Copenhagen (IPA /ˈkoʊpənheɪɡən/ or /ˈkoʊpənhɑːɡən/; Danish: København [kʰøb̥m̩ˈhɑʊ̯ˀn] (
listen)) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,230,728 and a metropolitan population of 1,967,727 (as of 1 October 2013). It is situated on the eastern coast of Zealand, 42 km (26 mi) northwest of Malmö, Sweden and 164 km (102 mi) northeast of Odense. The city stretches across parts of the island of Amager and also contains the enclave of Frederiksberg, a municipality in its own right.
listen)) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,230,728 and a metropolitan population of 1,967,727 (as of 1 October 2013). It is situated on the eastern coast of Zealand, 42 km (26 mi) northwest of Malmö, Sweden and 164 km (102 mi) northeast of Odense. The city stretches across parts of the island of Amager and also contains the enclave of Frederiksberg, a municipality in its own right.
Originally a Viking fishing village founded in the 10th century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the early 15th century. During the 17th century, under the reign ofChristian IV, it developed into an important regional centre, consolidating its position as capital of Denmark and Norway with its institutions, defences and armed forces. After suffering from the effects of plague and fire in the 18th century, the city underwent a period of redevelopment which included the prestigious district of Frederiksstaden and cultural institutions such as the Royal Theatre and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. After further disasters in the early 19th century when Nelson attacked the Danish fleet and bombarded the city, rebuilding during the Danish Golden Age brought a Neoclassical look to Copenhagen's architecture. Later, following the Second World War, the Finger Plan fostered the creation of housing and businesses along the five urban railway routes stretching out from the city centre.
Since the turn of the millennium, Copenhagen has seen strong urban and cultural development, facilitated by investment in its institutions and infrastructure. The city is thecultural, economic and governmental centre of Denmark and one of the major financial centres of Northern Europe with the Copenhagen Stock Exchange. In 2012, Copenhagen was third in the ranking of the richest cities in the world in terms of gross earnings, dropping from first place in 2009. Since the completion of the Øresund Bridge, the metropolitan area of Copenhagen has become increasingly integrated with the Swedish province of Scania and its largest city, Malmö, known as the Øresund Region. With a number of bridges connecting the various districts, the cityscape is characterized by parks, promenades and waterfronts. Copenhagen's landmarks such as Tivoli Gardens, the Little Mermaid Statue, the Amalienborg and Christiansborg palaces, Rosenborg Castle, Frederik's Church, and many museums, restaurants and nightclubs are significant tourist attractions. In addition to recent developments in the city service sector and the pharmaceutical industry, there have been a number of initiatives in clean technology, matching the city's aim to be carbon-neutral by 2025.
Copenhagen has over 94,000 students enrolled in its largest universities and institutions, including the University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Business School, Metropolitan University College, and the Technical University of Denmark. The University of Copenhagen, founded in 1479, is the oldest university in Denmark, and has repeatedly been ranked as one of the best universities in Europe. Copenhagen is home to the FC København and Brøndby football clubs and the ice hockey teams Rødovre Mighty Bulls, Herlev Eaglesand Hvidovre Ligahockey. The annual Copenhagen Marathon was established in 1980. Copenhagen is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world. The Copenhagen Metroserves central Copenhagen together with the S-train network connecting the outlying boroughs. Serving roughly 2 million passengers a month, Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup, is the largest airport in the Nordic countries.
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Etymology[edit]
The city's origin as a harbour and a place of commerce is reflected in its name. Its original designation, from which the contemporary Danish name is derived, was Køpmannæhafn, meaning "merchants' harbour", often simply Hafn orHavn. The English cognate would be Chapman's haven.[4] The English name for the city is derived from its Low German name, Kopenhagen. The chemical element hafnium is also named for Copenhagen, whose Latin name is Hafnia,.[5]The bacterium Hafnia is also named after Copenhagen, being coined in 1954 by Vagn Møller of the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen.[6]
History[edit]
Main article: History of Copenhagen
Early history[edit]
Although the earliest historical records of Copenhagen are from the end of the 12th century, recent archaeological finds in connection with work on the city's metro have revealed the remains of a large merchant's mansion near today's Kongens Nytorv from c. 1020. Excavations in Pilestræde have also led to the discovery of a well from the late 12th century, and the remains of an old church with graves dating to the 11th century have been unearthed near where Strøget meets Rådhuspladsen. These finds indicate that Copenhagen's origins go back at least as far as the 11th century, while substantial discoveries of flint tools in the area provide evidence of settlements as far back as the Stone Age.[7] Many historians believe the town dates to the late Viking Age, and was possibly founded by Sweyn I Forkbeard.[8] The natural harbour and good herring stocks seem to have attracted fishermen and merchants to the area on a seasonal basis from the 11th century and more permanently in the 13th century.[9] The first habitations were probably centred around Gammel Strand (literally "old shore") in the 11th century or even earlier.[10]
The earliest written mention of the town was in the 12th century when Saxo Grammaticus in Gesta Danorum referred to it as Portus Mercatorum, which translates into Merchants' Harbour or in the Danish of the time Købmannahavn.[11] Traditionally, Copenhagen's founding has been dated to Bishop Absalon's construction of a modest fortress on the little island of Slotsholmen in 1167 where Christiansborg Palace stands today.[12] The construction of the fortress was in response to attacks by Wendish pirates who plagued the coastline during the 12th century.[13] Defensive ramparts and moats were completed and by 1177 St. Clemens Church had been built. Attacks by the Germans continued, and after the original fortress was eventually destroyed by the marauders, it was replaced by Copenhagen Castle.[14]
Middle Ages[edit]
In 1186, a letter from Pope Urban III states that the castle of Hafn (Copenhagen) and its surrounding lands including the town of Hafn were given to Archbishop Absalom of Roskilde by KingValdemar I. On Absalom's death, the property was to come into the ownership of the Bishopric of Roskilde.[9] Around 1200, the Church of Our Lady was constructed on higher ground to the northeast of the town which began to expand around it.[9]
The town rose in prominence but was repeatedly attacked by the Hanseatic League. As the fishing industry thrived in Copenhagen, particularly in the trade of herring, the city began expanding to the north of Slotsholmen.[13] In 1254, it received a charter as a city under Bishop Jakob Erlandsen[15] who garnered support from the local fishing merchants against the king by granting them special privileges.[16] In the mid 1330s, the first land assessment of the city was published.[16]
With the establishment of the Kalmar Union (1397–1523) between Denmark, Norway and Sweden, by about 1416 Copenhagen had emerged as the capital of Denmark when Eric of Pomeraniamoved his seat to Copenhagen Castle.[17][14] The University of Copenhagen was inaugurated on 1 June 1479 by King Christian I, following approval from Pope Sixtus IV.[18] The university's Christian role in Danish society was forced to change during the Reformation in the late 1530s.[18]
16th and 17th centuries[edit]
In disputes prior to the Reformation of 1536, the city which had been faithful to Christian II was successfully besieged in 1523 by the forces of Frederik I, who supported Lutheranism. Thereafter, Copenhagen's defences were reinforced with a series of towers along the city wall. After an extended siege from July 1535 to July 1536 during which the city supported Christian II's alliance withMalmö and Lübeck, it was finally forced to capitulate to Christian III. During the second half of the century, the city prospered from increased trade across the Baltic supported by Dutch shipping. Christoffer Valkendorff, a high-ranking statesman, defended the city's interests and contributed to its development.[9]
During the reign of Christian IV between 1588 and 1648, Copenhagen experienced dramatic growth as a city. On his initiative at the beginning of the 17th century, two important building were completed on Slotsholmen: the Tøjhus Arsenal and Børsen, the stock exchange. To foster international trade, the East India Company was founded in 1616. To the east of the city, inspired by Dutch planning, the king developed the district of Christianshavn with its canals and ramparts. It was initially intended to be a fortified trading centre but ultimately became part of Copenhagen.[19] Christian IV was also responsible for sponsoring an array of ambitious building projects including Rosenborg Slot and the Rundetarn.[13] In 1658–59, the city withstood a siege by the Swedes under Charles X and successfully repelled a major assault.[19]
By 1661, Copenhagen had asserted its position as capital of Denmark and Norway. All the major institutions were located there as was the fleet and most of the army. The defences were further enhanced with the completion of theCitadel in 1664 and the extension of Christianshavns Vold with its bastions in 1692, leading to the creation of a new base for the fleet at Nyholm.[19][20]
18th century[edit]
In 1711 the plague reduced Copenhagen's population of about 65,000 by one-third.[21] The city was also struck by two major fires which destroyed much of the city's infrastructure.[14] TheCopenhagen Fire of 1728 was the largest in the history of Copenhagen. It began on the evening of 20 October, and continued to burn until the morning of 23 October, destroying approximately 28% of the city, leaving some 20% of the population homeless. No less than 47% of the medieval section of the city was completely lost. Along with the 1795 fire, it is the main reason that few traces of the old town can be found in the modern city.[22][23]
A substantial amount of rebuilding followed. In 1733, work began on the royal residence of Christiansborg Palace which was completed in 1745. In 1749, development of the prestigious district ofFrederiksstaden was initiated. Designed by Nicolai Eigtved in the Rococo style, its centre contained the mansions which now form Amalienborg Palace.[24] Major extensions to the naval base ofHolmen were undertaken while the city's cultural importance was enhanced with the Royal Theatre and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.[25]
In the second half of the 18th century, Copenhagen benefitted from Denmark's neutrality during the wars between Europe's main powers, allowing it to play an important role in trade between the states around the Baltic Sea. After Christiansborg was destroyed by fire in 1794 and another fire caused serious damage to the city in 1795, work began on the classical Copenhagen landmark of Højbro Plads while Nytorv and Gammel Torv were converged.[25]
19th century[edit]
On 2 April 1801, a British fleet under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker defeated a Danish-Norwegian fleet anchored near Copenhagen. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson led the main attack.[26] He famously disobeyed Parker's order to withdraw, destroying many of the Dano-Norwegian ships before a truce was agreed.[27] Copenhagen is often considered to be Nelson's hardest-fought battle, surpassing even the heavy fighting at Trafalgar.[28] It was during this battle that Lord Nelson famously "put the telescope to the blind eye" in order not to see Admiral Parker's signal to cease fire.[29]
The Second Battle of Copenhagen (or the Bombardment of Copenhagen) (16 August – 5 September 1807) was from a British point of view a preemptive attack on Copenhagen, targeting the civilian population in order to seize the Dano-Norwegian fleet.[30] But from a Danish point of view the battle was a terror bombardment on their capital. Particularly notable was the use of incendiary Congreve rockets (containing phosphorus, which cannot be extinguished with water) that randomly hit the city. Few houses with straw roofs remained after the bombardment. The largest church, Vor frue kirke, was destroyed by the sea artillery. Several historians consider this battle the first terror attack against a major European city in modern times.[31][32]
The British landed 30,000 men and surrounded Copenhagen.[29] The attack continued for the next three days, killing some 2,000 civilians and destroying most of the city.[29] The devastation was so great because Copenhagen relied on an old defence-line whose limited range could not reach the British ships and their longer-range artillery.[33]
Despite the disasters of the early 19th century, Copenhagen experienced a period of intense cultural creativity known as the Danish Golden Age. Painting prospered under C.W. Eckersberg and his students while C.F. Hansen and Gottlieb Bindesbøll brought a Neoclassical look to the city's architecture.[34] In the early 1850s, the ramparts of the city were opened to allow new housing to be built around The Lakes (Danish: Søerne) that bordered the old defences to the west. By the 1880s, the districts of Nørrebro and Vesterbro developed to accommodate those who came from the provinces to participate in the city's industrialization. This dramatic increase of space was long overdue, as not only were the old ramparts out of date as a defence system but bad sanitation in the old city had to be overcome. From 1886, the west rampart (Vestvolden) was flattened, allowing major extensions to the harbour leading to the establishment of the Freeport of Copenhagen 1892–94.[35] Electricity came in 1892 with electric trams in 1897. The spread of housing to areas outside the old ramparts brought about a huge increase in the population. In 1840, Copenhagen was inhabited by approximately 120,000 people. By 1901, it had some 400,000 inhabitants.[25]
20th century[edit]
By the beginning of the 20th century, Copenhagen had become a thriving industrial and administrative city. With its new city hall and railway station, its centre was drawn towards the west.[25]New housing developments grew up in Brønshøj and Valby while Frederiksberg became an enclave within the city of Copenhagen.[36] The northern part of Amager and Valby were also incorporated into the City of Copenhagen in 1901–02.[37]
As a result of Denmark's neutrality in the First World War, Copenhagen prospered from trade with both Britain and Germany while the city's defences were kept fully manned by some 40,000 soldiers for the duration of the war.[38]
In the 1920s there were serious shortages of goods and housing. Plans were drawn up to demolish the old part of Christianshavn and to get rid of the worst of the city's slum areas.[39] However, it was not until the 1930s that substantial housing developments ensued,[40] with the demolishment of one side of Christianhavn's Torvegade in order to build five large blocks of flats.[39]
- World War II
During World War II, Copenhagen was occupied by German troops along with the rest of the country from 9 April 1940 until 4 May 1945. The occupation was not a part of the Nazi German expansion, and initially the German authorities sought to arrive at an understanding with the Danish government. Even a general parliamentary election was granted in 1943, with only theCommunist Party excluded. But in August 1943, after the government's collaboration with the occupation forces collapsed, several ships were scuttled in Copenhagen Harbour by the Royal Danish Navy to prevent their use by the Germans. Around that time the Nazis started to arrest Jews, although most managed to escape to Sweden.[41]
After the Normandy Invasion the Germans feared the Danish police could become a problem. In early September 1944, they set about arresting the entire Danish police force. Most of them, however, managed either to hide or to escape to Sweden. Out of 2,000 policemen captured and deported to Germany, fewer than half returned after the war. In the absence of a police force, during the last eight months of occupation Copenhagen suffered a high rate of common criminality.[41]
Ole Lippman, the leader of the Danish resistance movement (SOE), invited the RAF to assist their operations by attacking Nazi headquarters in Copenhagen. Accordingly, Air Vice-Marshal Sir Basil Embry drew up plans for a spectacular precision attack on the Sicherheitsdienst and Gestapo building, the former offices of the Shell Oil Company. Political prisoners were kept in the attic to prevent an air raid, so the RAF had to bomb the lower levels of the building. The attack came on 22 March 1945, in three small waves. In the first wave, all six planes (carrying one bomb each) hit their target, but unfortunately one of the aircraft crashed near Frederiksberg girls school. Because of this crash four of the planes in the two following waves assumed the school was the military target, and aimed their bombs at the school leading to the death of 123 civilians (of which 87 were schoolgirls).[42] However 18 of the 26 political prisoners in the Shell Building managed to escape while the Gestapo archives were completely destroyed.[42]
- Post-war decades
Shortly after the end of the war, an innovative urban development project known as the Finger Plan was introduced in 1947, encouraging the creation of new housing and businesses interspersed with large green areas along five "fingers" stretching out from the city centre along the S-train routes.[43][44] With the expansion of the welfare state and women entering the work force, schools, nurseries, sports facilities and hospitals were established across the city. As a result of student unrest in the late 1960s, the former Bådsmandsstræde Barracks in Christianshavn was occupied, leading to the establishment of Freetown Christiania in September 1971.[45]
Motor traffic in the city grew significantly and in 1972 the trams were replaced by buses. From the 1960s, on the initiative of the young architect Jan Gehl, pedestrian streets and cycle tracks were created in the city centre.[46] Activity in the port of Copenhagen declined with the closure of the Holmen naval base. Copenhagen Airport underwent considerable expansion, becoming a hub for the Nordic countries. In the 1990s, large-scale housing developments were realized in the harbour area and in the west of Amager.[40] The national library's Black Diamond building on the waterfront was completed in 1999.[47]
2000 to present[edit]
Since the summer of 2000, Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmö have been connected by the (Øresund Bridge), which carries rail and road traffic. As a result, Copenhagen has become the centre of a larger metropolitan area spanning both nations. The bridge has brought about considerable changes in the public transport system and has led to the extensive redevelopment of Amager.[45] The city's service and trade sectors have developed while a number of banking and financial institutions have been established. Educational institutions have also gained importance, especially the University of Copenhagen with its 35,000 students.[48] Another important development for the city has been the Copenhagen Metro, the underground railway system which opened in 2000 with additions until 2007, transporting some 54 million passengers by 2011.[49]
On the cultural front, the lavish Copenhagen Opera House, a gift to the city from the shipping magnate Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller on behalf of the A.P. Møller foundation, was completed in 2004.[50] In December 2009 Copenhagen gained international prominence when it hosted the worldwide climate meeting COP15.[51]
Geography[edit]
Copenhagen is part of the Øresund Region, which consists of Zealand, Lolland-Falster and Bornholm in Denmark and Scania in Sweden.[52] It is located on the eastern shore of the island ofZealand, partly on the island of Amager and on a number of natural and artificial islets between the two. Copenhagen faces the Øresund to the east, the strait of water that separates Denmark from Sweden, and which connects the North Sea with the Baltic Sea. The Swedish towns of Malmö and Landskrona lie on the Swedish side of the sound directly across from Copenhagen.[53]By road, Copenhagen is 42 kilometres (26 mi) northwest of Malmö, Sweden, 85 kilometres (53 mi) northeast of Næstved, 164 kilometres (102 mi) northeast of Odense, 295 kilometres (183 mi) east of Esbjerg and 188 kilometres (117 mi) southeast of Aarhus by sea and road via Sjaellands Odde.[54]
The city centre lies in the area originally defined by the old ramparts that are still referred to as the Fortification Ring (Fæstningsringen) and kept as a partial green band around it.[55] Then come the late 19th and early 20th century residential neighbourhoods of Østerbro, Nørrebro, Vesterbro and Amagerbro. The outlying areas of Kongens Enghave, Valby, Vigerslev, Vanløse, Brønshøj,Utterslev and Sundby followed from 1920 to 1960. They consist mainly of residential housing and apartments often enhanced with parks and greenery.[56]
Topography[edit]
The central area of the city consists of relatively low-lying flat ground formed by moraines from the last ice age while the hilly areas to the north and west frequently rise to 50 m (160 ft) above sea level. The slopes of Valby and Brønshøj reach heights of over 30 m (98 ft), divided by valleys running from the northeast to the southwest. Close to the centre are the Copenhagen lakes of Sortedams Sø, Peblinge Sø and Sankt Jørgens Sø.[56]
Copenhagen rests on a subsoil of flint-layered limestone deposited in the Danian period some 60 to 66 million years ago. Some greensand from the Selandian is also present. There are a few faults in the area, the most important of which is the Carlsberg fault which runs northwest to southeast through the centre of the city.[57] During the last ice age, glaciers eroded the surface leaving a layer of moraines up to 15 m (49 ft) thick.[58]
Beaches[edit]
Copenhagen and the surrounding areas have three beaches with a total of approx. 8 kilometres (5 miles) of sandy shores within 30 minutes cycling from the city centre. These include Amager Strandpark, which opened in 2005 with a 2 km (1 mi) long artificial island and a total of 4.6 km (2.9 mi) of beaches, located just 15 minutes by bicycle or a few minutes by metro from the city centre.[59]
The beaches are supplemented by a system of Harbour Baths along the Copenhagen waterfront. The first and most popular of these is located at Islands Brygge and has won international acclaim for its design.[60]
Climate[edit]
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Copenhagen is in the oceanic climate zone (Köppen: Cfb ).[61] Its weather is subject to low-pressure systems from the Atlantic which result in unstable conditions throughout the year. The Gulf Stream brings warmer water across from the Gulf of Mexico causing average temperatures to be some 5 degrees higher than would be expected for the city's latitude of 55 degrees North. Apart from slightly higher rainfall from July to September, precipitation is moderate. While there can be snow from late December to early March, there can also be rain with average temperatures around the freezing point.[62]
June is the sunniest month of the year with an average of about eight hours of sunshine a day. July and August are warm too with daytime temperatures around 20 °C (68 °F) although rainfall averages 69 mm per month. By contrast, the average hours of sunshine are less than two per day in November and only one and a half per day from December to February. In the spring, it gets warmer again with from four to six hours of sunshine per day from March to May. February is the driest month of the year.[63] Exceptional weather conditions can bring as much as 50 cm of snow to Copenhagen in a 24 hour period during the winter months[64] while summer temperatures have been known to rise to heights of 33 °C (91 °F) (91°F).[65]
Because of Copenhagen's northern latitude, the number of daylight hours varies considerably between summer and winter. In mid-summer, the sun rises at 4.26 am and sets at 9.58 pm, providing 17 hours 32 minutes of daylight. In mid-winter, it rises at 8.37 am and sets at 15.39 pm with 7 hours and 1 minute of daylight. There is therefore a difference of 10 hours and 31 minutes in the length of days and nights between the summer and winter solstices .[66]
| Climate data for Copenhagen (1961–1990) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 11 (52) | 15 (59) | 16 (61) | 25 (77) | 25 (77) | 29 (84) | 30 (86) | 31 (88) | 26 (79) | 21 (70) | 20 (68) | 12 (54) | 31 (88) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 1.9 (35.4) | 2.0 (35.6) | 4.8 (40.6) | 9.5 (49.1) | 15.0 (59) | 19.2 (66.6) | 20.4 (68.7) | 20.3 (68.5) | 16.7 (62.1) | 12.1 (53.8) | 7.1 (44.8) | 3.7 (38.7) | 11.1 (52) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 0.1 (32.2) | −0.1 (31.8) | 2.0 (35.6) | 5.7 (42.3) | 10.9 (51.6) | 15.1 (59.2) | 16.4 (61.5) | 16.3 (61.3) | 13.2 (55.8) | 9.5 (49.1) | 5.1 (41.2) | 1.8 (35.2) | 8.0 (46.4) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −2.0 (28.4) | −2.4 (27.7) | −0.6 (30.9) | 2.3 (36.1) | 7.2 (45) | 11.3 (52.3) | 12.9 (55.2) | 12.6 (54.7) | 9.8 (49.6) | 6.7 (44.1) | 2.7 (36.9) | −0.5 (31.1) | 5.0 (41) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −18 (0) | −16 (3) | −14 (7) | −5 (23) | −1 (30) | 3 (37) | 6 (43) | 6 (43) | 0 (32) | −3 (27) | −8 (18) | −13 (9) | −18 (0) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 46 (1.81) | 30 (1.18) | 39 (1.54) | 39 (1.54) | 42 (1.65) | 52 (2.05) | 68 (2.68) | 64 (2.52) | 60 (2.36) | 56 (2.2) | 61 (2.4) | 56 (2.2) | 613 (24.13) |
| Avg. rainy days (≥ 1mm) | 10 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 113 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 45 | 67 | 110 | 168 | 217 | 218 | 202 | 193 | 133 | 90 | 55 | 42 | 1,539 |
| Source #1: Danmarks Meteorologiske Institut | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: MyForecast (Record Highs and Lows) | |||||||||||||
Administration[edit]
Districts[edit]
Main article: Districts of Copenhagen
The conurbation of Copenhagen includes the municipalities of Copenhagen, Dragør, Frederiksberg and Tårnby, with a total population of 704,108 at the start of 2012.[67] After Copenhagen Municipality, the second largest is Frederiksberg Municipality, an enclave inside Copenhagen Municipality. Both are contained in the larger Capital Region of Denmark, containing most of theurban area of Copenhagen. Since a reform in 2006–08, Copenhagen Municipality has been divided into 10 official districts (Danish: bydele):[68] Indre By, Østerbro, Nørrebro, Vesterbro/Kongens Enghave, Valby, Vanløse, Brønshøj-Husum, Bispebjerg, Amager Øst, and Amager Vest. Neighbourhoods of Copenhagen include Slotsholmen Frederiksstaden, Islands Brygge, Holmen,Christiania, Carlsberg, Sluseholmen, Amagerbro, Ørestad, Nordhavnen, Bellahøj, Brønshøj, Ryparken, and Vigerslev.
Municipal government[edit]
The seat of Copenhagen's municipal council (Borgerrepræsentation) is the Copenhagen City Hall (Københavns Rådhus). The council is chaired by the Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Frank Jensen, who with two selected vice-presidents overlooks the 55 representatives of the council who are given civic duties to perform.[69] The council usually meets every other week at 17:30 on a Thursday.[69] They discuss a range of issues including labour and employment, business growth, economics, international cooperation and IT, urban planning, housing and construction, and young, old, and disabled people issues, healthcare, and traffic, with a central focus on making the city sustainable and meeting environmental and health targets.[70]
All members of the council are elected every four years. In the municipal elections in November 2013, the Social Democrats remained in first place with 27.8% of the vote (down by 2.2% from 2009) while Enhedslisten (the Red-Green Alliance) was in second place with 19.5%.[71][72] Copenhagen's mayor Frank Jensen retained his position, but was not happy with the result which was the worst ever for his party. The Social Democrats have been the party behind the mayors of Copenhagen for the past 110 years.[73]
The municipal government is divided into seven administrative departments; Employment and Integration, Culture and Leisure, Health and Care, Finance, Child and Youth, Social Services, and Technical and Environmental Administration.[74] It has six political committees and a finance committee. The annual budget for the city is proposed in August and finalized in October and the annual report is published in May of every year. The accounting firm Deloitte is responsible for auditing the City of Copenhagen's accounts.[75]
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