City Hall Square and City Hall

In front of you stands Copenhagen City Hall, the Københavns Rådhus. Before you look at it, though, picture what was here two centuries ago: no square at all. This was the edge of the city, beside the Vesterport gate and the ramparts that hemmed Copenhagen in. When the fortifications came down in the mid-19th century, the city could finally spread outwards, and this space became its great open-air living room.

1A palace for the citizens

The architect Martin Nyrop won the competition to build the sixth city hall in Copenhagen’s history. Work began in 1892 and the building was inaugurated on 12 September 1905. Nyrop took his cue from the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, but translated it into the language of Danish National Romanticism: brick, carved stone, battlements and a flood of detail that rewards anyone who takes the time to look.

The tower rises 105.6 metres. Inside is Jens Olsen’s World Clock, an astronomical machine of extraordinary precision that tracks the time, the planets and the calendar.

Above the door, the founder keeps watch: a gilded statue of Bishop Absalon reminds you that it all began with him.

From this square Copenhagen has celebrated sporting victories, welcomed its monarchs and taken to the streets in protest. It is the city’s unofficial point zero: Strøget, the long pedestrian street that will lead you to the next stop, starts right here.

2What to look out for

• The golden statue of Absalon above the main balcony.
• The tower and its green copper spire, a landmark you can spot from almost anywhere in the centre.
• Hans Christian Andersen in bronze, seated beside the boulevard that bears his name, on the side of the building facing Tivoli.