Copenhagen City Hall

Martin Nyrop's city hall opened in 1905 and is the fullest statement of Danish national romanticism: red brick, a great glazed central hall, medieval Nordic detail, sea creatures and folk figures worked into the stone, and a gilded figure of Bishop Absalon over the entrance. The tower reaches 106 metres and can be climbed by three hundred steps, giving a view over the roofs to the harbour. Inside, in its own room, stands Jens Olsen's World Clock, an astronomical mechanism of some fifteen thousand parts completed in 1955 that tracks solar and sidereal time, sunrise, the calendar, the positions of the planets and a gear that turns once every twenty-five thousand seven hundred years. The building is still the working town hall.

History

The present building is Copenhagen's sixth city hall. The first stood at Gammeltorv, the oldest square, though little is known of it; at the end of the 14th century a second was set up opposite the Church of Our Lady; the third, at Gammeltorv, was in use from about 1479, rebuilt by Christian IV in 1608-10 as a small Renaissance building, and burned in the great fire of 1728; the fourth, a Baroque building by J. C. Ernst and J. C. Krieger, burned in the great fire of 1795; and the fifth, by Christian Frederik Hansen on Nytorv, was completed in 1815 and is now the Court House. As the city outgrew it in the late 19th century, the city hall was moved to a new site, and after a competition Martin Nyrop designed the present building in the National Romantic style, with Vilhelm Fischer supervising the works; construction began in 1892 and it was inaugurated on 12 September 1905 (Wikipedia, Copenhagen City Hall).

Highlights

• Jens Olsen's World Clock - fifteen thousand parts tracking sky and calendar.
• The glazed central hall - the covered court at the heart of the building.
• The 106-metre tower - three hundred steps to the city view.
• National romantic detailing - folk and sea figures worked into the brick.

When to go

Year round. One to two hours. Tower tours run at fixed times on weekdays and Saturday mornings and are limited in number. The main hall is open free during office hours on weekdays.

Things to know

Tower climbs are at set times only and sell out; there is no lift and three hundred steps is a real climb. The clock room is small and carries its own charge. The building closes to visitors for civic events at short notice. Weekends have reduced access.

Nearby

Tivoli is across the square; Stroget runs east from the door.

Key facts