro, Vesterbro and Amagerbro should not be confused with the Danish word for bridge, which is also 'bro'. The term is thought^{[citation needed]} to be an abbreviation or short form of the Danish word brolagt meaning paved referring to the roads paved with cobblestones leading to the city's former gates. Today the Frederiksberg enclave, whilst not part of the Copenhagen municipality (and so administratively independent), is considered to be part of the city of Copenhagen. Frederiksberg became an enclave in 1901 when the former districts of Vanløse and Valby were incorporated to Copenhagen municipality. Since 1902 no further incorporations has been made to the municipality.

The highest population density is no longer found in the city centre ("Indre by", which means Inner town) due to office buildings, department stores and council buildings, etc. The highest population density is instead found in the districts closest to the city centre, where there is a density of 15,000 inhabitants per km². For example at the entire Nørrebro district,^[32] the parts of the Østerbro district between the big park Fælledparken and the large harbour areas,^[33] the east and north Frederiksberg.^[34] Also the Vesterbro part of the official Vesterbro-Kongens Enghave district and small Christianshavn^[35] across the harbour has a high population density. In other words, the highest population density whithin Copenhagen is found in the areas surrounding the city centre.^[36]

The lowest population density in the municipality exists in a part of the Amager Vest district. At the western coast of the island of Amager a large area was embanked from the shallow strait of Kalveboderne in the 1930s. The main reason was to provide an occupation for unemployed workers during the Great Depression. As the area was later used as a military training area, the ground contains much unexploded ammunition which has hampered urban development. In the 1980s most of the embankment was declared a nature reserve and thus remains uninhabited, although a part now makes up the Ørestad quarter. Also, a golf course has been established a few kilometres from the city centre.

The area of Copenhagen has also grown in other places as a result of landfill. Thus, all of the present and former harbour areas were gained from the sea, and on eastern Amager, a new beach park with an artificial island was opened in 2008.

Greater Copenhagen[link]

Greater Copenhagen in Denmark

The conurbation of Copenhagen consists of several municipalities. After Copenhagen Municipality, the second largest is Frederiksberg Municipality, an enclave inside Copenhagen Municipality. Both are contained in the larger Capital Region of Denmark, containing most of the urban area of Copenhagen. However Danish road authority (Vejdirektoratet) still uses the name Greater Copenhagen (Storkøbenhavn). This area had around 1.45 million inhabitants in the mid 1990's.

Previously, the areas of Frederiksberg, Gentofte and Copenhagen municipalities have been used to define the city of Copenhagen. This definition is now obsolete. To meet statistical needs upon the latest municipal reform, which took place in early 2007, a definitory concept of Danish lands (Danish: landsdele) was introduced. A land is basically a geographical and statistical definition, and the area is not considered to be an administrative unit. The land of Copenhagen City includes the municipalities of Copenhagen, Dragør, Frederiksberg and Tårnby, with a total population of 704,108 at the start of 2012.^[37][38]

Copenhagen and Frederiksberg were two of the three last Danish municipalities not belonging to a county. On 1 January 2007, the municipalities lost their county privileges and became part of the Copenhagen Capital Region.

Finger Plan[link]

Suburban Copenhagen (or the Copenhagen metropolitan area) is planned according to the Finger Plan (Danish: Fingerplanen), initiated in 1947, dividing the suburbs into five fingers.^[39] The S-train lines are built according to the Finger Plan, while green wedges and highways are built between the fingers.

Climate[link]

Copenhagen is in the oceanic climate zone, bordering on a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb). As the city is in the path of Atlantic low-pressure systems, Copenhagen experiences unstable and changing weather patterns in all four seasons, as well as temperatures about 5 degrees higher than average for its latitude (55 degrees North) worldwide. The main reason for this warmth is the Atlantic Gulf Stream, which moves warm water from around the Gulf Coast area toward Europe, and the low-pressure systems follow with the oceanic stream.

Precipitation is moderate throughout the year, with a small peak during June to August. Snowfall occurs mainly from late December until early March, but snow cover seldom lasts long. Rain during January and February is as common as snow, and the average temperatures for these two winter months is near the freezing point.

During winter, the weather is dependent on which latitude the Atlantic low pressure centre takes. With a stable high-pressure system around the Alps, the low pressure from the southwest moves toward southern Scandinavia and northern Germany, producing above-freezing temperatures day and night. When a stable high-pressure system sits over Denmark or the lands to the northeast (such as Finland or Russia), the mild Atlantic winds from the southwest are blocked, allowing polar winds to cover the area, and the temperature dips to below freezing (rarely below −5 °C (23 °F) during the day and −12 °C (10 °F) during the night). If the European continent experiences cold due to the eastern Russian winds, which rarely occurs, it can "freeze from the south".^{[citation needed]} This was a phenomenon that took several centuries to understand.

Spring is comparable to continental Europe, but delayed about a week because of the cold surrounding water. On the other hand, in late autumn Copenhagen is kept milder due to the same factor, but reversed. In late November and December the surrounding ocean water is generally warmer than the air. From mid-October to February, one or two storms occur. Storms in the summertime are rare.

Summer is a mixture of southwestern mild, windy and rainy low-pressure systems, and periods of stable high pressures. In summer, high-pressure systems usually bring sunny and fairly warm weather. But these warm periods, which can occur any time from late April until mid September, usually last no longer than ten days.^{[citation needed]}

Cityscape[link]

Metropolis building

The city's appearance today is shaped by the key role it has played as a regional centre for centuries. Copenhagen has a multitude of districts, each representing its time and with its own distinctive character, making up a dense urban fabric. Other distinctive features of Copenhagen include the abundance of water, the many parks, and the bicycle paths that line most streets.

Architecture[link]

Amalienborg Palace and the Marble Church seen with the Amalie Garden in the foreground.

The oldest section of Copenhagen's inner city is often referred to as "Middelalderbyen" (The Medieval City). However, the most distinctive district of Copenhagen is Frederiksstaden developed during the reign of Frederick V. It has Amalienborg Palace at its centre and is dominated by the dome of the Marble Church and several elegant 18th century mansions. The old inner city of Copenhagen includes the small island of Slotsholmen with Christiansborg Palace and Christianshavn. Around the historical city centre lies a band of congenial residential bouroughs (Vesterbro, Inner Nørrebro, Inner Østerbro) dating mainly from late 19th century. They were built outside the old ramparts of the city when the city was finally allowed to expand beyond this barrier.

Sometimes referred to as "the City of Spires", Copenhagen is known for its horizontal skyline, only broken by spires at churches and castles. Most characteristic is the baroque spire of Church of Our Saviour with its spiralling and narrowing external stairs that visitors can climb to the very top of the spire. Other important spires are those of Christiansborg Palace, the City Hall and the former Church of St. Nikolaj that now houses a modern art venue. A bit lower are the renaissance spires of Rosenborg Castle and the "dragon spire" of Christian IV's former stock exchange, so named because it resembles the tails of four dragons twined together.

Developing skyline of the district Ørestad, located in the outskirts of Copenhagen. 12 towers expected to form the final skyline.

Recent years have seen a boom in modern architecture in Copenhagen^[40] both when it comes to Danish architecture and works by international architects. For a few hundred years, virtually no foreign architects had worked in Copenhagen but since the turn of the millennium the city and its immediate sourroundings have seen buildings and projects from international star architects. In the same time, a number of Danish architects have achieved success in Copenhagen and abroad. Buildings in Copenhagen have won RIBA European Awards four years in a row ("Sampension" in 2005,^[41] "Kilen" in 2006,^[42] "Tietgenkollegiet" in 2007^[43] and the Royal Playhouse in 2008.^[44]) The last three mentioned projects are all by Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects.^[45] At the 2008 World Architecture Festival in Barcelona, Bjarke Ingels Group won an award for the World's Best Residential Building 2008 for a house in Ørestad.^[46] The Forum AID Award for Best building in Scandinavia went to Copenhagen buildings both in 2006^[47] and 2008.^[48] In 2008 British design magazine Monocle named Copenhagen the World's best design city 2008.^[49]

The boom in urban development and modern architecture has brought some changes to the city's skyline. A political majority has decided to keep the historical centre free of high-rise buildings, but several areas will see or have already seen massive urban development. Ørestad now has seen most of the recent development. Located near Copenhagen Airport, it currently boasts one of the largest malls in Scandinavia and a variety of office and residential buildings as well as IT University and a high school. The two largest hotels in Scandinavia are currently under construction (ultimo 2008).

The 2004 Copenhagen Opera House by Henning Larsen

An ambitious regeneration project will create a new Carlsberg District at the historical premises of the Carlsberg Breweries that has terminated the production of beer in Copenhagen and moved it to Fredericia. The district will have a total of nine high-rise buildings and seeks to mix the old industrial buildings with modern architecture to create a dense, maze-like quarter with a focus on sustainability and an active urban life. A third major area of urban development also with a focus on sustanibility is Nordhavn. The Copenhagen tradition with urban development on artificial islands that was initiated with Christian IV's construction of Christianshavn has recently been continued with the creation of Havneholmen as well as a canal district at Sluseholmen in the South Harbour. A district in Copenhagen with a different take on modern architecture is that of Christiania whose many creative and idiosyncratic buildings are exponents of an "architecture without architects".

Parks[link]

Ørstedsparken

Copenhagen is a green city with many big and small parks. King's Garden, the garden of Rosenborg Castle, is the oldest and most visited park in Copenhagen.^[50] Its landscaping was commenced by Christian IV in 1606. Every year it sees more than 2.5 million visitors^[51] and in the summer months it is packed with sunbathers, picnickers and ballplayers. It serves as a sculpture garden with a permanent display of sculptures as well as temporary exhibits during summer.^[50] Also located in the city centre are the Botanical Gardens particularly noted for their large complex of 19th century greenhouses donated by Carlsberg founder J. C. Jacobsen.^[52] Fælledparken is at 58 hectares the largest park in Copenhagen.^[53] It is popular for sports and hosts several annual events such as a free opera concert at the opening of the opera season, other open-air concerts, carnival, Labour Day celebrations and Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix, which is a race for antique cars. A historical green space in the northeastern part of the city is Kastellet, a well-preserved renaissance citadel that now serves mainly as a park. Another popular park is the Frederiksberg Garden, a 32-hectare romantic landscape park. It houses a colony of tame grey herons and other waterfowl. The park offers views of the elephants and the elephant house designed by world-famous British architect Norman Foster of the adjacent Copenhagen Zoo, the largest zoo in Denmark.

In Copenhagen, many cemeteries double as parks, though only for the more quiet activities such as sunbathing, reading and meditation.^[54] Assistens Cemetery, the burial place of Hans Christian Andersen, is an important green space for the district of Inner Nørrebro and a Copenhagen institution. The lesser known Vestre Kirkegaard is the largest (54 hectares) cemetery in Denmark^[55] and offers a maze of dense groves, open lawns, winding paths, hedges, overgrown tombs, monuments, tree-lined avenues, lakes and other garden features.

It is official municipal policy in Copenhagen that all citizens by 2015 must be able to reach a park or beach on foot in less than 15 minutes.^[56] In line with this policy, several new parks are under development in areas lacking green spaces.^[57][58]

Beaches[link]

Copenhagen and the surrounding areas have 3 beaches with a total of approx. 8 km of sandy beaches within 30 minutes cycling from the city centre. This includes Amager Strandpark, which opened in 2005 and includes a 2 km long artificial island and a total of 4.6 km of beaches,^[59] located just 15 minutes by bicycle or a few minutes by metro from the city centre.

The beaches are supplemented by a system of Harbour Baths along the Copenhagen waterfront. The first and most popular of these is located at Islands Brygge^[60] and has won international acclaim for its design.^[61]

Demographics[link]

As of 2010, 78.4% of Copenhagen's population is Danish, 7.0% are immigrants from western countries and 14.47% of a non-Western background.^[62]