Nytorv
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Nytorv ( English: New Square or New Market) 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
centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
of
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 ...
. Together with the adjoining Gammeltorv it forms a common space, today part of the Strøget pedestrian zone. The square is dominated by the imposing Neoclassical façade of the Copenhagen Court House, which from 1815-1905 also served as the City Hall.


History


The new market

Nytorv was created by Christian IV in 1610 when he cleared an area behind the City Hall in connection with his adaptation of the building in a
Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...
. Nytorv thrived as a marketplace, as did Gammeltorv, which was located on the other side of the city hall. It was at Nytorv that the butchers carried out their work, while most of the sales took place at Gammeltorv.


The city's scaffold

Nytorv also became the location of the city's scaffold and a
pillory The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, used during the medieval and renaissance periods for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. ...
. Pillories were also found at a number of other sites around the city. A permanent scaffold was not constructed until 1627, and in 1728, when the City Hall was rebuilt after the
Copenhagen Fire of 1728 The Copenhagen Fire of 1728 was the largest fire in the history of Copenhagen, Denmark. It began on the evening of 20 October 1728 and continued to burn until the morning of the 23rd of October 1728. It destroyed approximately 28% of the city (me ...
, an octagonal masonry podium was built. Between 1728 and 1740,
Ludvig Holberg Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 â€“ 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Denmark–Norway, Dano–Norwegian dual monarchy. He was infl ...
lived in a house on the corner of Gammeltorv and Nygade, on the border between the two squares. In an
epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word derives from the Greek (, "inscription", from [], "to write on, to inscribe"). This literary device has been practiced for over two millennia ...
, originally in Latin, he commented on the dual nature of the site, between posh Gammeltorv, with the Caritas Well (the 'ancient arts'), and Nytorv with its sinister execution facilities: The last executions to be carried out at the scaffold behind the City Hall took place in 1758 when Frederik Hammond, the owner of an iron works in Norway, and his assistant, a Swede named Anders Sundblad, were convicted of producing counterfeit
securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...
for an amount of 35,000 rigsdaler and beheaded. Three years later the scaffold was removed and from then executions only took place at Østerfælled, Vesterfælled and Amagerfælled, though branding and whipping continued at the Nytorv pillory until 1780.


Merger with Gammeltorv

In the Copenhagen Fire of 1795 the City Hall burnt down once again. This time it was not rebuilt at the same site, but moved to a larger lot on Nytorv's western side. Since 1728, it had been the location of the Royal Orphanage but this too was lost in the fire and was moved to other locations around the city. The new building, which was to serve both as a City Hall and a courthouse, was designed by Christian Frederik Hansen, the leading Danish architect of the time. Completed in 1815, the project also included a
jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...
house next door, connected to the courthouse by an arch with a passageway. After the fire, Nytorv and Gammeltorv made up one common space. During the first half of the 20th century, the market activities gradually disappeared from the square which instead became increasingly dominated by cars. This changed in 1962 when the Strøget pedestrian zone was laid out.


Buildings

The square is dominated by the large courthouse with its ionic order columns, which occupies most of its west side. A skyway on each side of the courthouse connects it to the neighbouring buildings. The one to the left, on the other side of Slutterigade, is the former jailhouse. The skyway was used for transporting prisoners and has therefore been nicknamed the Bridge of Sighs. Most of the other buildings that line the square are Neoclassical buildings dating from the reconstruction of the city after the Great Fire of 1795. No. 3, opposite the courthouse, on the corner of Strøget, is an exception. its imposing facade, with a three-bay median risalit, decorated with pilasters and tipped by a triangualr pediment, was created in the 1910s. The Frisch House (No. 5) which was built from 1799 to 1803 for Hartvig Frisch to designs by Nicolai Abildgaard originally also featured pilasters and pediment but was heightened with an extra floor and adapted by August Klein in 1889–1890. The Jens Lauritzen House (No. 7) was built in 1795–96 for Jens Lauritzen, a grocer and brewer, possibly to designs by Andreas Kirkerup. No. 9 was built 1796–97 by an architect while No. 11, the large property on the corner of Brolæggerstræde, was designed by C. F. Hollander and completed one year later. The three properties on the south side of the square were all built between 1795 and 1797 by unknown architects. The central one is known as the Krak House. It is flanked by Nytorv 15 and Nytorv 19. The building at the corner of Frederiksberggade (Frederiksberggade 1) was built in 19051908 to a Hugend style">Frederiksberggade_1.html" ;"title="Frederiksberggade (Frederiksberggade 1">Frederiksberggade (Frederiksberggade 1) was built in 19051908 to a Hugend style design by Victor Nyebølle. It was built for the bank Kjøbenhavns Hrundejerbank.


Nytorv today

Today Nytorv/Gammeltorv is a lively square in the heart of Copenhagen's old city. During the latest refurbishment of the square, conducted by city architect Otto Käszner in 1993, an octagonal podium was created at the site where the scaffold used to be and the footprint of the former city hall was marked in the paving with a paler stone. The podium now serves as a bench or occasionally as a bandstand, for instance during Copenhagen Jazz Festival. The square is also home to one of the old telephone kiosks which are found in central locations throughout the city. The original model was designed by Fritz Kochs, but the one on Nytorv is a later model, somewhat larger and more heavy in its design, installed by Martin Jensen in 1913.


Cultural references

* Nytorv is used as a location at 1:15:37 and again at 1:15:54 in the first Olsen Gang film. * In his poem ''Gennem byen sidste gang'', a terminally ill Dan Turèll describes how he, on his last stroll through the city, just after passing Nytorv will be fading away.


References


External links


Source
{{Copenhagen Squares in Copenhagen