(in Latin Hafnia), the capital of the Danish kingdom, was only a fishing village about the middle of the twelfth century when Valdemar I. made a present of it and some adjoining lands to Axel Hvide, renowned in Danish history as Absolon, bishop of Roeskilde, afterwards archbishop of Lund. In 1168, this prelate erected a castle on the spot where the Christiansborg palace now stands, and which was after him called Axel-hus. This castle protected the haven from the pirates who at that time infested the Baltic, and hence the town acquired its earliest name of Havn (the haven). As its trade increased it became a place of great resort for merchants, and took the name of Kjøbmændhavn (the haven of merchants), which has been contracted into Kjøbenhavn its present name. Bishop Absolon bestowed the castle and town with the lands of Amager on the see of Roeskilde. In 1254, Bishop Erlandsen of Roeskilde granted it municipal rights and privileges, and these were confirmed and augmented in 1284 by King Eric Glypping. The town having become of great importance and the most suitable for the royal residence, attempts were made by several kings to obtain it from the see of Roeskilde. But it was not till after a struggle of nearly two centuries that an arrangement was come to in 1443, and Copenhagen was made the royal residence and capital of the kingdom. The numerous fires and bombardments to which this city has been subjected have left no traces of its earlier buildings. It has been thrice destroyed by fire, and most of the present edifices have been built since the last fire in 1795. In 1801 Nelson here gained a great victory over the Danish fleet, and compelled Denmark to abandon its alliance with Napoleon against England. In 1807 it was bombarded by a British army under Lord Cathcart, when great injury was done to the city, and all the ships and military stores were conveyed to England.

Copenhagen is situated at the southern extremity of the Sound, which is here about 20 miles broad; in N. Lat. 55° 42', E. Long. 12° 34'. The principal part is on the east coast of the island of Zeeland; the smaller called Christianshavn stands on the north coast of the island of Amager or Amak, and is separated from the former by a narrow arm of the sea, forming an excellent harbour. It is surrounded by ramparts and moats, and defended by 24 bastions besides outworks, and towards the sea by the strong citadel of Frederikshavn. The walls inclose a circuit of 5 miles, including the harbour and docks. With the exception of a few of the public buildings, the architecture of the city is totally devoid of beauty or picturesque effect; the houses are plain uninteresting structures, built of brick and stucco. The Zeeland portion of the city is divided into two nearly equal parts by the Gøthers Gade, a street extending almost north and south from the city ramparts to the Strømmen or channel which separates Zeeland from Amager. The western division or old town consists for the most part of narrow winding streets, but contains the university and several of the finest churches, and the Castle Island, on which stand the Christiansborg palace, exchange, Thorwaldsen's museum, &c. The new town or eastern division is regularly built with wide streets; the southern and finest part being called Frederickstad. Christianshavn is united with the rest of Copenhagen by two bridges. Copenhagen contains 238 streets, and 17 public squares. The land entrances are the East, North-West, and Amager gates. The chief public squares are Amalienborg Plads or Fredericks Plads, a handsome octagon formed by four palaces of uniform size and design, and having in the centre an equestrian statue of Frederick V.; Kongens Nytorv (the King's new market), an irregular square, the largest in the city, with an equestrian statue of Christian V. in the centre, remarkable only for its size; the Gammel and Nytorv (old and new market) with a small fountain in the centre; the Slotsplads on which stands the Christiansborg palace, chapel royal, exchange, and chancery buildings. The citadel called Frederikshavn, standing on the north side, is a fortress of great strength. It is a regular polygon with 5 bastions, and is connected with the city by an esplanade. The ramparts of the town and citadel are planted with trees, and form agreeable promenades.

The royal palace of Christiansborg, originally built by Christian VI., but afterwards destroyed by fire in 1794, has since been rebuilt on a scale altogether disproportionate to the extent or wealth of the kingdom. Over the principal entrance are two bas-reliefs by Thorvaldsen, representing Minerva and Prometheus, Hercules and Hebe, Jupiter and Nemesis, and Æsculapius and Hygeia. The Ridderhall (knights' hall) is a magnificent apartment, 120 feet long, 44 feet high, and 50 feet wide, with a gallery supported by Corinthian columns. In the great entrance hall is the Triumphal March of Alexander into Babylon by Thorvaldsen. In the upper part of the building is the Royal Gallery of Paintings, containing about 1000 pictures, including many valuable specimens of the Flemish, Dutch, and Italian schools. The Royal Museum of Northern Antiquities, instituted in 1807, and now (1854) under the able direction of Mr Worsae, occupies a suite of seven rooms in the north wing of the palace. It contains from 7000 to 8000 objects, and is particularly rich in weapons of all kinds, ornaments, &c. The palace also contains the council chamber and apartments in which both chambers of the diet hold their sittings. The large exterior court on the W. side of the palace forms a riding ground, and is inclosed on both sides by regular buildings with piazzas, containing the court theatre, stables, and riding-house. In connection with the palace is the royal library, containing an extensive collection of rare books and valuable MSS. amounting to about 400,000 volumes; and the chapel, adorned with works by Thorvaldsen and Bissen.

The palace of Rosenborg, supposed to have been planned by Inigo Jones, was erected in 1604. It is an irregular building in the Gothic style, with a high pointed roof, and flanked by four towers of unequal dimensions. It contains the coin and medal cabinet, a fine collection of Venetian glass, the famous silver drinking horn of Oldenburg, the regalia, and other objects of interest as illustrating the history of Denmark. The Ridderhall, a spacious room, is covered with tapestry representing the various battles of Christian V., and has at one end a massive silver throne. The gardens are open to the public, and form an agreeable promenade. They were formerly much more extensive and contained numerous summer-houses, but they have now only a small pavilion and a fountain.

The palace of Charlottenborg, on the Kongens Nytorv, is a huge desolate-looking building, built in 1672. Frederick V. made a grant of it to the Academy of Arts; and the garden was in 1788 given to the university for a botanical garden.

The four palaces on the Amalienborg were built for the residence of four noble families; but on the destruction of Christiansborg in 1794 they became the residence of the king and court, and so continued till the death of Christian VIII in 1848. Prindsens palace originally belonged to a rich merchant, but was purchased by Frederick IV., and was the residence of Christian V. and Frederick VI., when crown princes. It now contains the Royal Museum of Art, the Ethnographical Museum, and other public collections. The chancery buildings, immediately adjoining the Christiansborg, and united to it by a corridor, consist of a large main building erected by Frederick IV., and of three others since added. Here are deposited the privy archives of the state and of the royal family. The town-hall and courthouse (built 1805-1815) contains the municipal council chamber, the police and criminal courts, the pass office, &c. The exchange, situated on the Castle Island, is surmounted by a remarkable spire, formed of four dragons, with their heads pointing to the four points of the compass, and their bodies entwining each other till their tails come to a point at the top.

The museum of Thorwaldsen, built 1837-46, is in the Egyptian style of architecture, 230 feet in length, 125 feet in breadth, and 46 feet high, and consists of two stories. In the centre is an open court, 116 feet long and 50 feet broad, containing the artist's tomb. The exterior walls are decorated with groups of figures of coloured stucco, illustrative of events connected with the formation of the museum. Over the principal entrance is the chariot of Victory drawn by four horses, executed in bronze from a model by Bissen. The front hall, corridors, and apartments, are painted in the Pompeian style, with brilliant colours and with great artistic skill. The museum contains about 300 of Thorwaldsen's works; and in one apartment is the furniture of that artist's sitting-room, arranged as it was found at the time of his death in 1844.

The university is attended by about 1000 students, and has 34 professors, ordinary and extraordinary, divided in five faculties—theological, juridical, medical, philosophical, and mathematical. In 1851 an English, and in the following year an Anglo-Saxon lectureship, was established. All the professors are bound to give a series of lectures, which are open to the public gratis. It was founded by Christian I. in 1479, and possesses considerable endowments. The present stately edifice was completed in 1836. Connected with the university are several foundations for the assistance of poor students. The principal of these is the regent's charity, affording free residence and a small allowance to 100 students. Among the other scientific institutions may be mentioned the Royal College of Surgeons, Royal Veterinary College, Polytechnic School, Military Academy, Military High School, Naval Academy, botanic garden, and the observatory. The university library contains about 100,000 volumes, besides a large collection of valuable MSS. Both this and the Royal Library are entitled to a copy of every book published in Denmark. The Clasenske Library contains about 35,000 volumes, chiefly on scientific subjects. The Athenaeum reading room is well supplied with European newspapers and periodicals, and has a library of about 40,000 volumes.

The principal church or cathedral, the Fruekirke (Church of our Lady), was almost entirely destroyed in the bombardment of 1807, but has since been completely restored. The works of Thorwaldsen, by which it is adorned, constitute its chief attraction. In the pediment is a group in terra cotta of 16 figures, representing John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness; and over the entrance within the portico a bas-relief of Christ's entrance into Jerusalem. In a niche behind the altar is a colossal marble statue of our Saviour; and magnificent marble statues of the twelve apostles adorn both sides of the church. Nearly opposite the preceding is St Peter's church, built in a quasi Gothic style, and with a spire 260 feet high. The round tower of Trinity Church is 115 feet high, and is considered to be unique in Europe. It was constructed from a plan of Tycho Brahe's favourite disciple Longomontanus, and has on the summit Copenhagen an observatory which now is not used. It is ascended by a broad inclined spiral way, up which Peter the Great is said to have driven in a carriage and four. The church of our Saviour has a curious steeple 300 feet high, ascended by an external spiral staircase. The lower part of the altar is composed of Italian marble, with a representation of Christ's sufferings in the garden of Gethsemane. The organ is considered the finest in Copenhagen. The Marble Church, intended to have been an edifice of great extent and magnificence, was commenced in the reign of Frederick V., but after twenty years a stop was put to further proceedings, and it is now little more than a melancholy ruin. The dome was to have risen 264 feet above the ground, the walls inside and outside of polished Norwegian marble, and the whole was to have been finished on the grandest scale. The church of St Nicholas, one of the oldest in the city, was almost destroyed by the fire of 1795. It has not been rebuilt, but the tower which escaped has been converted into a watch tower, where a watchman is stationed to give alarm on the appearance of fire.

Among the literary and scientific associations may be mentioned the Danish Royal Society, founded in 1742, for the advancement of the sciences of mathematics, astronomy, natural philosophy, &c., by the publication of papers and essays; the Royal Antiquarian Society for diffusing a knowledge of northern and Icelandic archaeology, by the publication of Icelandic sagas, with commentaries, glossaries, &c.; the Society for the Promotion of Danish Literature, by the publication of works chiefly connected with the history of Danish literature; the Natural Philosophy Society; the Royal Agricultural Society; the Danish Church History Society; the Industrial Association; several musical societies, &c. There are asylums for the blind, deaf and dumb, orphans, and lunatics, the Royal Charity School, general, military, and naval hospitals, lying-in hospital, &c. The Academy of Arts was founded by Frederik V. in 1764, for the instruction of artists, and for disseminating a taste for the fine arts among manufacturers, operatives, and others. Attached to it are schools for the study of architecture, ornamental drawing, and modelling. The principal theatre is the Royal, on Kongens Nytorv, capable of containing about 1200 persons. The royal court theatre is elegantly fitted up, and can accommodate about 800 spectators. The Vestrebro's theatre, outside the Western gate, is seated for about 1400 persons. The Casino, built in 1846, was originally planned for a variety of diversions, of which dramatic performances were only to form a subordinate part. The ground floor was laid out as a bazaar, refreshment room, &c.; the pergola on the first floor was arranged as a winter garden; and the two saloons were fitted up for concerts, masquerades, &c. This, however, proved a failure, and the large saloon is now converted into a theatre, capable of containing about 2300 spectators; while the small saloon, seated for from 600 to 700 persons, is usually let for concerts, &c. The Trivoli gardens, immediately beyond the Western gate, form the favourite place of resort in the summer evenings. The amusements include concerts, pantomimes, gymnastic feats, and other performances.

The trade of Copenhagen has latterly increased considerably, particularly the corn trade with England. At the commencement of 1852, 297 merchant vessels of about 35,000 tons burden belonged to the port. The harbour is large and commodious, capable of containing 500 merchant vessels besides the navy; and by the aid of canals, large vessels can come almost to the centre of the town. The entrance is commanded by the powerful batteries of Trekroner and Sextus. The principal imports are timber, pitch, and tar, chiefly from Norway and Sweden; flax, hemp, masts, sailcloth, and cordage, from Russia; tobacco from America; wines and brandy from France; coal, earthen- The manufactures of Copenhagen are not important, but are making considerable advances. There are extensive cloth and calico factories, foundries, and iron-works; also breweries, distilleries, tanneries, sugar refineries, &c. Piano-fortes, clocks, watches, surgical and mathematical instruments, tobacco, chocolate, porcelain, are among its other productions. The royal China factory is celebrated for its models of Thorwaldsen's works in biscuit China. The population of Copenhagen was (1769) 92,571; (1801) 100,975; (1834) 119,292; (1840) 120,819; (1845) 126,787; and (1850) 129,695; of which last 60,592 were males, 69,103 females, including a Jewish population of 2,500. The climate is damp, changeable, and unhealthy; which, added to the almost total want of sanatory regulations, renders the mortality greater here, it is said, than in any other town of Europe with the exception of Vienna.