What Do You Know About Copenhagen??

Copenhagen, Denmark, is the capitol and largest city in Denmark. On the map, you will see there are several islands in the country of Denmark. Copenhagen is on the island of Zealand.

It is unclear when Copenhagen was founded. We know for a fact that it existed in the 11th century, but there have been relics found that date back to approximately 1 A.D. The word "Copenhagen" translates to 'Merchants Harbor.'

The city lost about 22,000 of its 65,000 residents in 1711 to the Plague. It was occupied by German forces during World War 2, but was liberated by the British. Now, Copenhagen is the 3rd wealthiest city (in 2013) in the world. It is also a safe and clean city, although expensive. You may have guessed that most people in Copenhagen, as the rest of Denmark, speak Danish. However, it is very common for people to speak English as well. Other languages include German and Greenlandic. Foreign languages are commonly taught from a young age in European schools.

 

The city covers about 30 square miles and including suburbs, is home to about 2 million people. To compare, Minneapolis has 3.8 million people; New York City about 8.5 million people.

 

 

 Here is where Denmark is in relation to Europe (about in the center of this picture):

 

 

 

 

Copenhagen is a pretty comfortable city, weather-wise. Temperatures rarely dip below 35F or go above 70F, although they have gotten as warm as a record-breaking 91F. Winters are typically pretty mild, but they have gotten up to 20" of snow in a 24-hour period.

 

You can use the Copenhagen Metro (underground rail system) to get around the city. There is a high usage of bikes, as well.

 

 

 

 

Denmark is a constitutional monarchy. That means that Queen Margarethe is considered the head of state, but executive power is held by their Prime Minister, Helle Thorning-Schmitt, who presides over Parliament.

 

 



Copenhagen is home to:

 

Tivoli Gardens, an amusement park and formal public garden

                                          Entrance to Tivoli Gardens at night

 

 

The Royal Danish Theatre

 

 

 

The Copenhagen Opera House

 

 

 

The Black Diamond Library

 

 

 

 

Here is the Nyhavn Waterfront

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Copenhagen City Hall

Interesting Architecture: Student Housing
 Near the Copenhagen Universities

 

 

The Oresund Bridge runs from Copenhagen to Malmo, Sweden, and carries both rail and road traffic. This is a unique bridge in that it involves a traditional bridge, an island, and a tunnel:

 

 

 

Aerial view:  It looks like a bridge to nowhere, but the "island" is where the bridge becomes a tunnel.

 

 

 

Denmark is home to author Hans Christian Andersen*, who lived from 1805 to 1875. Andersen wrote novels and plays, but is best known for his childrens' stories, such as The Little Mermaid, The Emporer's New Clothes, and the Ugly Duckling.  As a tribute, Edvard Eriksen built the Little Mermaid Statue in 1913, which sits on a rock in the Langelinie Prominade in Copenhagen.    

 

 

 

 

* the "sen" indicating "son" is particular to Denmark. As an example, in another country the last name would be "Anderson," in Denmark it's "Andersen".

 

 

 

Copenhagen is also home to:

3 hockey teams

3 soccer ("football") teams

the largest airport of all the Scandinavian countries

 

Interested in a visit? Here is Copenhagen's home page: http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen-tourist