COPENHAGEN (Merchants' Haven), the capital of Denmark, and headquar ters of the national commerce, literature, and art; situated on the shore of the island of Zealand, in the Sound, which is here about 12 miles broad; an outlying portion, Christianshavn, stands at the N. end of the island of Amager or Amak, which is separated from Zealand by a narrow arm of the sea. The channel forms a fine and capacious harbor, which is bridged over so as to connect Chris tianshavn and the main part of the city at two points. To counterbalance the expected injury to the city's commerce from the opening of the Baltic Canal, a great free port (free from customs dues) was constructed in 1890-1894 to the N. of the harbor. The business quarter stretches from the harbor in a N. E. direction toward the principal and cen tral square, Kongens Nytorv, which in itself forms the focus of the life of the city. Farther N. E. of this point lies the aristocratic quarter, with the hand some Amalienborg Square and its royal and ministerial palaces.
Among its few buildings of historical interest or intrinsic beauty, the metro politan cathedral church, known as Vor Frue Kirke, possesses a baptismal font, designed and in part executed by Thor waldsen. Trinitatis Kirke is remarkable for its round tower, which is ascended by a winding causeway instead of steps; and Holmens' Kirke contains interesting monuments to the great naval heroes, Juel and Tordenskjold. The royal palace, called Christiansborg, was rebuilt be tween 1794 and 1828. The principal part of the vast building was destroyed by fire in 1884. Happily most of the pic tures in its great art gallery were saved. The castle of Rosenborg (1610-1624), where the regalia are kept, contains in teresting art objects; and the palace of Charlottenborg (1624), is now used as an academy of arts. The university was founded by Christian I. in 1479. Con nected with the university are a surgical academy, an observatory, a botanical garden, a zoological museum, a polytech nic institution, and a library of 250,000 volumes, containing also a great collec tion of ancient Persian MSS., and an
other of ancient Northern MSS. Copen hagen is the center, not only of Danish, but Northern literature and art. and is the seat of a number of societies. among 10—Vo1. III—Cyc which are the Royal Society, founded in 1742; and the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries, founded in 1825; as well as agricultural and others. The royal library contains 500,000 volumes. The Museum of Northern Antiquities in Prindsens Palais, is unrivaled in its kind. The Thorwaldsen Museum consists of works of art by that sculptor himself, and others left by him to the Danish nation. The chief exports of Copenhagen are grain, rape-seed, butter, cheese, beef, cat tle, wool, hides, bones, and grain-spirit. Porcelain, pianos, clocks, watches, math ematical instruments, chemicals, sugar, beer, and tobacco are manufactured.
About the middle of the 12th century, Copenhagen was but a fishing village. In 1254 the village obtained the privi leges of a town, and in 1443 King Chris topher made it the capital of the king dom. It was several times attacked by the Hanseatic League; was besieged by the Swedes in the 17th century; was bombarded by the English, Dutch, and Swedes in 1700; suffered grievously by fires in 1728, 1794, and 1795; witnessed a great sea-fight in its roads on April 2, 1801, when the English, under Sir Hyde Parker, with Nelson as his second in command, destroyed the Danish fleet; and (to prevent the Danish fleet from falling into the power of Napoleon), was bombarded by the English from the 2d to the 5th of September, 1807, when great destruction was wrought, both in houses and public buildings, and hun dreds of persons lost their lives. Pop. (1916) 506,390.