Top historic sites in Copenhagen

City Hall

Copenhagen City Hall is the headquarters of the municipal council as well as the Lord mayor of the Copenhagen Municipality. The current building was inaugurated in 1905. It was designed by the architect Martin Nyrop in the National Romantic style but with inspiration from the Siena City Hall. It is dominated by its richly ornamented front, the gilded statue of Absalon just above the balcony and the tall, slim clock tower. ...
Founded: 1893-1905 | Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Charlottenborg Palace

Charlottenborg Palace is a large mansion originally built as a residence for Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve. It has served as the base of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts since its foundation in 1754. Several other institutions of the Danish art world are also based at Charlottenborg, which today also serves as an exhibition space for art exhibitions, which is called Kunsthal Charlottenborg. The site was donated b ...
Founded: 1672 | Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Christiansborg Palace

Christiansborg Palace is the seat of the Danish Parliament, the Danish Prime Minister's Office and the Danish Supreme Court. Also, several parts of the palace are used by the monarchy, including the Royal Reception Rooms, the Palace Chapel and the Royal Stables. The palace is thus the house of Denmark's three supreme powers: the executive power, the legislative power, and the judicial power. It is the only building in th ...
Founded: 1733 | Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Rundetårn

The Rundetårn (Round Tower) is a 17th-century tower located in central Copenhagen. One of the many architectural projects of Christian IV, it was built as an astronomical observatory. It is most noted for its 7.5-turn helical corridor leading to the top, and for the expansive views it affords over Copenhagen. The tower is part of the Trinitatis Complex which also provided the scholars of the time with a university chape ...
Founded: 1637 | Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Amalienborg

Amalienborg is the winter home of the Danish royal family. It consists of four identical classicizing palace façades with rococo interiors around an octagonal courtyard; in the centre of the square is a monumental equestrian statue of Amalienborg's founder, King Frederick V. Amalienborg was originally built for four noble families; however, when Christiansborg Palace burnt down on 26 February 1794, the royal family boug ...
Founded: 1750-1760 | Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation. The ...
Founded: 1606-1624 | Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

National Museum of Denmark

The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) is Denmark’s largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main domicile is located a short distance from Strøget. It contains exhibits from around the world, from Greenland to South America. The museum has a number of national commitments, particularly within the following key areas: archaeology, ethnolo ...
Founded: 1807 | Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Church of Our Lady

The Church of Our Lady (Vor Frue Kirke) is the cathedral of Copenhagen and the National Cathedral of Denmark. The present day version of the church was designed by the architect Christian Frederik Hansen in the neoclassical style and was completed in 1829. There has been several several churches on this site since 1209. The cathedral has been rebuilt four times: The first church was burnt down and reconstructed in 1316. ...
Founded: 1817-1829 | Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid (Den lille havfrue) is a bronze statue depicting a mermaid. Based on the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen, the small and unimposing statue is a Copenhagen icon and has been a major tourist attraction since 1913. It has become a popular target for defacement by vandals and political activists. The statue was commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of Carlsberg, wh ...
Founded: 1913 | Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Church of Our Saviour

Church of Our Saviour (Vor Frelsers Kirke) is a baroque church, most famous for its corkscrew spire with an external winding staircase that can be climbed to the top, offering extensive views over central Copenhagen. It is also noted for its carillon, which is the largest in northern Europe and plays melodies every hour from 8 am to midnight. When Christian IV planned Christianshavn in 1617, it was intended as an indepen ...
Founded: 1695 | Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen Botanical Garden

The University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden (Botanisk have) covers an area of 10 hectares and is particularly noted for its extensive complex of historical glasshouses dating from 1874. The garden is part of the Natural History Museum of Denmark, which is itself part of the University of Copenhagen Faculty of Science. It serves both research, educational and recreational purposes. The botanical garden was first establis ...
Founded: 1874 | Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Frederik's Church

Frederik"s Church (Frederiks Kirke), popularly known as The Marble Church for its architecture, was designed by the architect Nicolai Eigtved in 1740. It was along with the rest of Frederiksstaden, a district of Copenhagen, intended to commemorate the 300 years jubilee of the first coronation of a member of the House of Oldenburg. Frederick"s Church has the largest church dome in Scandinavia with a span of 31m, ...
Founded: 1749-1894 | Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

National Gallery of Denmark

Statens Museum for Kunst ('Statens Museum' or sometimes 'National Gallery of Denmark') collects, registers, maintains, researches in and handles Danish and foreign art dating from the 14th century till the present day, mostly with their origins in western culture circles. The museum"s collections constitute almost 9,000 paintings and sculptures, approximately 300,000 works of art on paper as well ...
Founded: 1896 | Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Kastellet

Kastellet is one of the best preserved star fortresses in Northern Europe. It is constructed in the form of a pentagram with bastions at its corners. Kastellet was continuous with the ring of bastioned ramparts which used to encircle Copenhagen but of which only the ramparts of Christianshavn remain today. King Christian IV of Denmark initiated Kastellet’s construction in 1626 with the building of an advanced post, the ...
Founded: 1626 | Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Frederiksberg Palace

Frederiksberg Palace is a Baroque residence and should not be confused with Frederiksborg Palace in Hillerød. As crown prince, Frederick IV had broadened his education by travelling in Europe. He was particularly impressed by the architecture in Italyand, on his return to Denmark, asked his father, Christian V, for permission to build a summer palace on Solbjerg as the hill in Valby was then known. The original building ...
Founded: 1703 | Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Carlsberg Factory

Carlsberg center is located in Valby at the location of the first Carlsberg Brewery. The visitor centre will give you an idea of how the world-famous Carlsberg Beer is made. Carlsberg is among the largest tourist attractions in Copenhagen. The Old Carlsberg Brewery from 1847 has been converted into a modern centre for visitors which exhibits the history of the beer.
Founded: 1847 | Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Monte d'Accoddi

Monte d"Accoddi is a Neolithic archaeological site in northern Sardinia, located in the territory of Sassari. The site consists of a massive raised stone platform thought to have been an altar. It was constructed by the Ozieri culture or earlier, with the oldest parts dated to around 4,000–3,650 BC.

The site was discovered in 1954 in a field owned by the Segni family. No chambers or entrances to the mound have been found, leading to the presumption it was an altar, a temple or a step pyramid. It may have also served an observational function, as its square plan is coordinated with the cardinal points of the compass.

The initial Ozieri structure was abandoned or destroyed around 3000 BC, with traces of fire found in the archeological evidence. Around 2800 BC the remains of the original structure were completely covered with a layered mixture of earth and stone, and large blocks of limestone were then applied to establish a second platform, truncated by a step pyramid (36 m × 29 m, about 10 m in height), accessible by means of a second ramp, 42 m long, built over the older one. This second temple resembles contemporary Mesopotamian ziggurats, and is attributed to the Abealzu-Filigosa culture.

Archeological excavations from the chalcolithic Abealzu-Filigosa layers indicate the Monte d"Accoddi was used for animal sacrifice, with the remains of sheep, cattle, and swine recovered in near equal proportions. It is among the earliest known sacrificial sites in Western Europe.

The site appears to have been abandoned again around 1800 BC, at the onset of the Nuragic age.

The monument was partially reconstructed during the 1980s. It is open to the public and accessible by the old route of SS131 highway, near the hamlet of Ottava. It is 14,9 km from Sassari and 45 km from Alghero. There is no public transportation to the site. The opening times vary throughout the year.