The special geografic placement of Copenhagen is obvious. Only one
city on the European map, Istanbul, has strategic simularities. Both at
a strait, or gate to an ocean, exactely where, sea routes cross land routes.
Underlining this, the name Copenhagen, or København as we use to
call it, is a mix of the words for merchants and harbour. In the old days
the village "Havn" (map 1) was the place where merchants could
find accomodation, before continuing their journey from the harbour outside
the village. On the road between the village and the harbour all sorts
of trade took place. This path is stil existing today as the most active
shoppingstreet in Copenhagen, "Strøget". Over the years
the gap between the small islands outside the village and the shore was
filled with trash and garbage from all these activities, leaving only thin
canals. (map 2) The city grew into what today is known as the midevil Copenhagen,
with the tradingpath going from one end of the city to the other, and the
royal castle placed in safety on the one of the small islands. Copenhagen
at this time was fully fortificated. The royal castle was protected just
as much from the citicens of Copenhagen as from outside enemies. Today
the parliament is placed on the site on top of the ruins of the old castle.
In the beginning of the 17th. century, the population had grown so dense,
that an extension of the city was needed. The King Christian IV not only
used this oppertunity to make a city for the upperclass, with strict grid-streets
and rennaicance ideals, but also to enlargen the harbourfront, making it
three times as big. (map 3) Copenhagen was at this time the base of the
largest and strongest fleet in the world. guarding the Northern Atlantic
Sea and the trade with the northern eastern Europe. Many attempts was made
reach India and China throug the undiscovered North-east and North-west
Passages. These attempts ended up in great disaters in Hudson Bay, the
arctic ocean and the northern russian coast, but thats another story, only
mensioned here to give an idea about the aims and visions.
Christian IV put to much at stake. twenty years later the the country was
bankrupt, and the fleet was sunken. The Swedish army conquored the entire
country except Copenhagen, that was now under siege, fighting desperately
for it's own existence, on the, luckyly, stronger fortification around
the enlargened city. Traces of this fortification is the inner zig-zag
shaped parklakes of Copenhagen, (map 4) including the lake in the famous
amusementpark Tivoli. The rairoades used asswell the opportunity for building
a subway station (Nørreport Station) in what used to be watercanal.
Copenhagen survived the attack. The swedish king was mercyfull, he was
content with getting Norway, and the southern part of Sweden back, leaving
Denmark more or less in the size it has today. The days of Copenhagen as
capital for a superpower, was per definition over.
Except for ceveral cityfires, mainly caused by English bombardament, nothing
remarkably changed the plan of Copenhagen untill the industrial revolution
came. The fires though left only a few houses from before 17th. century,
most of Copenhagen houses from 18th. and 19th century, but still placed
in the meidaeval streetpattern.
In mid 19th. century the areas outside the citywalls was set free,
allowing Copenhagen to expand into the size it has today. Generally the
inconsequence has ruled. Many attemps in pulling off big scale city plans
has been started and later stoped. Personally I considder Copenhagen saved
from the biggest mistakes in architecture in this century.
I will maybe in an other bulletin give a closer description of newer
history in architecture of Copenhagen, but till then refer to
Architectural Rewiew december 1996 about Copenhagen.
"Life Between Buildings", Jan Gehl 1971
and material on:
Arne Jacobsen
Poul Henningsen
Kay Fisker Kampmann
Refn Henning Larsen
