The Kings, Castles and Charming Sites of Copenhagen, Denmark A Brief Historical Overview According to denmark.dk, early history of Denmark: 1250 BC first immigration of hunters into the region; 3900 BC agriculture and animal husbandry; 400‐799 urbanization, Viking conquests; 965 Christianity introduced; 1015‐ 1034 England under Danish rule; 1397‐1523 The Kalmar Union with Norway and Sweden; and 1479 founding of Copenhagen University. Today there are eight universities in the city and 86 museums, including the famous Tivoli Gardens. First settled in early 1000 AD, Copenhagen was founded by Bishop Absalon, counsellor to King Valdemar I in 1160‐1167. A fortress was built called Slotsholmen to protect the city. Roskilde, located on the Danish island of Zealand, about 19 miles west of Copenhagen, was at one time the hub for Viking trading and sea routes. It is Denmark’s oldest city and the first capital. One of the bishops, Absalon, owned a large track of land in the fishing village of Havn (port). Inside Absalon’s fortress, which became a castle, the town thrived and later became a trading center because of its good harbor facilities. Port merchants took the original name Kobmannahafen to become Kobenhavn/Copenhagen. In 1443, Copenhagen replaced Roskilde as the capital of Denmark. Denmark’s name is believed to have come from a mythological King Dan. Dani people from Scandinavia settled throughout parts of Europe. Another derivation of Denmark was that the term meant “flat land‐woodland‐borderland.” In any case, Denmark politically grew out of a struggle to control the Baltic Sea during the 10th century. It became a unified kingdom with two autonomous constituent counties in the North Atlantic including the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Copenhagen is the largest city in Scandinavia. The population in Copenhagen’s metro area is nearly two million people covering 1230 square miles. Slotholmen fortress were unearthed in 1907 under the present Christiansborg Palace. King Christian I (1426‐1481) was the first king crowned in Copenhagen. It was founded under the dynasty of Royal House of Oldenburg. During the Reformation period, Lutheranism became the official religion of Denmark. The Evangelical‐Lutheran Church was declared the State Church in Denmark. King Christian IV (1588‐1648) reigned as the great builder and most prominent leader and architect of Copenhagen. His projects included Rosenborg Castle (home of the crown jewels), The Old Stock Exchange, The Canals of Copenhagen and the Old Citadel. There are many interesting sights throughout the city. Hundreds of people can be found each day at noon at Amalienborg Palace to see The Royal Danish Guards, founded in 1658, going through their ceremonial changing of the guard. King Frederik V (1670‐1674) opened a gateway from the seaside and harbor area into the inner part of Copenhagen called the Nyhavn Canal. It allowed fishermen and cargo to arrive from the harbor to Kings Square, today one of the most photographed areas of the city and celebrated by what the locals call the kissing bridge, a modern bridge that had some technical difficulties to complete between Christianshavn and Holmen. It was originally scheduled to have opened in February 2013, but engineering errors and bankruptcy set it back to opening in July 2016. The 590‐ foot bridge allows pedestrians and cyclists to cross the canals of Christianhavn. Denmark’s King Frederik VI (1768‐1839) King of Denmark and Norway (1808‐1814) went bankrupt. After 450 years, the bankruptcy caused Denmark to cede Norway to Sweden. The bankruptcy had a profound effect on businesses in Copenhagen. In the arts and entertainment, Shakespeare and Hamlet’s “The Tragedy of Hamlet‐Prince of Denmark” was first played in Kronborg Castle in 1816 and has continued to this day. Tivoli Garden was opened in 1843 by Georg Carsten to 3,615 visitors and is visited today by millions each year. A famous beverage was founded in Copenhagen in 1847, Carlsberg Brewery. Its promotional slogan is “Probably the Best Beer in the World.” Carlsberg’s lager beer was followed up by another brewery that brewed a pilsner called Tuborg Beer in 1873. Hans Christian Andersen penned 168 tales between 1835 and 1873. His fairy tale, “The Little Mermaid,” was written in 1836. Andersen died in 1875 in Copenhagen and lived in the Nyhavn Canal area. Carl Jacobsen of Carlsberg commissioned The Little Mermaid as a gift to Copenhagen in 1913. Edvard Eriksen, Danish sculptor, used his wife, Elina as the model because Ellen Price, a contemporary ballerina refused to pose nude. Though one of the most photographed statues in Denmark, it has been vandalized many times. Rumor has it that the original is in an undisclosed location. Here are some of the indiscretions that have faced The Little Mermaid: Lost her head 1964, 1990 and 1998; lost her arm in 1984; covered in paint five times and even knocked off her pedestal with explosives in 2004. Estimated one million visitors see the Little Mermaid each year, taking five million photographs. FYI—I took 57 pictures from shore and on the water. This photo program shares some of the sites mentioned above. There are also more in‐depth programs about Copenhagen in the Norway series. King Frederik King Christian IV Church 1749 fortress founded took 150 years 1626 to complete still in operation today King Cristian IV’s Brewhouse Danish soldiers preparing for dress and march to Amalienborg Palace for change of guard at noon Sources: http://denmark.dk/en/society/history, http://www.copenhagenet.dk/cph‐history.htm, http://kongehuset.dk/en/content/the‐royal‐ family, https://www.visitdenmark.com/copenhagen/culture/brief‐history‐copenhagen, https://www.quora.com/How‐did‐Copenhagen‐get‐its‐ name‐What‐does‐it‐mean, https://www.treehugger.com/urban‐design/kissing‐bridge‐copenhagen‐stops‐being‐missing‐bridge‐finally‐opens.html, https://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/little‐mermaid‐denmarks‐most‐photographed‐statue, http://hca.gilead.org.il/, https://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/sightseeing/famous‐statues, and http://hca.gilead.org.il/li_merma.html. acuri.net John R. Vincenti The Kings, Castles and Charming Sites of Copenhagen, Denmark A Brief Historical Overview .