Copenhagen

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City of Copenhagen
København


Coat of arms
Location of Copenhagen in Denmark
Coordinates: 12°34′E / 55.717, 12.567
Country Denmark
Municipalities
Region Hovedstaden
First mention 11th century
City Status 13th century
Government
 - Mayor Ritt Bjerregaard (S)
Population (2008)[2]
 - City 509,861
 - Density 5,777/km² (14,962.4/sq mi)
 - Urban 1,153,615
 - Metro 1,872,706 (34 closest municipalities)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Website: www.kk.dk/english

Copenhagen (IPA: /ˌkəʊpənˈheɪgən, ˌkəʊpənˈhɑːgən, ˈkəʊpənˌheɪgən, ˈkəʊpənˌhɑːgən/; Danish: København (help·info) IPA: [kʰøb̥ənˈhɑʊ̯ˀn, kʰøb̥m̩ˈhɑʊ̯ˀn]) is the capital and largest city of Denmark. It 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 and during the 17th century under the reign of Christian IV. With the completion of the transnational Oresund Bridge in 2000 Copenhagen has become the dominating centre of the entire of a still more integrated Øresund Region with around 3,7 million inhabitants and Copenhagen and Malmö is in the process of growing into one common metropolitan area which will be the largest and most densely populated in Scandinavia.

Copenhagen is a major regional center of culture, business, media, and science. In 2008 Copenhagen was ranked #4 by Financial Times-owned FDi magazine on their list of Top50 European Cities of the Future after London, Paris and Berlin.[3] In the 2008 Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index, published by MasterCard, Copenhagen was ranked 14th in the world and 1st in Scandinavia.[4] 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 air port in Scandinavia[5] located 14 minutes by train from the city centre, has made it a regional hub and a popular location for regional headquarters[6] as well as conventions.

Copenhagen has repeatedly been recognized as one of the cities with the best quality of life.[7] and in 2008 it was singled out as the Most Livable City in the World by international lifestyle magazine Monocle on their Top 25 Most Livable Cities 2008 list.[8] It is also considered one of the world's most environmentally friendly cities with the water in the inner harbour being so clean that it can be used for swimming and 36 % of all citizens commuting to work by bicycle, every day bicycling a total 1,1 million km. Since the turn of the mullenium Copenhagen has seen a strong urban and cultural development and has been descriped as a boom town.[9] This is partly due to massive investments in cultural facilities as well as infrastructure and a new wave of designers, chefs and architects.[10]

History

From its humble origins as a fishing village to its heyday as the glittering capital of the Danish Empire, to its current position as one of the world's premier design capitals, the stories and characters of Copenhagen's history can be discovered in its sumptuous palaces, copper-roofed town houses and atmospheric cobbled squares. From the Viking Age there was a fishing village by the name of "Havn" (harbour) at the site. 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.[11] From the middle of the 12th century it grew in importance after coming into the possession of the Bishop Absalon, 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. 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, "merchants' harbor". 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.[12]

It was repeatedly attacked by the Hanseatic League as the Germans took notice. In 1254, it received its charter as a city under Bishop Jakob Erlandsen.

During 1658-59 it withstood a severe siege by the Swedes under Charles X and successfully repelled a major assault. In 1801 a British fleet under Admiral Parker fought a major battle, the Battle of Copenhagen, with the Danish Navy in Copenhagen harbour. It was during this battle Lord Nelson famously "put the telescope to the blind eye" in order not to see Admiral Parker's signal to cease fire. When a British expeditionary force bombarded Copenhagen in 1807, to gain control of the Danish Navy, the city suffered great damage and hundreds of people were killed. The reason why the devastation was so great was that Copenhagen relied on an old defence-line rendered virtually useless by the increase in shooting range available to the British. But not until the 1850s were 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 of 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. Before the opening, Copenhagen Center 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. In August 1943, when the government's collaboration with the occupation forces collapsed, several ships were sunk in Copenhagen Harbour by the Royal Danish Navy to prevent them being used by the Germans. The city has grown greatly since the war, in the seventies using the so-called five-finger-plan of commuter trainlines to surrounding towns and suburbs.

Since the summer 2000, the cities of Copenhagen and Malmö have been connected by a toll bridge/tunnel (Øresund Bridge), which allows both rail and road passengers to cross. 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 a large number of changes to the public transportation system and the extensive redevelopment of Amager, south of the main city.

Geography

Location