04-27-2019, 01:13 PM
Here's one I've been wanting to do for a little while - and, after Stockholm, it seems like a logical progression for my next 'overseas' city .
Copenhagen (known in Danish as 'København') is the capital city of Denmark. It's also the largest city in the country, with 777,218 people living there as of July 2018. The wider metro area contains just over 2 million people - so, over one-third of the 5.8 million people living in Denmark live either in Copenhagen, or close enough to be able to work there.
The city was founded on the large Danish island of Zealand - although, it's not known exactly when it first came to be. The earliest official records date from the late 1100s; however, recent archaeological finds suggest that the city could have been founded at least a century before this. In those early days, Copenhagen was primarily a fishing town - although, this industry was powerful enough to allow Copenhagen to emerge as the economic and cultural centre of Denmark by the early 1400s (at which point, it was declared the country's capital). The 1500s brought turmoil to Copenhagen, due to conflict between the established Catholics and the emerging Protestants; however, once Protestantism had taken over across northern Europe, the city expanded rapidly as it became a centre of regional trade.
Unfortunately, this era of prosperity wouldn't last: the 1700s brought plagues and fires, and then much of the city was destroyed by the British in 1807, when it got caught up in the Napoleonic Wars. However, the city was rebuilt, and began to thrive as an industrial and cultural centre (as well as remaining an important trading hub). It became particularly prosperous during World War I, when Denmark's neutrality allowed it to benefit from trade with both Britain and Germany. Sadly, it was unable to repeat this during World War II (when it was occupied by the Nazis); however, once it was liberated, it rapidly expanded its infrastructure. A particularly notable recent development was the Øresund Bridge, which links Denmark to Sweden: the route from Copenhagen starts in a tunnel beneath the sea, then emerges onto an artificial island, then continues over a bridge to the Swedish city of Malmö. There's also been major renewal of the city's public transport network - which is sure to be necessary as the city continues to expand.
There's quite a bit in Copenhagen to draw in tourists. The most famous landmark, of course, is the Little Mermaid statue, based on a character from a tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Other than this, the most notable attraction is probably the Tivoli Gardens, which opened in 1843, and draw in 4.6 million visitors per year. Tivoli is the second-oldest amusement park in the world - and, as it happens, the one that's older isn't far away: Dyrehavsbakken, opened in 1583, is in Copenhagen's northern suburbs. On top of this, the city remains an important cultural hub - as evidenced by the lavish opera house, built in 2004 at a cost in excess of $500 million. Then there's art: in contrast to Stockholm, which seems to put all of its artwork onto its metro system, Copenhagen boasts a wide selection of art galleries, featuring paintings and sculptures from both Denmark and the rest of the world. And that's before I even get onto the gardens and parks, the sites of scientific interest, and the multitudes of restaurants (15 of which have Michelin stars) - but, I can't really cover everything in the opening post, can I ?
So, who's been there, and what did you think of it?
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