This square seems made for dining outdoors. But its name and its paving hide two dark stories. Gråbrødretorv means ‘Greyfriars Square’: a Franciscan friary was founded here in 1238 and closed in 1530 with the Reformation.

1Traitor to the realm

On part of that land Corfitz Ulfeldt built his mansion. He was one of the most powerful men in 17th-century Denmark and Christian IV’s son-in-law, married to Leonora Christina, the king’s favourite daughter. Having fallen from grace, accused of plotting and of going over to the Swedes, Ulfeldt was finally convicted of high treason in 1663.

The punishment went beyond the man himself. His house was demolished, the site turned into a public square, Ulfeldts Plads, and in the middle stood a pillar of shame with an inscription branding him a traitor ‘to eternal scorn, shame and disgrace’.

The pillar was raised so that passers-by could spit on the traitor’s name.

Ulfeldt died in exile in 1664. His wife would pay for him, as the next stop will tell. The pillar survived the fire of 1728 and was not removed until 1842, once the hatred had faded. Today it stands in the courtyard of the National Museum.

2What to look out for

  • The small plaque set into the cobbles marking where the pillar stood: it is hard to find because it blends into the paving.
  • The colourful houses, rebuilt after the fire of 1728.
  • The great plane tree, planted in 1902.

Documented

Ulfeldt was convicted of treason in 1663, his house demolished and a pillar of shame raised on the square; it was removed in 1842 and is now at the National Museum.

Sources and credits

Den Store Danske (lex.dk), ‘Gråbrødretorv’ and ‘Corfitz Ulfeldt’; Nationalmuseet, ‘Corfitz Ulfeldts skamstøtte’; Dansk Biografisk Leksikon, ‘Corfitz Ulfeldt’.

Photos:

  • Gråbrødretorv square with its colourful houses and large tree: Mahlum, Dominio público.
  • Red houses and terraces beneath the plane tree on Gråbrødretorv: Jonaseckerbom, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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