Copenhagen
København ( German Copenhagen ) |
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Basic data | ||||
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State : |
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Region : | Hovedstaden | |||
Municipality (since 2007) : |
Copenhagen | |||
Coordinates : | 55 ° 41 ′ N , 12 ° 35 ′ E | |||
Founded: | 1167 | |||
Population : (2020) |
632.340 | |||
Area : | 86.20 km² | |||
Population density : | 7,336 inhabitants per km² | |||
Height : | 24 m ö.h. | |||
Postal code : | 1050-1778, 2100, 2200, 2300, 2400, 2450, 2500 | |||
Mayor : | Lars Weiss ( S ) | |||
City structure: | 15 districts | |||
Website: | www.kk.dk | |||
![]() Copenhagen, collage. From above: Christiansborg , Marble Church , Tivoli and Rådhuspladsen |
Copenhagen ( Danish [ kʰøb̥m̩ˈhɑʊ̯ˀn ], in the spelling Kjøbenhavn , which was valid until the 19th century ) is the capital of Denmark and the country's cultural and economic center. The city is the seat of parliament ( Folketing ) and government as well as the residence of the Danish Queen Margrethe II.
The Danish capital is one of the most important metropolises in Northern Europe , is a popular travel destination and port city . The municipality of Copenhagen (Københavns Kommune) has 632,340 inhabitants, the capital in the formal sense (consisting of the municipalities of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg and Gentofte ) has 811,475 inhabitants. Copenhagen is part of the Danish administrative region Region Hovedstaden and the binational metropolitan region Öresund region .
The city is considered one of the cities with the greatest quality of life in the world. In the city ranking of the consulting company Mercer , it took eighth place in this category out of 231 large cities worldwide in 2018.
In the Copenhagen agglomeration ( Hovedstadsområdet ) the population is 1,330,993 (as of January 1, 2020).
Place name
In Central Danish the city was called Køpmannæhafn, which translates as “merchant port” or “port of merchants” and thus expresses the importance of merchants in the Middle Ages. In 1043 the place was first mentioned as Havn - parallel to the Latinized form of the name Hafnia for "port".
In Icelandic the city is still called Kaupmannahöfn today and Keypmannahavn in Faroese language; in Swedish the name is Köpenhamn and from here in Finnish Kööpenhamina . The German and Dutch exonym Copenhagen correspond to English Copenhagen, French, Spanish and Portuguese Copenhague, Polish Kopenhaga and Estonian Kopenhaagen; in Czech and Slovak the name is Kodaň .
The asteroid (13586) Copenhagen and the chemical element 72 hafnium were named after the city.
geography
The urban area of Copenhagen is spread over several islands. The larger western part is on the east coast of Zealand (Sjælland), the largest Danish island in the Baltic Sea as well as Denmark's (without taking Greenland ) largest island . The eastern part of the city includes a collection of smaller so-called Holme and the northern half of Amager . Copenhagen and in Swedish Scania preferred Malmö are through the strait Sound separated.
Geologically , the entire city is located on the Ice Age ground moraine landscape that covers large parts of Denmark. In Copenhagen the moraine rests on relatively high-lying limestone , which consists of chalk limestone from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastricht) and which caused considerable problems during the construction of the metro.
Definitions
A distinction has to be made between the municipality of Copenhagen, the administrative region Region Hovedstaden , the Landsdel Byen København , the "capital", the settlement area capital, the planning area capital and several different meanings of Greater Copenhagen:
- The 86.2 km² large municipality of Copenhagen (Danish: Københavns Kommune ) ( Eurostat level LAU-1 ) has been made up of ten districts since 2007: Indre By , Vesterbro / Kongens Enghave , Nørrebro , Østerbro , Amager Øst , Amager Vest , Valby , Bispebjerg , Vanløse and Brønshøj-Husum . The reformed administrative boundaries no longer take into account some traditional or urban areas: Amager , Islands Brygge , Ørestad , Christianshavn , Vesterbro and Kongens Enghave (also called Sydhavnen).
- The administrative region Region Hovedstaden (Eurostat level NUTS -2) was created with the municipal reform of January 1, 2007 and comprises the former districts of Københavns Amt and Frederiksborg Amt as well as the municipalities of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg and Bornholm .
- The Landsdel Byen København (dt. Landes part Copenhagen City) (Eurostat level NUTS -3) comprises the local Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Dragør and Tårnby . That means an area of 179.3 km² with 794,128 inhabitants (4,429 inhabitants / km²) (as of January 1, 2020). The Landsdel Copenhagen omegn (dt. Landes part Copenhagen region) comprising the local Albertslund , Ballerup , Brøndby , Gentofte , Gladsaxe , Glostrup , Herlev , Hvidovre , Hoje Taastrup , Ishøj , Lyngby-Taarbæk , Rødovre and Vallensbæk with 548,370 inhabitants to 342, 3 km² (1,602 inhabitants / km²)
- The three municipalities of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg and Gentofte are combined as the “capital” (Hovedstaden) and together have an area of 120.5 km². (Area information from 2014)
- The contiguous settlement area ( byområde ) that has formed around the municipalities of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg since the middle of the 20th century is referred to as Hovedstadsområdet (roughly: "Capital Area" ) . It does not form an independent administrative unit, but is merely an important statistical parameter. Danmarks Statistics expanded Hovedstadsområdet in 2007 to include Ishøj and Greve Strand .
- Copenhagen is part of the “Capital Area ” planning region (also known as Hovedstadsområdet in Danish ). Its geographical demarcation has been adjusted over the past half century as the interdependence of the metropolis with its surrounding area has intensified. Today, Hovedstadsområdet covers the entire east of the island of Zealand; it is also the tariff area of the local public transport operator Movia .
- The term Storkøbenhavn (Greater Copenhagen) includes various suburbs of the capital depending on the context.
- Copenhagen forms the economic center of the cross-border metropolitan area called the Oresund Region . This consists of Capital Region , Region Zealand and the southern Swedish province of Skåne with a total of 3,880,000 inhabitants.
climate
Copenhagen Airport Kastrup, Amager Island | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Copenhagen Airport Kastrup, Amager Island
Source: Danmarks Meteorologiske Institut (DMI): Normaler for Danmark Klimadata 1961–1990 ( Memento of April 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ); wetterkontor.de
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history
Middle Ages and Modern Times
In the 12th century, a castle was built on Øresund , which was supposed to secure the small trading port of Skåne and Amager at the fishing settlement Havn ("harbor"). Last but not least, the favorable location roughly halfway between the important bishopric in Roskilde and the Scandinavian archbishopric in Lund (then Danish) was of decisive importance. Accordingly, the settlement redesigned with the castle was also given the name Køpmannæhafn ("Merchant's Harbor "). In 1254 the young Copenhagen received its first city charter from Bishop Jakob Erlandsen , but the city was plundered and destroyed together with the castle in 1362 and 1368 as an unpleasant competitor of the Hanseatic League . After another attack by the Hanseatic League , the port was blocked by shipwrecks for a while in 1428.
However, the development could not be stopped: in 1416 the rebuilt city became the king's residence , and in 1443 it took over from Roskilde as the capital. In the first half of the 17th century, Copenhagen flourished under Christian IV .
Copenhagen has seen catastrophes, epidemics and wars time and again in its history . From 1658 to 1659 the city withstood a siege , while the rest of Denmark was completely occupied by the Swedes . With the Peace of Roskilde in 1658 and the transfer of the previously eastern Danish provinces of Skåne and Blekinge , Copenhagen, which was previously centrally located in the country, became a border town. In the 18th century, a third of the city's residents died after the plague and epidemics. Two city fires raged in 1728 and 1795 . The reconstruction led to today's old town, which is characterized by the architectural style of the 18th century. In the naval battles of Copenhagen in 1801 and 1807 , the English bombarded the capital of Denmark, because it did not want to side with England in its war against France, and caused considerable damage, especially due to the major fire triggered in the second attack. After the victory of the English, Copenhagen had to surrender all the ships anchored there and could only recover from this defeat after decades. In 1848, public demonstrations in Copenhagen forced King Frederik VII to reform and pass a constitution. With the national tensions and Denmark's loss of Schleswig and Holstein in the war of 1864 , many German-speaking civil servants and merchants left the city, which had shaped them for centuries.
Early 20th century
With industrialization in the late 19th century, the city grew rapidly through immigration from the countryside. The fortifications were razed and partially converted into parks (including the Tivoli, Ørstedsparken and Østre Anlæg). The ramparts at the eastern end and the Kastellet fortress have been preserved. Workers' and bourgeois quarters quickly grew around the medieval town, which to this day still consist of houses built between 1870 and 1900. At that time the first telephone kiosks were established .
Second World War
On April 9, 1940, Copenhagen was taken by German troops without a fight . Like the rest of Denmark, the city was occupied until May 5, 1945 , but with a few exceptions spared from war damage. Some industrial buildings were targeted by Danish resistance fighters . When the Danish government resigned on August 29, 1943, an uneasy period ensued. In June 1944, a general strike against the occupying forces began in the working-class district of Nørrebro , which spread across Denmark. In August 1944, large parts of the Tivolis , the Royal Porcelain Manufactory, a town hall and a student dormitory were blown up by the Schalburg Group , a Danish SS corps, in the course of retaliation . On March 21, 1945, Allied planes bombed the Shell house, which was used by the Germans as the Gestapo headquarters; around 125 people were killed. One of the low-flying attacking planes hit a light pole at the station and crashed at the French School. The ensuing explosion led subsequent pilots to believe that this was the target whereupon they bombed the school; a total of 900 people were killed. Apart from this bombardment in the last days of the Second World War, Copenhagen was spared the destruction of the war.
Finger planning
In order to control the urbanization process of the 20th century, the Danish architect designed Peter Bredsdorff (1913-1981) in 1947 the so-called finger Plan (Dan. Finger plan ). The concept emerged from the “Expert Opinion on Green Areas in the Copenhagen Area ” (Betænkningen om Københavnsegnens Grønne Områder) from 1936 and was aimed at maintaining large areas of green space despite increasing urban sprawl. The urban development plan wanted urban growth, i.e. H. Housing construction, industry and transport infrastructure, focus on five corridors along the main traffic axes. These development axes extended like fingers into the Copenhagen area, while the "palm" covered the city center. In the vicinity of watercourses and stretches of coastline, local recreation areas should extend “between the fingers” right into the heart of the metropolis. Because of its almost iconic appearance, Fingerplanen was included in the Danish cultural canon 2006 as a milestone in urban planning . The finger plan was enshrined in the city regulation law in 1949, but was only implemented in broad outline. Its importance for political and administrative decisions was more ideal than practical.
Recent history
The expansion of the S-Bahn lines made it possible to move residential areas to the surrounding area. At the same time, suburban settlements were built with high-rise and single-family houses, the standard of which was well above the level of the old inner-city district. Therefore, the number of inhabitants decreased significantly between 1960 and 1990.
A new urban development has been taking place since 1990, including the construction of many modern buildings at the port such as the " Black Diamond ", a cubic extension of the Royal Library , the opera house opened in 2005 and the new theater opened in 2008 . The metro , which was inaugurated in 2002, will be expanded to three lines by 2019 and four lines by 2020. In 2000 the Öresund connection was opened and the southern Swedish area around Malmö was connected to Copenhagen by a regional express train network. The labor and housing markets on both sides of the Øresund have partly grown together. Copenhagen is experiencing an influx of knowledge-based and creative businesses as well as students from all over Scandinavia and remains Denmark's undisputed powerhouse. As a result, however, house prices and traffic problems rose sharply. The construction of high-rise buildings was proposed to alleviate the housing shortage and give the city a “metropolitan character”; Opponents, however, emphasize that it is precisely the absence of tall buildings that is characteristic of Copenhagen.
In the first months of 2007 there were violent clashes between the police and young people, especially autonomous groups , which also attracted international attention. The background to this was the evacuation of the autonomous youth center Ungdomshuset .
In 2009 the 15th UN Climate Change Conference of the contracting states of the United Nations Climate Change Convention took place on December 7th to 18th in the Bella Center in Copenhagen . It was also the fifth meeting under the Kyoto Protocol .
According to the Forbes list of the World's Most Expensive Cities To Live 2009 Copenhagen is one of the most expensive cities in the world.
On February 14 and 15, 2015, there were two Islamist attacks in Copenhagen . A cultural center was the target of an attack on the afternoon of February 14th . The Danish documentary filmmaker Finn Nørgaard was killed and three police officers injured. The following night there was a second attack on the Great Synagogue in Copenhagen , in which the Jewish guard Dan Uzan was shot and two police officers were injured.
Population development
Development of the population of Københavns Municipality (from 1971: as of January 1) :
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politics

Christiansborg Palace is the seat of Parliament, the Prime Minister and the Supreme Court.
Due to its capital city status, the embassies and emissaries of 187 countries are represented in Copenhagen .
Culture
In 1996, Copenhagen was the European Capital of Culture .
Opera, ballet and drama
Probably the most famous theater in town is the Royal Theater . The building of the establishment, which was founded in 1748, was built in 1874 and is located at Kongens Nytorv and seats 1,500 people. Here are operas - and ballet performances presented. A second, modern opera house has been used since 2005: the Operaen , which is located on the island of Holmen and also belongs to the Kongelige Teater . In 2008 a new theater was opened at the harbor.
In the Mermaid Theater (Mermaid Teater) all performances are presented in English . The most famous Danish actors , however, perform in the Ny Theater .
In the Kronprinsengade is the Plex Musikteater (formerly Den Anden Opera ), a stage for experimental dance theater.
The new Copenhagen Concert Hall (DR Koncerthuset) is located on the island of Amager in the northern part of the Ørestad district of Copenhagen . It was built according to plans by the French architect Jean Nouvel and opened in January 2009.
Museums (selection)

- Arbejdermuseet / workers' museum
- Dansk Jødisk Museum / Danish Jewish Museum
- David's Samling / David's collection - Islamic ceramics
- Designmuseum Danmark (formerly Det danske Kunstindustrimuseum )
- Eksperimentarium
- Geologisk Museum / Geological Museum
- The Hirschsprungske Samling / Hirschsprung Collection - Danish painting of the 19th century
- Københavns Museum / City Museum
- Museum Erotica (closed since March 2009)
- Medicininsk-Historisk Museum / Medical-Historical Museum
- Nationalmuseet / Nationalmuseum - overview of Danish history from the Stone Age to the present day
- Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek / New Carlsberg Glyptothek
- Statens Museum for Kunst / State Art Museum
- Thorvaldsen's Museum with sculptures by Bertel Thorvaldsen
- Tycho Brahe Planetarium
- Tøjhusmuseet / Royal Danish Armory Museum / Arms and War Museum
- Zoologisk Museum / Zoological Museum
Outside of Copenhagen:
- Arken (Die Arche) Modern art in modern architecture in Ishøj
- Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk
- Danmarks Tekniske Museum / Technical Museum in Helsingør
Attractions

The 1.25 meter tall Lille Havfrue (Danish, The Little Mermaid ) by the Copenhagen sculptor Edvard Eriksen (1876–1959) is the city's most famous landmark . It was commissioned by the brewer Carl Jacobsen and inaugurated on August 23, 1913. Eriksen used the face of the prima ballerina Ellen Price, then famous in Copenhagen, and the body of his wife Eline as models for the title character of the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen .

Tivoli , across from Central Station , is one of the oldest amusement parks in the world (the oldest, Dyrehavsbakken , is in the north of the city) and the SAS Royal Hotel, built in 1960 by Arne Jacobsen, is the first high-rise in Copenhagen. On the edge of the park runs HC Andersens Boulevard , located on the on the Rådhusplads and the town hall is located. It was built between 1892 and 1905 in the style of Nordic national romanticism. The building was inaugurated on September 12, 1905 and is adorned with many sculptures . The town hall tower is Denmark's highest tower at 105.6 meters.
The Sankt Petri Kirke (“Sankt Petri Kirche”) is located near the University of Copenhagen . It has been the parish church of the German community since 1586 and the oldest surviving church in Copenhagen. To the east is the Vor Frue Kirke ("Church of Our Lady"), the classicist masterpiece by Christian Frederik Hansen , equipped with statues by Bertel Thorvaldsen , including his Blessing Christ .
Further north is the 34.8 meter high Rundetårn ("Round Tower"). A 209 meter long, stepless spiral corridor leads to this observation tower, which was built between 1637 and 1642 . The Trinitatis Kirke (Dreifaltigkeitskirche) is attached to the tower . The shopping streets Strøget and Strædet are also located here . With a length of over one kilometer, they form one of the longest pedestrian zones in Europe and are a popular shopping mile.
One of the city's most important tourist magnets, Christiansborg Palace (Christiansborg Slot), stretches between the pedestrian zones and Inderhavn . It has been the seat of parliament since 1918 and is located on the site of an older castle that Bishop Absalon Saxo Grammaticus claims to have built in 1167. The current building complex with the 90 meter high castle tower was built between 1907 and 1928. On the north side of the castle is the classicist castle church, completed in 1826 .
Immediately next to Christiansborg Palace is Børsen , the former Copenhagen Stock Exchange . The renaissance building was built between 1619 and 1640 and with its 54 meter high tower in the form of entwined dragon tails is another landmark of the city. The building served its original purpose until 1974, since then it has been used as an office building. The Royal Library of Denmark is also located next to the castle .
From here, the Børsbro leads over a canal to the National Bank and Holmens Kirke , which is exactly opposite the stock exchange and Christiansborg Palace. It was built in the 17th century. The Knippelsbro , a bascule bridge, also leads from the stock exchange over the Inderhavn to Amager. It is also the best way to get to Vor Frelsers Kirke (Church of the Redeemer) in the Christianshavn district . This baroque building from the years 1602 to 1692 has the second highest tower in Copenhagen at 93 meters. It is the landmark of the Christianshavn district and can be climbed from the outside via a spiral staircase constructed in 1752.
Another attraction is the Nyhavn . This street with gabled houses on both sides of the port arm of the same name is the center of gastronomy in Copenhagen.
Kongens Nytorv ("New King's Market") is located at the western end of Nyhavn . A dozen streets radiate from this largest square in the city. On the square with a statue of Christian V , popularly called Hesten - the horse - are the Royal Theater, the Magasin du Nord department store , Thotts Palais (1685) and Charlottenborg Palace , built between 1672 and 1683 . Today it houses the art academy and is connected to the new art exhibition building.
To the northwest of Kongens Nytorv is Rosenborg Slot (Rosenborg Castle). The renaissance castle, which was built from 1607 to 1617 as a summer residence for Christian IV and influenced by Dutch architecture, houses the Danish crown jewels. It has been a museum since 1833. The ivory throne with three silver lions and the gold crowns of Christian IV and Christian V adorned with precious stones are worth seeing . Opposite the castle is the botanical garden with a greenhouse .
The Frederikskirke ("Friedrichskirche"), also called "Marble Church", is an 84 m high church with a 45 m high frescoed dome designed by Nicolai Eigtved and begun in 1740 , one of the largest in Europe based on the model of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Lack of money led to a lengthy break in construction. The church was only completed in 1894 thanks to donations from the industrialist Carl Frederik Tietgen . The interior is decorated with statues of important personalities from religious history such as Moses and Martin Luther . Amalienborg Palace is right next to the church . The residence of the queen and the crown prince was built between 1749 and 1760 and consists of four palaces facing each other. The equestrian statue of Frederik V stands in the middle of the large, octagonal palace square Amalienborg Plads . The changing of the guard takes place here every noon at twelve o'clock.
Kastellet (Kastell), a remnant of the old city fortifications, extends north of Amalienborg Palace . The Langelinie promenade runs beneath the ramparts and leads directly to the Little Mermaid .
The Zoo Tower is a 43.5 m high observation tower in Copenhagen Zoo . It was built in 1905 and is one of the tallest wooden observation towers.
In the Bispebjerg district , the Grundtvig Church, begun by Peder Klint and completed by his son Kaare Klint , is a rare example of an expressionist sacred building.
The church in the suburb Bagsværd is a striking example of critical regionalism .
The 23-storey Bella Sky Hotel , the largest hotel in Scandinavia, is located in the youngest district of Copenhagen, Ørestad .
Parks and green spaces
In the inner city of Copenhagen there are several green areas which, in addition to the waterways, shape the atmosphere of the city:
- the lakes (Søerne), five shallow ponds west of the old town
- " Østre Anlæg " an English-style park, on the edge of the State Art Museum is
- " Kongens Have ", the former royal garden
- “Botanical Garden” ( Botanisk Have ) with an open-air area and greenhouses
- “ Ørstedsparken ”, a small, English-style park
- “ Fælledparken ”, a spacious park that is often used for sporting activities
- “ Superkilen ”, a park in the district of Nørrebro
Free city of Christiania
The Free City Christiania (also Das free Christiana) is an "alternative" housing estate in the Christianshavn district of Copenhagen , which has existed since 1971. The former military area of the Bådsmandsstrædes barracks covers an area of 34 hectares on the historic ramparts of the city. The residents consider themselves to be living in a free city that is governed independently of the state authorities. However, Christiania is a drug trafficking center .
Parish parishes in Copenhagen
The Københavns municipality is divided into 70 parishes (Danish Sogn ), the Frederiksberg municipality into ten and the Gentofte municipality into nine Sogne.
Sports
Soccer
The following Danish Superleague football clubs are based in Copenhagen :
- FC Copenhagen - including multiple Danish champions (1993, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016 and 2017), multiple Danish cup winners (1995, 1997, 2004, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017) and multiple Danish Supercup winner (1995, 2001, 2004)
As well as at the gates of the city in Brøndby :
- Brøndby IF - among others multiple Danish champions (1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2005) and multiple Danish cup winners (1989, 1994, 1998, 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2018)
Triathlon
Since 2013, a long-distance triathlon (3.86 km swimming, 180.2 km cycling and 42.195 km running) has been held here every August with the Ironman Copenhagen .
half marathon
The since 2010 takes place in September Copenhagen Half Marathon (CPH Half) attracts about 20,000 runners and has the International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics the Road Race Gold Label status . The route is considered to be one of the fastest half marathon routes in the world, and the field in the elite run is always top-class. World-class times are run under 68 minutes for women and under 60 minutes for men. In 2019 the Kenyan Geoffrey Kamworor ran with 58:01 min. a new world record.
Economy and Infrastructure
Copenhagen is the economic center of Denmark. According to a study from 2014, the greater Copenhagen area generates a gross domestic product of 127 billion US dollars in purchasing power parity . In the ranking of the economically strongest metropolitan regions worldwide, he came 106th. The GDP per capita was $ 42,220 (PPP).
As in almost every other major European city, the city center houses the service center, handicraft businesses and industrial plants ( machine , porcelain and textile factories ), most of which - if not yet outsourced to other countries - have been relocated to the outskirts. The Danish capital is considered very expensive and the cost of living is among the highest in Europe.
Established businesses
The well-known Copenhagen-based breweries Tuborg and Carlsberg (now merged to form Carlsberg A / S) have completely outsourced their production to the Fredericia site in south-east Jutland, at the bridge to the island of Funen and thus centrally located in Denmark. The world's largest container shipping company, A. P. Møller-Mærsk, is also based in Copenhagen . The pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk , known for its enzyme and insulin production , has its headquarters in the Bagsværd district . The pharmaceutical company Lundbeck and NKT Holding are also headquartered in Copenhagen. The company Secunia (IT security company) is also based in Copenhagen.
Start-up village Copenhagen
The start-up village Copenhagen is located on 14,000 m², spread over four neighboring former warehouses and two office buildings in Islands Brygge. It was created in 2014 from the collaboration between start-ups , the Founders House and venture capital funds. With more than 40 start-ups and growth companies and around 500 employees, it is currently the largest start-up hub in the Nordic countries (as of 2019).
traffic
Despite its peripheral location, Copenhagen is Denmark's most important transport hub . All major roads and railways run towards the city in a star shape. Copenhagen is connected to Lübeck and Hamburg via the Vogelfluglinie shipping route, and Malmö and Lund via the Öresund route.
Public transport
- S-Bahn and Metro
Copenhagen and its suburbs are served by the S-tog S-Bahn system . The S-Bahn lines run to Køge , Høje-Taastrup , Frederikssund , Farum , Hillerød and Klampenborg ; next to it a ring line runs around the center of the city.
Then there is the Copenhagen Metro , which opened in 2002, and its trains run fully automatically, i.e. without a subway driver. The first line runs from Vanløse in the west via Frederiksberg and Nørreport station to Christianshavn , where it splits into a branch to Vestamager in the south and one towards Kastrup Airport in the southeast. On September 29, 2019, a third line, the Cityringen, was put into operation, which complements public transport around the city center. The M4 line has been running on part of the Cityringen and a branch line to Orientkaj in the northeast since 2020.
- Tram, bus transport and port bus
From October 22, 1863 to April 22, 1972, Copenhagen had an extensive tram network , which in 1953 reached its greatest extent with 19 lines. The first urban operator of the Copenhagen tram was the Københavns Sporsveje (KS). After the closure, almost 100 Duewag articulated multiple units were sold to the Alexandria Tramway . Some wagons came to the Skjoldenæsholm Tram Museum on Central Zealand, where tourist trips on old trains are also offered.
It is now intended to set up tram lines again. The new network should have the character of a light rail and will not be built in the city center, but around Copenhagen.
The oldest means of local transport in Copenhagen is the omnibus . The importance of bus transport in the capital only increased after the tram network was shut down in 1972. In the present, there is a branched system of Movia bus routes with different speeds, availability and cycle times in the city and the surrounding area . The system also includes three lines with Havnebussen , a passenger boat , which Arriva operates with boats of the type Damen Ferry 2306 E3 . In the inner harbor, the port bus connects the Royal Opera (Operaen) on the island of Holmen with the old town.
bicycle
Bicycle traffic has an important place in the city. Almost every major street has its own cycle path or cycle lane , which is separated from the road . At 65% of commuters, the share of cycling in the total volume of traffic in the city is extremely high compared to other major European cities (Vienna: 13%, Berlin: 35%). Every day, 1.3 million kilometers are covered by bicycle in Copenhagen.
City and transport planners and representatives of cycling lobby associations from all over the world repeatedly cite Copenhagen as a model example of the preference for cycling. According to independent city tests using different methods and criteria , Copenhagen was either the most bicycle-friendly (large) city in the world from 2009 to 2013, number 2 after Amsterdam or number 3 after Amsterdam and Portland . After a political decision in 2011, the goal was to become the world's best bicycle city by the end of 2015 , which was achieved. For the redesign of cities with a special preference for cycling, the word copenhagenize has already become commonplace in English .
Denmark's first cykelsupersti (for example: Bicycle Super Path, German technical term: Radschnellweg ) C99 from Albertslund to Copenhagen was inaugurated on April 14, 2012. It is 17.5 km long and, with a few stops, was built largely away from traffic. It contains some new paths, small bridges and underpasses. 15 routes are to be built by 2021, a total of 45 cycle superhighways are planned.
Den Grønne Sti (Eng. The Green Path ), a bicycle road that runs for several kilometers through Copenhagen and ends in the neighboring town of Frederiksberg, is of particular importance .
In addition, until 2012 there was a bike rental system from spring to autumn with a total of around 100 stations where you could rent bikes for free. These so-called city bikes (Bycykler) were available for a deposit of 20 kroner , which you pocketed according to the shopping cart principle and got back when you returned the bike to one of the stations (see also Helsinki City Bike ). The bikes could only be used in the city center. In the winter, inmates waited for them in a prison. This project was discontinued at the end of 2012, also because there were often no bikes available at the stations. A new, very modern system called goBike was set up in 2013. The wheels have a switchable electric motor and a built-in tablet PC, among other things for orientation. Compared to other rental bike systems in Paris or Hamburg , usage is less than expected, probably because of the high tariffs.
Rail transport

The main train station is Københavns Hovedbanegård southwest of the city center. From here there are international rail connections to Sweden and Germany.
air traffic
The international airport of Copenhagen is located in Kastrup with direct connections to four continents. There is a separate rail connection, which is served by the trains to Malmö before they cross the Øresund Bridge.
Oresund Bridge
The connection with Malmö has been made by the Öresund connection since 2000 . Both the Öresund trains , which are set up for the two national power and signal systems, and cars on a four-lane motorway run over these . Ferries and hydrofoils used to go to Malmö .
Maritime transport
Copenhagen can be reached by (car) ferry from Poland ( Swinoujscie ) and Oslo . A new ship terminal in the Nordhafen (Nordhavn) serves both liner and cruise ships . The traditional route to Bornholm was moved to Køge harbor in 2005 .
In summer you can visit the town and port with one of the many tour boats and go to the former Seefort Trekroner or the island of Hven in the Öresund.
power supply
Copenhagen is supplied with electricity and district heating by several thermal power stations (including the Amager power station ) . According to a review study published in 2018, the city's energy supply is probably the best-designed in the world. It is designed across sectors and networks power generation, district heating, natural gas, district cooling and waste incineration in one integrated system. The district heating network has existed since 1984 and supplies around 270,000 households or 90% of the population of Copenhagen. It is fed by a number of fossil and biogenic heating power plants as well as geothermal energy . The city is aiming to become the first CO 2 -neutral city in the world by the year 2025 , whereby, in addition to increasing energy efficiency , it is focusing in particular on switching from fossil to renewable energy sources such as biomass , wind energy , solar energy and geothermal energy.
media
- Danmarks Radio , in Ørestad
- JP / Politikens Hus, publisher of the daily newspapers Ekstra Bladet , Politiken (both in Copenhagen) and Jyllands-Posten (in Aarhus -Viby) and several Internet sites.
- Berlingske Media , publisher of the daily newspapers Berlingske Tidende , BT and ErhvervsBladet as well as the weekly newspaper Weekendavisen . Majority owner of several newspaper publishers across Denmark and part of the Mecom Group .
- Dagbladet Information , left-wing liberal daily newspaper.
- Kristeligt Dagblad , Christian daily newspaper.
- TV 2 , a public service television broadcaster from Odense, has its secondary headquarters in Copenhagen.
education
In Copenhagen and in the greater area there are:
- University of Copenhagen : founded in 1479
- Royal Library School of Denmark with the Danish Royal Library , is both national and university library
- Professionshøjskolen Metropol (Healthcare and Social Services)
- College of Fine Arts and Architecture
- Copenhagen Business School ( Copenhagen Business School )
- Denmark's Technical University
- IT University of Copenhagen : ITU, since 1999
- Pedagogical University of Denmark
- Rytmisk Music Conservatory (Rhythmic Conservatory of Music) and the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music
- Copenhagen State Theater School
- Modern Dance School Copenhagen
- Den Danske Filmskole Copenhagen
- Danish Design School Copenhagen
- Copenhagen University of Engineering : since 1881
- Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
- Royal Danish Academy of Sciences
- German School St. Petri Copenhagen
- Det ridderlige Akademi (1691-1710)
graveyards
- Vestre Kirkegård with the German War Cemetery in Copenhagen West (Vestre Kirkegård)
- Bispebjerg Kirkegård with the German War Cemetery in Copenhagen Bispebjerg
Personalities
literature
- Jörg-Peter Findeisen / Poul Husum: Small History of Copenhagen , Pustet, Regensburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-7917-2122-4 .
- Christian Gehl: Copenhagen , 7th edition, Michael Müller Verlag, Erlangen 2019, ISBN 978-3-95654-629-7 .
Web links
- Official website of the City of Copenhagen (Danish, English)
- Illustration of the city 1588 in Civitates orbis terrarum by Georg Braun
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Statistics Banks -> Befolkning og valg -> BY1: Folketal January 1st efter byområde, alder og køn (Danish)
- ↑ Mercer's 2018 Quality of Living Rankings. Retrieved May 23, 2019 .
- ^ Oluf Nielsen: Kjøbenhavn i Middelalderen. In: eremit.dk , accessed on October 28, 2010 (Danish)
- ↑ a b Statistics Banks -> Geografi, miljø og energi -> ARE207: Areal demands efter municipality / region (Danish)
- ↑ Danmarks Statistics : Statistisk Årbog 1990 , chap. 1: Befolkning og Valg S. 1 f .: Definitioner og ordforklaringer, keyword: Hovedstaden
- ^ Kulturministeriet (ed.): Kulturkanon . 1st edition. Politics Forlag, Copenhagen 2006, ISBN 87-567-8051-6 , Fingerplanen, p. 34 ff . (Danish).
- Jump up ↑ Forbes List: Most Expensive Cities In The World To Live In
- ^ FAZ.net : Attacks in Copenhagen - alleged shooter angry with Israel , February 16, 2015.
- ^ Raid: A ton of hashish in the allotment garden. on: Spiegel online. June 25, 2003.
- ↑ Honors. FC København, accessed on February 18, 2019 .
- ↑ Om Brøndby IF. Om Brøndby IF, accessed February 18, 2019 (Danish).
- ^ Alan Berube, Jesus Leal Trujillo, Tao Ran, and Joseph Parilla: Global Metro Monitor . In: Brookings . January 22, 2015 ( brookings.edu [accessed July 19, 2018]).
- ↑ Current emigration to Denmark - information on immigration. auswandern-info.com, accessed on February 18, 2019 .
- ↑ Start-up village Copenhagen . Retrieved July 23, 2019.
- ↑ Copenhagen metro Cityringen line set for September opening. International Railway Journal, July 26, 2019, accessed August 16, 2019 .
- ↑ Copenhagen Metro. Retrieved February 18, 2019 .
- ↑ Sporvejsmuseet Skjoldenæsholm.
- ↑ 28 kilometers round the road from København. Politiken , 29 June 2011, accessed 18 February 2019 (Danish).
- ↑ Martin Randelhoff: Public transport in European cities - a comparison. Future Mobility, September 16, 2011, accessed on February 18, 2019 .
- ^ Report on the Bicycle Account 2012
- ↑ Vienna can become Copenhagen! Bicycle Interest Group, June 10, 2009, archived from the original on September 10, 2016 ; accessed on February 18, 2019 .
- ↑ Innovative bike rental systems for cities. on: world online. August 11, 2009.
- ↑ Blog Copenhagenize, Denmark, English
- ↑ Copenhagenize Index 2013, Denmark, English
- ↑ Blog Treehuger, United States, English
- ↑ www.bikecitizens.net
- ↑ Copenhagen: Highway for the bike Spiegel online August 17, 2012
- ↑ The routes of cycle superhighways. Secretariatet for Supercykelstier, Njalsgade 13, 2300 København S, accessed on August 17, 2019 .
- ^ Silke Bigalke: Danish Tempo . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . August 14, 2015, ISSN 0174-4917 ( online [accessed August 2, 2016]).
- ^ Abdul Rehman Mazhar et al .: A state of art review on district heating systems . In: Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews . tape 96 , 2018, p. 420-439 , doi : 10.1016 / j.rser.2018.08.005 .
- ↑ Copenhagen's ambitious push to be carbon-neutral by 2025 . In: The Guardian , April 12, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2018.