Gammeltorv and Nytorv

You are standing in Copenhagen’s oldest square. Gammeltorv, the ‘old square’, dates back to the city’s earliest centuries, and in the Middle Ages it was the heart of its legal and commercial life: the town hall stood here, pigs and poultry were sold here, and sentences were read out here.

1A fountain with a story

Take a look at the Caritas Fountain, the Caritasbrønden. Christian IV had it built in the early 17th century, around 1608, and it is one of the oldest fountains in the city. The figure represents Charity: a pregnant mother with her children. Poultry sellers set up their stalls around it until well into the 20th century.

On special days, such as 5 June, Constitution Day, the water makes gilded copper balls dance on its jets. These ‘golden apples’ are a custom dating back to the 18th century.

2A new square born from the flames

The fires of 1728 and 1795 destroyed the old town hall. After the second, the city decided to join Gammeltorv to neighbouring Nytorv, the ‘new square’, and build something worthy of the age. Between 1805 and 1815 the architect C. F. Hansen raised the present Domhuset, which served as both town hall and courthouse.

‘Med Lov skal man Land bygge’: with law shall the land be built. The phrase comes from the Jutland Code of 1241.

The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard was born in a house on Nytorv in 1813.

3What to look out for

• The Caritas Fountain, with its mother, children and dolphins.
• The Domhuset inscription, beneath the columned pediment.
• The Neoclassical façades all around, nearly all rebuilt after the fire of 1795.