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Copenhagen

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Copenhagen (København in Danish) is the capital of Denmark. The Danish name for the city is a a corruption of the Danish Købmandshavn, meaning Merchants' Harbour. Copenhagen is home to the national parliament, government, and monarchy, which are all situated in the heart of the city. The first fort that later became the city was founded in 1167.

Copenhagen, March 2001

Geography

Copenhagen is located on the eastern shore of the island of Zealand (Sjælland) and partly on the island of Amager. Copenhagen faces the Øresund, the strait of water that seperates Denmark from Sweden and connects the North Sea with the Baltic Sea. Copenhagen is across from the Swedish towns of Malmö and Landskrona.

1,116,979 people live in Metropolitan Copenhagen (Storkøbenhavn), of which 502,204 live in the Municipality of Copenhagen, 91,721 in the Municipality of Frederiksberg, 68,704 in the Municipality of Gentofte and another 454,350 in nearby municipalities. An even larger Metropolitan region is known as Hovedstadsregionen, consists of the Municipalities of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg and the counties of Copenhagen, Frederiksborg and Roskilde. The population is 1,823,109. Copenhagen is also a part of the Øresund region, consisting of Eastern Zealand and Western Scania (in Sweden), and has a population of 2.8 million people.

Culture

Copenhagen has consistenly been rated one of the best cities in the world in which to live by international surveys, though it also has a high cost of living.

Strøget, a pedestrian shopping street in central Copenhagen, is the longest of its kind in the world.

If Denmark is the kingdom of reason, as the saying goes, then Copenhagen is the metropolis of politeness and civility. Its inhabitants practise the two, both between themselves and towards strangers. They also add a dash of humor now and then. However, due to the true equality between men and women in Denmark, few of the citizens will hold a door open for a lady.

Eating

File:Map der Umgebung of Copenhagen.jpg
1888 German map of Copenhagen

Copenhagen offers a great variety of fine restaurants and modest eateries which are all delicious witnesses to the Danish passion for good food. The entire city in fact is a gourmet's delight with hundreds of small shops selling everything from succulent ice cream to unearthly good pastries. The baked goods called Danish pastries outside the country are usually pale and inferior copies of the marvellous creations available in Copenhagen.

History

Main article: History of Copenhagen

Copenhagen was founded around year 1000 by Sweyn I Forkbeard (Svend Tveskæg) and his son Canute the Great (Knud den Store). It was only a fishing village until the middle of the 12th century when it grew in importance after coming into the possession of Bishop Absalon, who fortified it in 1167. The excellent harbour encouraged Copenhagen's growth until it became an important centre of commerce (hence its name). It was repeatedly attacked by the Hanseatic League. 1658-59 it withstood a severe siege by the Swedes under Charles X. In 1801 a British fleet under Horatio Nelson fought a major battle, the Battle of Copenhagen, with the Danish navy in Copenhagen harbour. When British naval vessels bombarded Copenhagen in 1807, to prevent Denmark from surrendering its fleet to Napoleon, the city suffered great damage and hundreds of people were killed. During World War II Copenhagen was occupied by German troops as the rest of the country from April 1940 until May 1945. The city has grown greatly since the war.

Kongens Nytorv in the Wintertime

Since the summer 2000, the cities of Copenhagen and Malmö have been connected by a toll bridge/tunnel (Oresund Bridge), which allows both rail and road passengers to cross. It was inaugurated in July 2001 by the Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark. As a result, Copenhagen has become the center 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. However, the bridge has not been as widely used as was originally hoped, likely due to the high tolls, slowing the planned integration of the region. Another hindrance to the integration of the region is the lack of a commonly acceptable currency throughout the area. It is still difficult to pay with either nation's currency in the other country.

See also

Places of note in or near Copenhagen

Danish stock exchange with parliament (Christansborg) in the background

People of note connected with Copenhagen

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