The Old City Hall at Gammeltorv

Aalborg Aalborg or Ålborg ( , , ) is Denmark's List of cities and towns in Denmark, fourth largest urban settlement (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban populati ...

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 ...

, was built in 1762 and served as

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

until 1912. It is located at Gammeltorv and is now only used for ceremonial and representative purposes.

Building

The city hall was built by master builder Daniel Popp, who had moved to Aalborg from

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 ...

, and was modelled on

Johan Conrad Ernst Johan Conrad Ernst (16 June 1666 – 23 September 1750) was a Danish architect and royal master builder. He was the son of Johan Adolf Ernst, a successful linen merchant who had immigrated from Nuremberg and had a luxurious residence on Amagertor ...

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

there, which was later completely destroyed in 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 ...

. This was a specific requirement from Iver Holck, the county governor (''amtmand'') at

Aalborghus Aalborghus Castle () is a castle in Aalborg, Denmark. It is a half-timbered (''bindingsværk'') castle built by King Christian III from 1539 to around 1555 initially as a fortification. A building had existed at the site before Christian III's ...

. Designed in the Late Baroque style, the building consists of two storeys and a cellar under a black-glazed tile roof. The yellow-washed facade is decorated with white

pilasters In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

and a

frontispiece Frontispiece may refer to: * Frontispiece (books), a decorative illustration facing a book's title page * Frontispiece (architecture) In architecture, the term frontispiece is used to describe the Façade, principal face of the building, usually ...

featuring the Danish coat of arms and a bust of King

Frederick V Frederick V or Friedrich V may refer to: *Frederick V, Duke of Swabia (1164–1170) * Frederick V, Count of Zollern (d.1289) *Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg (c. 1333–1398), German noble * Frederick V of Austria (1415–1493), or Frederick II ...

. His motto, ''Prudentia et Constantia'', is also seen above the main entrance. The well-preserved door is a local example of the

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

style. The building was listed by the

Danish Heritage Agency The Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces () is an agency under the aegis of the Danish Ministry of Culture. The agency carries out the cultural policies of the Danish government within the visual and performing arts, music, literature, museums, h ...

in 1918.

Current use

The Old City Hall is today only used for wedding ceremonies and representative purposes.

References

External links

{{Aalborg 1762 establishments in Denmark 1912 disestablishments in Denmark Buildings and structures in Aalborg City and town halls in Denmark Former seats of local government Government buildings completed in 1762 Listed buildings and structures in Aalborg Municipality Listed city and town halls in Denmark Rococo architecture in Denmark