History of Copenhagen
Copenhagen is a city with many examples of fine and interesting period architecture, from which visitors can learn something of the city's fascinating past. Early history is not so apparent.  However the Middle Ages saw the city's most significant periods of development and equally its most significant low periods; it's from the latter stages of this era that physical evidence still remains. Following WWII, Copenhagen has emerged as one of Europe's most liveable cities.
Early days
The city of Copenhagen was initially founded by Sweyn I Forkbeard and his son Canute the Great in the year 1000 AD, but it remained little more than a fishing village under the name of ‘Havn' until 1167, when its status was elevated by Bishop Absalon, who took possession of it and fortified it with the building of a citadel near Christiansborg Castle.
Being a harbour town, Copenhagen benefited from the trade that the sea brought, eventually becoming an important centre of commerce. Its prosperity, however, didn't go unnoticed and the Hanseatic League of Germany made repeated assaults on the city in a bid to gain control. The city remained independent however and in 1254, it was given official status via the receipt of its charter under Bishop Jakob Erlandsen.
The Middle Ages
In 1416, Copenhagen was declared the royal capital of Denmark.  Later, in 1443, it was made the country's official capital, replacing Roskilde. The first king to be crowned in Copenhagen was Christian I, in 1448, a significant character who went on to be the founder of the city's (and the country's) first university in 1479.
Successive monarchs were also important characters, though Christian IV was among the most prominent, famed for his building and architectural talents.
During his reign (1588 to 1648), many of the city's most important constructions were undertaken, among which are the Old Stock Exchange, the Round Tower, Rosenborg Castle and the Canals of Copenhagen.
From 1658 to 1659, the city was the subject of a siege at the hands of the Swedish king, Charles X, but the city's troops emerged relatively unscathed from the event. The plague came to the city in the late 17th and early 18th centuries and its effect, combined with that of several highly destructive fires, was to leave the city in a state of total devastation.
Later times
The beginning of the 19th century saw Copenhagen pitted against the English in the famous naval battle of 1801, in which the Danes suffered heavy casualties as well as a large number of their fleet being captured. Six years later, the British launched a mighty offensive against the city with a strategy that was connected with the Napoleonic Wars. Devastation of the city was again significant as the city's fortifications were rendered useless by the fire power of the British troops.
In the 1850s, when peace appeared a stable entity, the city opened its ramparts to allow the building of new housing around the lakes, which had previously bordered the western side of the city's old defence system. The new housing brought new inhabitants to the city, with the census of 1870 reporting a figure of 140,000 people. A further expansion in 1901 saw an increase of another 40,000.
With WWII came the occupation of Copenhagen and the rest of Denmark by German troops, lasting from April 9th 1940 up until May 4th 1945. Following the end of the war, the city recovered quickly to become prosperous, capable of offering its residents a high standard of living.
