Copenhagen City Hall

History

The current structure is the sixth city hall in Copenhagen. Before it was moved to its present location, the previous city halls were situated at or near Gammeltorv/Nytorv approximately 500 m northeast of the current location.

Copenhagen's first medieval town hall was located at Gammeltorv (), Copenhagen's oldest square and the centre of the medieval city's market trade. However, little is known about it, as there is no reliable information about the exact location, what it looked like, or when it was built.

At the end of the 14th century, a new city hall was established on the corner of Nørregade and Studiestræde opposite the Church of Our Lady. The building was later used as a bishop's palace.

The third city hall, again located at Gammeltorv, was in use from about 1479 until it burned down in the great Copenhagen fire of 1728. In 1608-10, King Christian IV had it rebuilt into a small Renaissance building with curved gables and a slender octagonal stair tower.

The fourth city hall was built on the site of the previous one in 1728. It was constructed in Baroque style to designs by J.C. Ernst and J.C. Krieger. Also this building was destroyed by fire, as it burned down in the great Copenhagen fire of 1795.

Delayed by a lack of building materials and the outbreak of the English Wars, a fifth city hall was not completed before 1815. It was located on Nytorv, a short distance from the location of the two previous city halls. Designed in Neoclassical style by the architect Christian Frederik Hansen, it was intended to house both the city hall and a court house. The building still exists today, and is in use as the Copenhagen Court House.

By the late 19th century, Copenhagen's rapid expansion made the old building on Nytorv inadequate, and it was decided to move the city hall to a new, bigger and more representative building in a new location. After an architectural competition, the architect Martin Nyrop won the assignment of constructing the sixth and current city hall. Vilhelm Fischer served as the supervisor of works. The construction took more than ten years. It began in 1892 and the building was inaugurated on 12 September 1905.

Architecture

Martin Nyrop's city hall is designed in the National Romantic style but with inspiration from the City Hall of Siena, Italy. The building is dominated by its richly ornamented front, the gilded statue of Absalon just above the balcony and the tall, slim clock tower. The latter is, at 105.6 metres, one of the tallest buildings in the generally low city of Copenhagen.

The City Hall building consists of two longitudinal wings along Vester Voldgade and H.C. Andersens Boulevard respectively. They are connected by three transverse buildings. Between the three transverse buildings are the covered Main Hall and the open-air City Hall Garden.

In addition to the tower clock, the City Hall also houses Jens Olsen's World Clock.

Cultural references

• Copenhagen City Hall is featured prominently in the 1978 Danish comedy film ** (1978), the 10th installment in the Olsen Gang film series, especially in the famous scene where Egon Olsen is tied up outside the city hall tower clock.

• In 2007, the National Bank of Denmark issued a 20 DKK commemorative coin of the tower.

• Many of the hospital scenes where Lili Elbe (Eddie Redmayne) undergoes her operations in the 2015 drama film The Danish Girl were filmed in the atrium of Copenhagen City Hall.

Image gallery

File:Copenhagen City Hall detail.jpg|Details of the facade File:Copenhagen City Hall Tower.jpg|Tower File:Copenhagen townhall tower clock 2.jpg|Clock File:Copenhagen City Hall interior.jpg|Interior File:Copenhagen City Hall - tower.jpg File:Koebenhavns Raadhus Copenhagen raadhushaven detail.jpg File:Copenhagen City Hall - Absalon.jpg|Absalon relief File:Copenhagen City Hall - courtyard.jpg|From the courtyard

References

References

1. "Københavns rådhus i 500 år". Københavns Stadsarkiv.
2. "Københavns første rådhuse". Københavns Stadsarkiv.
3. "Københavns rådhus fra 1479". Dansk Center for Byhistorie.
4. "Københavns rådhus fra 1728". Dansk Center for Byhistorie.
5. "Københavns rådhus fra 1815". Dansk Center for Byhistorie.
6. Barbara M. Lane, National Romanticism and Modern Architecture in Germany and the Scandinavian Countries (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000).
7. "Rådhustårnets ur / City Hall Tower Clock - Copenhagen, Denmark". waymarking.com.
8. "Film 10 Olsen Banden går i krig / Die Olsenbande steigt aufs Dach".
9. (8 July 2011). "Copenhagen City Hall Tower". [[National Bank of Denmark]].
10. "Tour The Danish Girl locations".