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Beginnings
Archeological evidence suggests that humans may have arrived in Denmark
as early as 50,000 BC, though the first permanent settlements were
probably not established until much later, around 12,000 BC, when the
ice sheets which had previously covered the country began to recede, and
nomadic hunters arrived in pursuit of the herds of reindeer that grazed
the tundra. As the climate gradually warmed and the reindeer headed
north, a Stone Age village culture developed, until by around 4000 BC
agricultural settlements covered the country.
Bronze was introduced from southern Europe around 1800 BC - the richness
of some pieces, such as the bronze sun chariot now on display in the
National Museum, suggests that even at this early date there was contact
between Denmark and the Mediterranean cultures of Crete and Mycenae.
From this period also come the famous Danish lurs , curved metal horns
which were blown to call villagers to meetings - a statue of two lurs
blowers stands outside Copenhagen's Rådhus.
The Vikings
The Danes trace their origins back to the northern Germanic tribes who
arrived in Denmark from southern Sweden in around 500 AD, part of a
group of peoples who became collectively known as the Vikings . The
Vikings were seamen, warriors and peasants, and they quickly became
notorious for their opportunistic raids on surrounding countries - at
their peak they travelled as far as North America and the Caspian Sea.
The first Danish state , established by the Viking Gotfred, King of
Jutland, emerged some time around 800 AD, based in - and encompassing
most of - the Jutland peninsula. A century later, the Norwegian
chieftain Hardegon conquered the peninsula and began to expand eastwards
over the rest of Denmark, establishing the foundations of the modern
Danish nation, the oldest in Europe - the present Danish monarchy can be
traced back to his son, Gorm the Old. Shortly afterwards, Christianity
became the national religion. Benedictine monks had started arriving in
Denmark in 826, but it wasn't until 961 that Gorm the Old's son, Harald
Bluetooth, made Christianity Denmark's state religion - even if his
reasons for doing so (to make peace with the Franks to the south) were
not entirely spiritual.
During the late tenth century Danish power expanded: in 1016, Knud
(Canute) the Great became King of England, and by 1033 the Danes
controlled most of southern Sweden, the whole of England and Normandy,
and dominated trade in the Baltic. From this period dates the first
historical record of the small fishing village of Havn (literally "Haven"
or "Harbour"), which would later develop into the city of Copenhagen -
mentioned for the first time in 1043, when the Norwegian King Magnus
sought refuge in it after losing a sea battle in the Øresund.
The Middle Ages
A century of internal political struggle weakened Viking power in
Denmark, and it wasn't until the accession of Valdemar the Great in 1157
that the country was once again united and free of factional fighting.
One of Valdemar's key supporters, his foster-brother Bishop Absalon ,
was given the village of Havn, strategically located on the Øresund -
the narrow sea channel that divides Denmark from Sweden, and the main
entrance to the Baltic - which was soon to become one of the main
trading routes of medieval Europe.
Within a decade, Absalon had built a castle on the small island (today's
Slotsholmen) opposite Havn, from where he countered the Wendish pirates,
based in eastern Germany, who had previously raided the coast with
impunity. Havn developed rapidly following the castle's construction. In
1209, Vor Frue Kirke - later to become the city's cathedral - was
consecrated by Bishop Absalon's successor (Absalon had died in 1201),
and in 1238 the city's first monastery was established on Gråbrødretorv.
Despite increasing competition with - and attacks by - the Hanseatic
League, by 1254 it had acquired its modern name, København ("Merchants
Port"), a fortified market town with full municipal rights.
Thirty years later, following a German invasion of Jutland, the Danish
nobles seized the opportunity to curb the powers of the monarch, forcing
Erik V in 1282 to sign a charter under which he agreed to rule together
with the nobles of the Council of the Danish Realm , an institution
which was to survive as a major influence in Danish government until
1660. Almost a century of civil war followed, as the nobles fought
against the king and one another, during which Copenhagen was passed
back and forth between the warring factions. In 1369, the city fell to
Hanseatic forces, and stonemasons from the city of Lübeck proceeded to
dismantle Bishop Absalon's castle brick by brick, with the intention of
ending Danish control of the Øresund once and for all.
The Kalmar Union
Despite the temporary loss of its castle, however, Copenhagen's fortunes
continued to prosper. In 1397, Margrete I , one of Denmark's shrewdest
rulers, formed the Kalmar Union, creating an alliance between Denmark,
Norway and Sweden aimed at countering the Hanseatic League's influence
on regional trade - the union was largely administered from, and
dominated by, Copenhagen. A new fort to replace Absalon's dismantled
castle was completed in 1417, and made the seat of Danish rule and
residence of the royal family by Magarethe's grandson, Erik of Pomerania.
Erik also ensured Copenhagen's further growth by imposing the Sound Toll
tax on all vessels passing through the Øresund, an endless source of
revenue which would underpin Copenhagen's fortunes for the next four
centuries. Revenues from the toll allowed an increasingly self-confident
Copenhagen to seize growing amounts of trade from the declining ports of
the Hanseatic League and to establish itself as the Baltic's principal
harbour.
In 1443, Copenhagen was made the capital of Denmark by Erik's son,
Christoffer III of Bavaria, decisively shifting the national balance of
power away from the former capital and ecclesiastical centre of Roskilde.
Thirty years later, the first university in Scandinavia was founded in
Copenhagen by Christian I, helping to establish the city as the nation's
cultural as well as administrative hub. At the same time, Kronborg Slot
, just north of Copenhagen at Helsingør was built to control the Øresund
and enforce payment of the Sound Toll, further entrenching Copenhagen's
pre-eminent position in the region.
The Reformation to the Thirty Years' War
The wealthy and corrupt Catholic church was already unpopular in Denmark,
and in 1534, in the wake of increasing religious discontent, the country
burst into civil war . Peasant uprisings spread across the country, and
the Hanseatic city of Lübeck sent mercenaries to Copenhagen, where they
sided with the city's anti-clerical merchants. A year-long siege of the
city followed: Copenhagen's defensive ramparts held up, but many of its
citizens starved to death or died during the epidemics that ravaged the
city. Copenhagen finally surrendered in the summer of 1536, signalling
the end of the civil war. After the dust had settled, the nobles found
themselves back in control, but obliged to accept religious reform. In
1536, Lutheranism became the official state religion.
Following the travails of the Reformation, Copenhagen experienced a
period of relative peace and prosperity. The city was now home to the
Danish navy - during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the largest
in northern Europe - and revenue from the Sound Toll provided a
continuous source of income for Danish coffers. It was in this
atmosphere of wealth and stability that Christian IV , known as the "Great
Builder", became king. Ruling from 1588 (when he was 10) until 1648, he
became the Danish monarch who made the most lasting contribution to
Copenhagen's skyline, ordering the creation of buildings including the
Rundetårn, Børsen and Rosenborg Slot, along with the district of Nyboder
and the fortress of Kastellet. In addition, he almost doubled the city's
size by moving the defensive fortifications outwards to include
Frederikstad and Nyboder to the north and the newly reclaimed island of
Christianshavn to the east.
Unfortunately, Christian IV's architectural vision was not matched by
his political skill. As Denmark's arch-rival Sweden became increasingly
powerful, Danish military prowess steadily declined. In 1625, Christian
IV took Denmark into the disastrous Thirty Years' War - by 1657, at the
conclusion of hostilities, the west coast of the Øresund (the province
of Skåne) was lost to Sweden, splitting the Sound down the middle.
Absolute monarchy
The conflict with Sweden and the loss of Skåne left Denmark heavily in
debt and, to make matters worse, the nobles of the Council of the Danish
Reign were reluctant to impose the taxes needed to rescue the state's
finances. In response, in 1660 Christian's successor Frederik III
compelled the nobles to sign a charter reinstating the king as absolute
monarch, removing all powers from the Council. An efficient central
bureaucracy was established and Copenhagen made a free city, with
commoners being accorded the same privileges as nobles. Frederik III
started rebuilding the military and, following three minor wars with
Sweden, a peaceful coexistence was finally achieved.
Meanwhile, in 1711, bubonic plague wiped out a third of Copenhagen's
population, whilst two devastating fires in 1728 and 1795 forced the
reconstruction of most of the city, during which the basis of the
present-day street plan was established. Despite these disasters,
however, the reign of Frederik V (from 1746) saw a great cultural
awakening as the new royal district of Frederikstad , with the grand
royal palace of Amalienborg and the Marmorkirke church, was erected (though
the latter wasn't finished until 1894).
The Napoleonic Wars
Despite its improving domestic position, Denmark found itself once again
embroiled in the mire of international power struggles with the outbreak
of the Napoleonic Wars (1796-1815). Denmark at first reluctantly sided
with the League of Armed Neutrality - Russia, Sweden and Prussia - in an
attempt to stay out of the conflict between expansionist Britain and
revolutionary France. Considering the treaty potentially hostile, the
British sent a fleet under admirals Nelson and Parker to Copenhagen in
1801, damaging the powerful Danish navy and forcing them to withdraw
from the agreement. In 1807 the British returned, worried that
Napoleon's advancing armies would take over the newly rebuilt Danish
fleet if they didn't, and demanded Danish surrender. When Christian VII
refused, the British blockaded the city, subjecting it to a murderous
three-day bombardment before towing away what was left of the Danish
fleet. Denmark understandably rejected the subsequent British offer of
an alliance, siding instead with France. With the eventual defeat of the
French, however, the luckless Danes were left bankrupt and without
allies, and Norway had to be handed over to Sweden as payment for war
debts.
Despite this terrible beginning to the century, by the 1830s Copenhagen
had recovered, becoming the centre of the Danish Golden Age . For two
decades the nation's arts flourished as never before (or since): Hans
Christian Andersen charmed the world with his colourful fairy tales,
while Søren Kirkegaard scandalized it with his philosophical works. At
the same time, the nation's visual arts reached new heights under the
auspices of sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, and C.W. Eckersberg, who led
the emergence of the first specifically Danish school of painting. From
this period date many of the city's most notable Neoclassical buildings,
such as Christiansborg Slotskirke, the Domhus (Law Courts) and Vor Frue
Kirke.
Social changes were in the air too. In the early nineteenth century, the
theologian N.F.S. Grundtvig developed a new form of Christianity which
aimed to draw its strength and inspiration from the people - a precursor
of liberal traditions to come - while the example of the French
revolution of 1848 forced Frederik VII to relinquish absolute rule and
hand over power to the National Liberal Party. The first Danish
constitution was drawn up and signed, transforming the country at a
stroke from one of the most autocratic to one of the most liberal in
Europe.
In 1856, Copenhagen's fortifications were demolished, finally allowing
the cramped city to expand beyond its medieval limits and sowing the
seed for the new industrial era. Railways, factories and shipyards began
to change the face of the city, and Copenhagen gradually developed into
a thriving manufacturing centre, while the new working-class districts
of Nørrebro and Vesterbro were flung up, with Copenhagen's workers
packed into slum tenements which would subsequently become hotbeds of
left-wing politics. The second half of the nineteenth century also saw
the establishment of the Carlsberg Brewery on the then desolate Valby
Bakke, along with the rapid growth of the Royal Danish Porcelain factory
and the founding of the city's two main department stores - the Magasin
du Nord and Illums - two of the growing number of recreational
possibilities available for the city's aspiring bourgeoisie, which also
included the newly constructed Royal Theatre on Kongens Nytorv and the
recently established city zoo.
To World War II
Parliamentary reforms at the turn of the century and the enfranchisement
of women and servants in 1915 further extended Denmark's liberal
traditions, while industrial unrest in the years following World War I (during
which Denmark managed to stay neutral) brought further power to unions
and left-wing political groups - it was during these early postwar years
that the foundations of Denmark's comprehensive social welfare system
were established.
When World War II broke out Denmark again tried to remain neutral, this
time unsuccessfully. On April 9, 1940, the country was invaded by German
troops, who marched up Nordre Frihavnsgade to the royal palaces at
Amalienborg and took power the same day. The Danish parliament was left
to operate purely as an administrative body and the economy was geared
towards the German market. At first, the Danes could do little but
comply, but growing resistance made life difficult for the Nazi forces.
Passive non-cooperation gradually turned to armed struggle, and by the
war's end, thousands of citizens had fought for the Danish resistance,
many of them losing their lives in the process. In Copenhagen, the
effect of the war was felt mainly in food and fuel rationing, and, apart
from the occasional air-raid, the city largely escaped the devastation
visited on other European cities - its finest moment came when a British
air-raid on the Nazi headquarters on Rådhuspladsen allowed most of the
captured members of the Danish Resistance to escape.
The post-war years
Following the war, Denmark succeeded in creating one of the world's most
successful welfare states , with a comprehensive programme of cradle-to-grave
benefits. Quality of life in Denmark soon ranked among the highest in
the world.
The final decades of the millennium saw further enormous changes in the
social and physical make-up of Copenhagen. In 1971 the old military base
on the eastern side of Christianshavn was taken over by squatters, who
created the "Free City" of Christiania . Initial, unsuccessful attempts
by the police to clear the squatters out were followed by a twelve-year
trial period, after which the city was legally recognized, even to the
point where "Pusherstreet" is now marked on official maps of the city.
The 1980s and 1990s saw further huge changes to the city's physical
fabric, as attempts were made to clean up the derelict areas of Nørrebro
and Vesterbro . In Nørrebro the result was disastrous, as blocks of
ramshackle but characterful buildings were torn down and replaced by
concrete housing estates, until mass protests forced the city to desist.
The remaining buildings in Nørrebro and most of Vesterbro were restored
rather than torn down - with the result that housing in these areas
increased enormously in value, in many cases forcing the original
inhabitants out, with waves of Copenhagen yuppies taking the places of
the districts' formerly working-class inhabitants.
None of these changes, however, rivalled the latest and most spectacular
addition to the Copenhagen landscape, the Øresund Bridge , a road-and-rail
link opened in 2000 and connecting Copenhagen with Sweden. As well as
significantly enhancing Copenhagen's connections with the rest of
Scandinavia, the bridge has brought the nearby Swedish city of Malmö
within thirty minutes of central Copenhagen, adding at a stroke half a
million people to the city's catchment area and establishing it as a
major regional hub.
Recent changes in the city's physical make-up have been mirrored in
arguments about its culture and character. The arrival since the 1960s
of substantial numbers of immigrants - the so-called new Danes , as they
have become known - continues to raise questions about the future
identity of Copenhagen. Immigrants, mainly from Yugoslavia and Turkey,
brought in during the boom years of the 1960s to fill the city's menial
jobs became suddenly less welcome in the 1970s, as unemployment rates
began to rise and the ugly face of racism raised its head. The resulting
tensions continue to simmer to this day, as in recent arguments over a
supermarket chain's decision to ban its Muslim women staff from wearing
headscarves at work, or in the riots that erupted in Nørrebro in 1999 to
protest against the extradition of a second-generation Turkish immigrant.
Whether the city's ethnic communities - often faced with overweening
pressure to conform to the Danish way of life - will succeed in bringing
true cultural diversity to the city remains to be seen.
The major barometer of national feeling in Denmark, however, has been
the way in which people have seen the country's role in Europe. Despite
being a founding member of the European Union in 1972, the Danish people
have in recent years constantly rocked the European boat, first in a
1992 referendum, when the Danes rejected the Maastricht Treaty. A second
referendum in 1993, backed by massive state propaganda, established the
necessary majority, but so inflamed popular opinion in parts of
Copenhagen that it led to a riot in Nørrebro during which eleven people
were shot and injured. At a third referendum, in late 2000, the Danes
again shocked fellow EU member states by chosing to opt out of monetary
union, as right-wing politicians stirred up nationalist emotions,
claiming that giving up the Danish krone was equivalent to relinquishing
national sovereignty (the fact that the krone was already linked to the
deutsch-mark was conveniently overlooked). How this might affect
Copenhagen's position - newly enhanced by the Øresund Bridge - at the
crossroads of Europe and Scandinavia, is the first major question of the
new millennium.
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