Copenhagen
Copenhagen names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below. 1 of them is described by more than one encyclopedia.
Copenhagen the capital of Denmark
Described by 2 of the 6 encyclopedias.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the capital of Denmark, and headquarters 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 Christianshavn 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 central 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 handsome Amalienborg Square and its royal and ministerial palaces. Among its few buildings of historical interest or intrinsic beauty, the metropolitan cathedral church, known as Vor Frue Kirke, possesses a baptismal font, designed and in part executed by Thorwaldsen. 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 Tordenskjöld. The royal palace, called Christiansborg, was rebuilt between 1794 and 1828. The principal part of the vast building was destroyed by fire in 1884. Happily most of the pictures in its great art gallery were saved. The castle of Rosenborg (1610-1624), where the regalia are kept, contains interesting 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. Connected with the university are a surgical academy, an observatory, a botanical garden, a zoological museum, a polytechnic institution, and a library of 250,000 volumes, containing also a great collection of ancient Persian MSS., and another of ancient Northern MSS. Copen- Danish hagen is the center, not only of Danish, but Northern literature and art, and is the seat of a number of societies, among 10-Vol. 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 roy 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, cattle, 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. village. In 1254 the village obtained the privileges of a town, and in 1443 King Christopher made it the capital of the kingdom. 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 hundreds of persons lost their lives. Pop. (1916) 506,390.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
ko-pen-ha'gen, the capital city of Denmark. Latitude, 55 deg. 40' 52" N.; longitude, 12 deg. 35' 46" E. it is situated chiefly on the island of Zealand, here separated from an adjacent island by a passage that affords fine anchorage and a harbor for shipping. With its suburbs, the city had a population in 1906 of 514,-134, approximating that of Baltimore. The name is Scandinavian and signifies merchants' haven. The city was founded in the twelfth century on the site of a fishing village. From the first it has risen rapidly. It became the capital of King Christopher in 1443. Naturally enough, the city was never a favorite with the Hanseatic League, by which it was attacked several times. It withstood a siege from the Swedes in 1700. In 1801 the English under Parker and Nelson destroyed the Danish fleet off Copenhagen harbor to prevent its falling into the hands of Napoleon. The chief exports at present are such as might be expected from the metropolis of a dairy country--butter, cheese, beef, cattle, wool, and hides--as well as grain. There are ten distilleries, and many manufactories of porcelain ware, pianos, clocks, safety matches, sugar, and snuff. The trade with Iceland and Greenland is centered here. The city is a literary and art center. A national university, with museums, an immense library and a botanical garden , is here. Unlike many European universities it is open to students of both sexes. The public buildings of the city are not remarkable, but they are rich in art treasures. The royal picture gallery does not rank quite with that of Dresden and Florence, but it contains paintings by such masters as Van Dyck, Rubens, and Rembrandt. A Thorwaldsen museum, built after the somber fashion of an Etruscan tomb, shelters the burial place and original models of the statuary of that famous sculptor. The round tower of Trinity Church is 115 feet high. Instead of a stairway it is ascended by means of a broad spiral roadway, up which Frederick the Great is said to have driven a carriage drawn by four horses. The Museum of Northern Antiquities, a large collection of weapons, tools, utensils, hunting gear, coffins, burial urns, church vessels, inscriptions, ornaments, armor, tombstones, etc., 40,000 in number, the greatest and most valuable collection of ancient man in existence, is here. The relics are admirably arranged in order of time. The flint period is illustrated by flint implements, bones and shells from the famous kitchen middens, or refuse heaps of prehistoric Denmark. Relics of the bronze period indicate that the art of casting, learned from the south, was well developed. The peat moor and bogs have yielded many iron articles, including Roman coins, indicating intercourse with that people at an early date. The exhibit is very complete down to 1660. Other museums or departments exhibit the antiquities of the rude nations of Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as of the navigators known in history as the Vikings. The vicinity of the city is attractive. The blue water of the sea, level drives, fine old beech forests, wayside inns, pleasure gardens, beautiful grounds, deer parks, and handsome residences render the neighborhood delightful. See Denmark
Copenhagen UNIVERSITY OF
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
UNIVERSITY OF, the oldest university in northern Europe and the only one in Denmark, founded in 1478 and modelled after the university of Cologne, to which most of the Danish students had gone prior to that date. The university suffered so much from the wars and commotions attending the Reformation that it had to be re-established in 1539, this time taking as its model the university of Wittenberg. Destroyed by fire in the 18th century, it was established in its present form in 1788. During the first half of the 19th century many men famous in Norse scholarship taught at Copenhagen. It is open to both sexes and its present enrollment (1919) is over 3,000. It is enlowed, but a great share of its income is derived from the state. There are no charges for tuition. Attached to it are zoölogical and botanical gardens.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's in 1921 gave the population as 506,390 and described Christiansborg's principal building as still a burnt-out ruin from the 1884 fire; the third Christiansborg was completed in 1928 and now houses the Folketing, the Supreme Court and the royal reception rooms. The city was occupied by German forces from April 1940 until May 1945, and the harbour that these accounts describe as its working heart has since been largely rebuilt as housing and waterfront, with the free port operations merged into a joint Copenhagen Malmö Port. The Sound that Collier's calls "about 12 miles broad" has been bridged: the Øresund fixed link to Malmö in Sweden opened in 2000, and Amager, which in 1921 held only the outlying quarter of Christianshavn, now carries Copenhagen Airport at Kastrup. Greater Copenhagen today holds well over a million people, and the city is better known abroad for cycling infrastructure and the Little Mermaid statue (placed in 1913) than for the porcelain, pianos and snuff these entries list.
Written for this edition, 2026.