6-5-2014
We joined a free walking tour today, run by a company
called, Sandemans. The group met at Town Hall Square
next to the Dragon fountain. Our guide
was a very knowledgeable, enthusiastic young woman, who is also a student
working on her thesis in sound engineering.
He name is Helia (pronounced L’ E a) and she has lived in this country
only 2 years. He home country is Spain.
The building which is the Town hall is modeled on a similar
building in Seine, Italy. On difference in this structure are two polar
bear statues on either side of the roof. But the main difference is a large golden
statue of Bishop Absolom that is perched on the side of the building. Inside you will find a clock that tells not
only the time of day, but also the movement of the planets and stars.
Across the street is Trivoli Gardens,
the second oldest amusement park in the world, built in 1843. The have a wooden rollercoaster which was
built in 1905. Over 4 million people
visit the area attraction each year.
Next, Helia pointed out Stroget
Street, the largest shopping route in the world.
Copenhagen
history has been plagued by several city-wide fires. The first was in 1728. It was stared when a candle fell. It took three days for the residence to stop
the fire. This was accomplished by
taking down several buildings in the path of the fire. A significant factor in all of the previous
fires is the wind, which is so prevalent in Copenhagen.
Our next stop was a large square. In the 1700s it was the place of the market,
but was also where executions took place.
The Danes usually beheaded or hung their offenders and oftentimes
subjected them to the humiliation of having rotten food thrown at them
Helia said that Danish history can basically be divided into
three periods: the first 5,000 years,
nothing much happened. The next 500
years there was economic growth, fostered primarily due to the geography of the
western part of the country. The Danes
had control of the waterways and would tax all of the ships passing through the
northern sea. Other factors that
contributed to Denmark’s
growth were the fact that the county had large quantities of wood to build ships
and also had metals as a natural resource to make weapons.
During the middle ages the Calvar Union was formed. It was an alliance between Norway, Sweden
and Denmark. All of the counties profited from the
union. However, in the 16th
century, the Swedish government decided to leave the union, which weakened the position of all the countries.
After 1700, Denmark
encountered a series of unhappy events that precipitated the
decline in the previous economic advantage.
In 1711 there was a plague that wiped out ½ of the population. Then there was the first great fire in the Copenhagen. In 1795 there was the 2nd great
fire. In 1801, England was at war and Denmark tried
to remain neutral. Unfortunately, England
position was that you are either with them or you are against them. In 1801, the English General Nelson attached Copenhagen. Then 6 years later he returned again and destroyed
the city.
In the 1900, Copenhagen
developed a parliamentary government and there was a period of recovery, where
the city became a center for the arts. All
was well until 1940, when the Nazi’s attached Denmark . After a short 2 hour battle, Denmark
surrendered and began a 3 year period in which the Danes worked with the
Nazi’s. But there was a group of people
who began the Danish Resistance movement.
After the 2nd world war, Denmark became a social democracy,
with a welfare state.
As our tour continued we came to the statue of one of the
famous Danish figures. Carlsburg. He became famous because he owned a brewery
and fostered standardization of the brewing process. Eventually his company was the 4th
largest brewery in the world. He became
extremely wealthy, but also gave back to the people of his county. He founded the Carlsburg Foundation which has
donated to numerous Danish causes.
Our next stop was on the oldest street in Copenhagen.
The road is over 1000 years old.
Helia chose this location to stop and explain a very common
expression used by the Danish people. It
is called Hygge or Hyggely (pronounced Huga). This word basically means to relax. It is a universal desire of Danes to
experience Hygge ore Hyggely moments through their lives.
TO BE CONTINUED
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