Amagertorv () is a

public square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

in the

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Indre By Indre By (English language, English: ), also known as Copenhagen Center or K or Downtown Copenhagen, is an districts of Copenhagen, administrative district (''bydel'') in central Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. It covers an area of , has a p ...

in central

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. Today it forms part of the

Strøget Strøget () is a pedestrian, car-free shopping area in Copenhagen, Denmark. This popular tourist attraction in the centre of town is one of the longest pedestrian shopping streets in Europe at 1.1 km. Located at the centre of the old city ...

pedestrian zone, and is often described as the most central square in Copenhagen. Second only to

Gammeltorv Gammeltorv (Old Market) is the oldest square in Copenhagen, Denmark. With adjoining Nytorv it forms a common space along the Strøget pedestrian zone. While the square dates back to the foundation of the city in the 12th century, most of its buil ...

, it is also one of the oldest, taking its name from the

Amager Amager ( ), located in the Øresund, is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 216,000 inhabitants (January 2022). The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (including Kalvebod Fælled) makes up more than one-third of the ...

farmers who in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

came into town to sell their produce at the site. Now the square is a central junction in the heart of Copenhagen, dominated by its

Stork Fountain The Stork Fountain is located on Amagertorv in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was a present to Crown Prince Frederik (later Frederik VIII) and Crown Princess Louise in connection with their silver wedding anniversary in 1894. It depicts three ...

and a number of buildings, the oldest of which dates back to 1616. In opposite directions, Strøget extends towards

Kongens Nytorv Kongens Nytorv (literal translation, lit. "The King's New Square") is a town square, public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the Pedestrian zone, pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was l ...

and the City Hall Square, the two largest squares in Copenhagen, to the northwest

Købmagergade Købmagergade is a pedestrian shopping street in the Old Town of Copenhagen, Denmark. It connects Amagertorv on Strøget to Nørreport station, although the last section, north of Kultorvet, is part of Frederiksborggade, which continues on the ot ...

leads to , the busiest

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

in Denmark, and to the southeast

Højbro Plads Højbro Plads (literally "High Bridge Square") is a rectangular public square located between the adjoining Amagertorv and Slotsholmens Kanal, Slotsholmen Canal in the Indre By, City Centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. It takes its name from the Slotsh ...

connects to

Slotsholmen Slotsholmen (English language, English: The Castle Islet) is an island in the harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, and part of Copenhagen Indre By, Inner City. The name is taken from the successive castles and palaces located on the island since Absal ...

across Højbro Bridge, and from there onwards to

Christianshavn Christianshavn () is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of the city centre by the Inner Harbour, ...

and Amager on the other side of the harbour. The paving is from 1993 and was designed by

Bjørn Nørgaard Bjørn Nørgaard (born 21 May 1947 in Copenhagen) is a Art of Denmark, Danish artist who has been active in a variety of fields. He has significantly influenced the art scene in Denmark both through his "happenings" and his sculptures in Danish ...

. It consists of a pattern of

pentagonal In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simple or self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ''regular pentagon'' (or ''star pentagon'') is cal ...

granite stones in five colours.

History

Amagertorv dates back to the

when Copenhagen was a small fishing village called Havn, the site was the main corridor between the village and the beach. In 1449 it is referred to as the Fishmonger's Market and in 1472 the name Amagertorv first appears. The name derives from the

farmers who came into town to sell their goods. In the 16th and 17th century the square became a setting of festivals and chivalrous tournaments. In the same time, Amagertorv continued to be the premier marketplace of the city, and from 28 July 1684 all sale of fresh produce was to take place in the square. From 1656 the city's leading inn was also located on the square. Few buildings on the square survived the

Copenhagen Fire of 1795 The Copenhagen Fire of 1795 (''Københavns brand 1795'') started on Friday, 5 June 1795, at or around 3 pm by the Navy's old base south east of Kongens Nytorv on Gammelholm, in the Navy's magazine for coal and timber, the so-called Dellehave. As t ...

. The adjoining Højbro Plads was established after the fire. Illustreret Tidende - Amagertorv

In 1868 the market activities were moved to Christianshavn. In 1894, the

was constructed. It was a present to

Crown Prince Frederik Frederik X (Frederik André Henrik Christian, ; born 26 May 1968) is King of Denmark. He acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2024. Frederik is the eldest son of Margrethe II and Prince Henrik. He was born during the ...

(later Frederik VIII) and Crown Princess Louise in connection with their silver wedding. In 1962, the square was closed to traffic with the establishment of the

pedestrian zone.

Buildings

The Church of the Holy Ghost, located at the western end of the square, is the oldest surviving church in Copenhagen. The

Mathias Hansen House The Matthias Hansen House (), formerly also known as the Schoustrup House (), is a Renaissance architecture, Renaissance-style townhouse on Amagertorv (No. 6) in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Built in 1616, it is one of few buildings of its kind ...

(No. 6) was built in 1616 for Mathias Hansen, from 1622 the Mayor of Copenhagen. Typically of the Dutch Renaissance style, the house is built in red bricks with sandstone decorations, has a

Dutch gable A Dutch gable or Flemish gable is a gable whose sides have a shape made up of one or more curves and which has a pediment at the top. The gable may be an entirely decorative projection above a flat section of roof line, or may be the terminat ...

and a copper roof. The copper drainpipes are decorated with dragon's heads. The building was restored in 1898 by Professor

Hans Jørgen Holm Hans Jørgen Holm (9 May 1835 – 22 July 1916) was a Danish architect. A pupil of Johan Daniel Herholdt, he became a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and a leading Danish proponent of the National Romantic style. Biograp ...

. The gateway is flanked by two cannon barrels used to protect the gate from entering carts. No. 9 was built in 1798–1800 for linen merchant J. A. Bechmann. The original shop front at street level was altered in 1830 and again in 1870. The tobacco company W. Ø. Larsen has a small pipe museum in the building. The Ole Haslund House (No. 14) is an example of late-19th century

Historicism Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying the process or history by which they came about. The term is widely used in philosophy, ant ...

. The current design is from 1867. The windows have

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...

s executed as small

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

figures carrying Ionic

capitals Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

. Klostergården at No. 29 is a former

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

. The building is from 1798-00 where it replaced a house designed by

Caspar Frederik Harsdorff Caspar Frederik (Friedrich) Harsdorff (26 May 1735 – 24 May 1799), also known as C.F. Harsdorff, was a Danish neoclassical architect considered to have been the leading Danish architect in the late 18th century. Early life and training ...

which was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1795. The convent was founded in 1759.

Løveapoteket Løveapoteket () was the first pharmacy in Copenhagen, Denmark. It opened in 1620 and operated until its closing in 1971, for a total of approximately 350 years. Throughout its entire existence, it was located at the corner of Amagertorv (No. 33) ...

(No. 33), Copenhagen's first pharmacy, was based at the site from 1620 to 1969. The current building was built for the pharmacy in 1907–1908 to a design by Victor Nyebøllle and Chr. Brandstrup. It replaced a building by C. F. Harsdorff.

Shopping

The Illum department store has been located on the corner of Strøget and Købmagergade since the 1890s. The Illum Furniture Store is also located at Amagertorv.

Royal Copenhagen Royal Copenhagen, officially the Royal Porcelain Factory (), is a Danish manufacturer of porcelain products and was founded in Copenhagen in 1775 under the protection of Danish Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Dowager Queen Juliane Marie. ...

has a flagship in the historic building at No. 6.

In popular culture

Amagertorv is used as a location in the films ''

Ud i den kolde sne ''Ud i den kolde sne'' is a 1934 Danish comedy film directed by Lau Lauritzen Jr. and Alice O'Fredericks. It was Fredericks debut film as a director. The title means "Out in the cold snow" in English. Cast * Mathilde Nielsen as Baronesse Carol ...

'' (1934), ' (1972), ' (1973) and '' Mafiaen – det er osse mig'' (1974).

References

Citations

Sources

* *

External links

Tyskemannegade

Source
{{coord, 55.6786, N, 12.5774, E, source:kolossus-dawiki, display=title Pedestrian streets in Copenhagen Squares in Copenhagen