Scandinavian Cruise - Day 3 - Copenhagen

Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen (Danish København) The capital city of Denmark and of Copenhagen County, and a major seaport and commercial centre. The greater part of Copenhagen is on the eastern coast of Sjælland Island. The smaller part, called Christianshavn, is on Amager Island. These two sections of the city are connected by bridges. Copenhagen is near Malmö, Sweden, from which it is separated by the Øresund (The Sound). Copenhagen is a constituent administrative district of Denmark. It is governed by a body of elected municipal councillors and a group of appointed magistrates.

From the harbour the city’s business district extends to the Rådhuspladsen, Copenhagen’s main square. To the north and east of the Rådhuspladsen is the fashionable section of the city, containing the royal palace. At the northern end of the city is Frihavn (“free port”), constructed in 1894 for the development of the city’s foreign and domestic trade. To the east in Christianshavn is Christiania, a small experimental community that is self-governing. Copenhagen is partly encircled by gardens and boulevards constructed in 1863 when the city’s ancient fortifications were dismantled.

Among the city’s principal buildings are the cathedral, Vor Frue Kirke (Church of Our Lady), built on the site of an earlier structure erected in the 12th century; Charlottenborg Palace, constructed in 1672, now the seat of the Academy of Arts, founded in 1754; Prinsens Palace, containing the noted national Museum of Northern Antiquities, founded in 1807; the former royal palace of Christiansborg, constructed between 1731 and 1745, subsequently twice destroyed by fire, rebuilt again after 1903, and since 1918 the seat of Denmark’s Parliament and supreme court; the Thorvaldsen Museum, opened in 1848, containing notable works of sculpture; the Royal Theatre, erected in 1874; and the Royal Library, containing about 600,000 volumes. The Tivoli Gardens, a famed amusement park, is a leading attraction in the city. An educational centre, Copenhagen is the site of the University of Copenhagen, the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (1856), and the Technical University of Denmark (1829). The city is also an important centre of northern European literature and art and is the seat of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, founded in 1742.

Copenhagen is the principal seaport and commercial centre of Denmark, and a large proportion of the country’s foreign and domestic trade passes through its port. Exports include cattle and cattle products, wool, grain, and dairy products; imports include coal, petroleum, and industrial raw materials. Industrial establishments of Copenhagen include shipyards; machine shops; chemical works; factories for the production of mathematical instruments, watches and clocks, pianos, and chocolate; sugar refineries; and breweries and distilleries. Copenhagen, long noted internationally for the manufacture of fine porcelain ware, is also famous for the production of hand wrought silverware.

History - Copenhagen was a fishing village until the middle of the 12th century; it grew in importance after coming into the possession of Bishop Absalon, who fortified it in 1167. Because of its harbour, it soon became a place of commercial importance and received municipal rights about the middle of the 13th century. It was repeatedly attacked by towns of the Hanseatic League. The city was chosen for the capital in 1443 by Christopher III, or Christopher of Bavaria. During 1658 and 1659 it withstood a severe siege by the Swedes under Charles X. In 1801 during the Napoleonic Wars, in an effort to compel the Danes to recognize Britain’s right of search on the high seas, a British flotilla commanded by Horatio Nelson destroyed a Danish fleet in the harbour of Copenhagen. When British naval vessels bombarded Copenhagen in 1807 to prevent Denmark from surrendering its fleet to Napoleon, the city suffered great damage and hundreds of people were killed. During World War II Copenhagen was occupied by German troops from April 1940 until May 1945. Population: city, 500,531; (2003) metropolitan area, 1,085,813.

Absalon (1128?-1201), - Was a Danish soldier, statesman, and ecclesiastic, born near Ringsted, and educated in Paris. Having aided Waldemar I in gaining the Danish throne, he became bishop of Roskilde in 1158 and simultaneously acted as adviser to the king and his successor, Canute IV. A notable general, he led a long campaign against Wendish pirates in the Baltic, during which he fortified the village that later became Copenhagen; Absalon is often called the founder of the city. He captured and annexed the Wendish stronghold of Rügen in 1169 and finally rid Denmark of the Wendish nuisance with a naval victory over the duke of Pomerania in 1184.

Absalon was archbishop of Lund from 1177 to his death. A patron of culture and learning, he may have influenced his secretary, Saxo Grammaticus, to write his Gesta Danorum (1200?), a history of the Danes.

Language

Danish might be a bit difficult to master, but generally, English is spoken and understood.

Currency

The national currency is the Krone (DKK) 9DK = 1 GBP

Where we are docked

Langelinie Pier is about one and half miles from the city centre. At Langelinie, the Copenhagen Information Centre is alongside the pier, where you can easily change money for buses, bikes. You may find an Open Top, Hop On Hop Off, bus tour operating from the Pier, this allows a city tour and you can also hop of in the city centre and do some personal sightseeing or visit the Tivoli Gardens, before rejoining the bus which would bring you back to the Pier. Check prices and timings at the Information Centre and allow enough time to return to the ship before sailing.

Walking

You can take a short walk from the Pier to see the Little Mermaid, or Amalienborg Palace. Langelinie’s promenade is lined with plenty of shops, casual cafes and more. UPDATE - August 2010 – Little Mermaid is currently in Shanghai at the World Expo.

Cycling

Copenhagen has 1,300 FREE “City Bikes” that anyone can use within central Copenhagen, by inserting a 20 DKK coin (get it back when you return it to any one of the 125 City Bike Parking places) into the bike’s locking mechanism. There are plenty of these hard to miss bright red or blue bikes by the Langelinie Pier, pick up a City Bike Map from the Information Centre at the Pier.

If time permits

The Hans Christian Andersen Museum honours Denmark’s world famous poet and fairytale writer, Hans Christian Andersen. Established to honour his 200^th Birthday in April 2005, the museum is filled with all you can imagine – beginning with his childhood in Odense. Private letters, books and photographs along with original artefacts are on exhibit.

Shopping

Royal Copenhagen Porcelain, store at Amagertorv 6, in the centre.

Food

Denmark is known for its Danish Pastries, open sandwiches (smorrebrod) and meatballs. Other traditional recipes are for rice porridge, dumplings and various fish dishes.