Copenhagen City Hall (1479–1728)

Copenhagen City Hall
Third Copenhagen City Hall, illustration from Rosens Atlas
General information
Architectural style	Renaissance
Town or city	Copenhagen
Country	Denmark
Construction started	1479
Completed	1606—10
Demolished	1728

A ney (third) City Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark, was built at Gammeltorv in 1479. Rebuilt by King Christian IV into the Renaissance style in 1610, it was in use until 1728 when it was destroyed in the first Great Fire of Copenhagen. It was replaced by a new city hall which was built on its foundations in 1729.

Building

Origins

The new city hall at Gammeltorv was built as a replacement for the previous city hall located in Nørregade, at the cite of the current Bishop's House, which was taken over by the newly University of Copenhagen.

Adaption

The City Hall after the rebuilding as seen from Nytorv

The modest building was subject to a comprehensive adaption into the Renaissance style from 1606 to 1610. Erich Pontoppidan refers to it as a "new building". The rebuilding added a tower topped by a spire to the middle of the facade towards Gammeltorv and Dutch gable. Another characteristic feature of the facades were the open galleries.

Use

Peder Hansen Resen, who was appointed lord mayor of Copenhagen in 1664, wrote several works about the history of Denmark as well as Copenhagen and he is the principal source of knowledge about the use of the city hall. The byting, the governing assembly of the city, began to meet indoor in 1623. first in a small building on the square and from 1662 in the city hall. The building also contained a theatre.