Travel Guide to Copenhagen

The church behind Amalienborg is called the marble church, but its official name is Frederik’s Church. The church has one of the largest domes in Europe with a span of 31 meters. Though the construction of the church began in 1749, it was first finished about 145 years later in 1894, as the construction started during a difficult time in the danish economy, and was therefore also a symbol of the Kings declining wealth.

Nyhavn is known for it's colorful narrow houses and picturesque setting in the Copenhagen harbor. Nyhavn is translated to “New Harbor” and despite its name, Nyhavn is one of the oldest areas of Copenhagen. The harbor was dug by Swedish prisoners of war in the 1670s, on the orders of King Christian the 5th. Back then, Nyhavn was a very busy harbor with boats coming in from all over the world, loading and unloading their goods at the dock, and know for the drunken sailors and easygoing women. The area changed throughout the 1970’es and what used to be called the dirty north side, is now one of the most posh areas in Copenhagen. Fun fact: Many of the houses along Christianshavn and Nyhavn are very narrow. This is because they date back to a time when taxes were paid according to how much of the sidewalk the house took up - so the narrower, the cheaper!