History of Copenhagen
The history of
The town was significantly enlarged under Christian IV of Denmark after his coronation in 1596 by the addition of new city districts and modern fortifications with earthworks and bastions. The king commissioned German and Dutch architects and craftsmen to construct magnificent edifices designed to enhance his prestige. By the time of Christian IV's death in 1648, Copenhagen had become Denmark's principal fortification and naval port, and the town formed a framework for the administration of the Danish kingdom and as a centre of trade in Northern Europe.
During 1658-59 it withstood a severe siege by the
Since the summer 2000, the cities of Copenhagen and Malmö have been connected by a toll bridge/tunnel (Øresund Bridge) for both rail and road traffic. As a result, Copenhagen has become the centre of a larger metropolitan area which spans both nations. The construction of the bridge has effected many changes to the public transportation system and the extensive redevelopment of Amager, south of the main city.
First settlements
Signs of human activity dating back to about 4000 BCE have been found, but there are no signs of permanent settlements from that time.[1]
Archaeological excavations indicate that the first town dates back to the 11th century and consisted of two settlements, one in the western part of the medieval city encircled by what are now the streets of Mikkel Bryggersgade, Vestergade, Gammeltorv/Nytorv and Løngangsstræde, roughly corresponding to the coastline of the time,[2] and another smaller settlement at what is now Kongens Nytorv.[3][4] The surrounding area consisted of moist beach meadows and signs of cattle grazing have been found.[2] The city probably had a harbour located at present day Højbro Plads.[5] Details of the existence of a small town as early as the 11th century have recently been published by Videnskab.dk with a series of articles documenting new archeological finds. These provide evidence of a large estate at today's Kongens Nytorv, a church close to the later St Clemens, a market, at least two wells and many smaller habitations spread over a fairly wide area.[6]
Absalon's town
In the 12th century Copenhagen assumed increasing importance and the town was reinforced with earthworks. The
), which laid the basis for further development in those regional centres. As Copenhagen was midway between the two cities, it was centrally located for traffic and trading.The earliest written mention of the town dates back to the 12th century, when Saxo Grammaticus in Gesta Danorum refers to it as Portus Mercatorum, which translates into Merchants' Harbour or in the Danish of the time Købmannahavn.[7] In a letter from 1186, Pope Urban III refers to the city as Hafn,[8] but this is probably just a shortened version of the full name.[7]
In around 1160,
In the years that followed, the town grew tenfold in size. Churches and abbeys were founded. Copenhagen's economy blossomed as a result of the hugely prosperous herring fishery trade, which provided large parts of Roman Catholic Europe with salted herring for Lent.
Behind the new earthworks
Copenhagen is located at the most important approach to the Baltic Sea and the rich North German trading towns of the Hanseatic League, providing it with power and wealth but also threatening its very existence. The city was fortified with a city wall of stone during the 13th century,[9] and from about 1290 until the middle of the 19th century all traffic entering and leaving Copenhagen had to pass through one of Copenhagen's four city gates or the harbour.[10] Although several Danish towns had ramparts at the time, the majority of them were earth ramparts possibly with palisades on top and a moat. Copenhagen was the second Danish town after Kalundborg to be fortified with a wall and towers.[11] This is a strong indication that it was an important town at the time.[11]
The plague disaster known as the Black Death is likely to have taken place in the late summer of 1350.[12]
Time and again the town was besieged and laid waste by the Hanseatic League. At the same time the Danish king was also attempting to take Copenhagen back from the bishop. The crown succeeded in 1416, when Eric of Pomerania took over control of the town. Thereafter Copenhagen came under the rule of the Danish Crown.
Despite centuries of power struggles and warring, the town grew increasingly rich. Copenhageners did a brisk trade with friend and foe alike. Foreign merchants came to the town. Craft guilds were established and in 1479 the University of Copenhagen was founded.
In 1581
Renaissance
By the time of Christian IV's coronation in 1596, Copenhagen had become rich and powerful. The new king decided to make the town the economic, military, religious, and cultural centre for the whole of the Nordic region. The king established the first trading companies with sole rights to trade with lands overseas. In order to restrict imports, factories were set up so that as many goods as possible could be manufactured at home.
Christian IV expanded Copenhagen by adding two new districts: Nyboder (New Booths) for the large numbers of navy personnel and the merchants' new district Christianshavn (Christian's Harbour), which is modelled after Amsterdam. A modern fortification with earthworks and bastions was built to surround the whole of the extended town.
Apart from the new earthworks Christian IV commissioned German and Dutch architects and craftsmen to construct magnificent edifices designed to enhance his prestige. To this day, the buildings make their mark on the cityscape of Copenhagen.
By the time of Christian IV's death in 1648, Copenhagen had become Denmark's principal fortification and naval port, and the town formed a framework for the administration of the Danish kingdom and as a centre of trade in Northern Europe.
During 1658–59 the city withstood a severe siege by the
18th century
In July 1700, Copenhagen underwent a bombardment from a British-Dutch-Swedish navy but did not suffer much damage. From June 1711 to March 1712, it was
During the
Near the end of the 18th century, Copenhagen's trade and the wealth that followed reached its so far highest level. Although the fire of 1795 destroyed about a quarter of the city and rendered 3,500 homeless,[14] the damage was relatively quickly repaired and most of the city was rebuilt by the turn of the 19th century.[15]
19th century
On 2 April 1801 a
The
The political after-effects of the conflict did even greater damage to the city and the nation. If the previous 25 years had been a heyday for Copenhagen, the next 25 years became a period of poverty. Surprisingly science, literature and art blossomed. Following the July Revolution of 1830 the Danish liberal and national movement gained momentum, and after the European Revolutions of 1848 Denmark became a constitutional monarchy on June 5, 1849. On January 1, 1840, the city was given a new municipal constitution which was expanded on March 4, 1857.
Roughly at the same time 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 in 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. As the area within the ramparts had been almost constant since the reign of Christian IV despite a fourfold increase in the population, the buildings had become taller and the amount of space available to residents had decreased. By relaxing the demarcation line introduced as a result of the defences, unrestricted permission to build property outside the lakes was introduced in 1852. This caused a considerable growth in Nørrebro, Vesterbro and Frederiksberg. A new neighbourhood arose in 1861–77 on the island of Gammelholm as Holmen Naval Base was moved to Nyholm, and large parts of Nyboder were changed into ordinary residences. In 1868 it was decided to remove the ramparts and from 1872 the old glacises were converted into residential areas. By the construction of Frihavn harbour in 1894 another neighbourhood was founded stretching towards Hellerup. In 1900–01, the large developments of Brønshøj and Valby followed.
The
20th century
During
The city has grown greatly since the war. In the 1970s, the so-called five-finger-plan provided commuter train links to the surrounding towns and suburbs. Conditions in the central city deteriorated rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s. Financially the city verged on bankruptcy. Negative factors included de-industrialization, flight to the suburbs, high unemployment, escalating welfare, dilapidated housing, and ethnic strong segregation. The city recovered rapidly by 2010, thanks to its service- and knowledge-based economy.[25]
In 1992 construction on the Copenhagen Metro and in 1993 development of a new city area, the Ørestad, began on the island of Amager. The metro underground train system opened for traffic in 2002.
Since the summer of 2000, the cities of Copenhagen and
In December 2009 Copenhagen hosted the worldwide climate meeting
See also
References
Notes
- ^ Skaarup; Jensen (2002), pp. 14–15.
- ^ a b Skaarup (1999), pp. 76–77.
- ^ Gautier; Skaarup; Gabrielsen; Kristiansen; Ejlersen, pp. 159–60.
- ^ Gabrielsen, pp. 67–71.
- ^ Skaarup (1999), p. 80.
- ^ Arkæologer graver ny teori om København op af mulden (Archeologists develop new theory about Copenhagen from their digs), Videnskab.dk, 5 November 2008
- ^ a b Skaarup; Jensen (2002), pp. 14–15
- ^ Pope Urban III.
- ^ Kristiansen, pp. 159–60.
- ^ Skaarup; Jensen (2002), p. 46
- ^ a b Skaarup; Jensen (2002), pp. 30–31.
- ^ Janken Myrdal: Digerdöden, pestvågor och ödeläggelse. Ett perspektiv på senmedeltidens Sverige
- ^ Skaarup; Jensen (2002), pp. 34–35
- ^ Raabyemagle, p. 16.
- ^ Smidt, p. 43.
- ^ "History of THE NAPOLEONIC WARS". www.historyworld.net. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
- ^ "Napoleonic War: Battle of Copenhagen 1801". www.historyofwar.org. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
- ^ a b c d e "History of NAPOLEON BONAPARTE". www.historyworld.net. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
- ^ Dudley Pope, The Great Gamble: Nelson at Copenhagen (1972)
- ^ a b c d e Davies, Peter (2007-09-03). "Copenhagen's second battle remembered - 200 years on - Times Online". London: timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
- ^ "The Battle of Copenhagen". Britishbattles.com. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
- ^ Tom Pocock, Horatio Nelson, Pimlico (1987), p.229
- ^ Smith, D. The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book. Greenhill Books, 1998, p.204
- ^ Wendy Hinde, George Canning (Purnell Books Services, 1973), p. 168.
- ^ Hans Thor Andersen, and Lars Winther, "Crisis in the resurgent city? The rise of Copenhagen." International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 34.3 (2010): 693-700.
Further reading
- Andersen, Hans Thor, and Lars Winther. "Crisis in the resurgent city? The rise of Copenhagen." International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 34.3 (2010): 693-700. Resurged in the mid-1990s with growth in jobs, income and population, based on a service- and knowledge-based economy
- Andersen, Hans Thor, Frank Hansen, and John Jørgensen. "The fall and rise of metropolitan government in Copenhagen." GeoJournal 58.1 (2002): 43-52. online
- Bayliss, Darrin. "The rise of the creative city: Culture and creativity in Copenhagen." European planning studies 15.7 (2007): 889-903.
- Birkelund, Palle. "The Royal Library of Copenhagen,"Library History Review (1974) 1#1 pp 83–96.
- Brock, Aske Laursen, and Jelle Van Lottum. "Rural maritime labour migration to Copenhagen and Stockholm (1700–1800)." Continuity and Change 34.2 (2019): 231-252.
- Coninck-Smith, Ning de. "Copenhagen Children's Lives and the Impact of Institutions, c. 1840–1920." History Workshop Journal 33#1 (1992), pp 57–72. focus on schools
- Dahlström, Hanna, Bjørn Poulsen, and Jesper Olsen. "From a port for traders to a town of merchants: exploring the topography, activities and dynamics of early medieval Copenhagen." Danish Journal of Archaeology 7.1 (2018): 69-116.
- Friedmann, Karen J. "Food Marketing in Copenhagen 1250-1850." Agricultural History 50.2 (1976): 400-413. online
- Glover, Gareth. The Two Battles of Copenhagen 1801 and 1807: Britain and Denmark in the Napoleonic Wars (2018) excerpt
- Gold, Carol. Women in Business in Early Modern Copenhagen 1740–1835 (2018)
- Gold, Carol. Educating Middle Class Daughters: Private Girls Schools in Copenhagen, 1790-1820 (1996), 243pp.
- Johansen, Hans Christian, and M. Phohl. "Danish banking history."in Handbook on the History of European Banks (Edward Elgar, 1994).
- Kolbe, Laura. "Symbols of civic pride, national history or European tradition? City halls in Scandinavian capital cities." Urban History 35.3 (2008): 382-413, covers Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo.
- Lund Hansen, Anders, Hans Thor Andersen, and Eric Clark. "Creative Copenhagen: globalization, urban governance and social change." European Planning Studies 9.7 (2001): 851-869 online.
- Meyer, Henrik J. "The distribution of income in Copenhagen at the beginning of the nineteenth century." Scandinavian Economic History Review 45.1 (1997): 30-57.
- Munck, Thomas. "Keeping the Peace: ‘Good police’ and civic order in 18th‐century Copenhagen." Scandinavian Journal of History 32.1 (2007): 38-62.
- Pattison, George. Kierkegaard and Copenhagen (Oxford University Press, 2013).
- Raabyemagle, Hanne (1998). "Harsdorff shows the way". In Raabyemagle, H.; Smidt C. (eds.). Classicism in Copenhagen. Denmark: Gyldendal. ISBN 87-00-34356-0.
- Smidt, Claus M. (1998). "Bourgeois architecture". In Raabyemagle, H.; Schmidt C. (eds.). Classicism in Copenhagen. Denmark: Gyldendal. ISBN 87-00-34356-0.
- Woodward, Christopher. Copenhagen (Manchester UP, 1998), city's history
In Danish
- Gabrielsen, Karsten (1999). "Københavns arkæologi og den historiske topografi". In Gautier, E.; Skaarup. B.; Gabrielsen, K.; Kristiansen, M.; Ejlersen T. (eds.). Historiske Meddelelser om København 1999 (in Danish). Copenhagen: ISBN 87-89457-13-7.
- Gautier, E.; Skaarup. B.; Gabrielsen, K.; Kristiansen, M.; Ejlersen, T. (1999). "Den tidligste bebyggelse og Absalon". Historiske Meddelelser om København 1999 (in Danish). Copenhagen: ISBN 87-89457-13-7.
- Kristiansen, Mette Svane (1999). "Den middelalderlige bybefæstning på Kongens Nytorv". In Gautier, E.; Skaarup. B.; Gabrielsen, K.; Kristiansen, M.; Ejlersen, T. (eds.). Historiske Meddelelser om København 1999 (in Danish). Copenhagen: ISBN 87-89457-13-7.
- Pope Urban III. "Pope Urban III's letter from 1186". In Nielsen, Oluf (ed.). Kjøbenhavns Diplomatarium (in Danish and Latin). Copenhagen: Thiele. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
- Skaarup, Bi (1999). "Strandenge og kystlinien i den ældste tid". In Gautier, E.; Skaarup. B.; Gabrielsen, K.; Kristiansen, M.; Ejlersen T. (eds.). Historiske Meddelelser om København 1999 (in Danish). Copenhagen: ISBN 87-89457-13-7.
- Skaarup, Bi; Jensen, Johan R. M. (2002). Arkæologien i metroens spor — The archaeology in the tracks of the metro (in Danish and English). The Orestad Development Corporation and Copenhagen City Museum. ISBN 87-90143-15-9.