Kongens Nytorv

Kongens Nytorv (lit. "The King's New Square") is a public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was laid out by Christian V in 1670 in connection with a major extension of the fortified city, and has an equestrian statue of him at its centre. The initiative moved the centre of the city from the medieval area around Gammeltorv, at that time a muddy medieval marketplace, to a cobbled new square with a garden complex, inspired by the Royal city planning seen in Paris from the early 17th century.

Important buildings facing the square include the Royal Danish Theater from 1874, the Charlottenborg Palace from 1671 (now the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts), the Thott Palace from 1683 (now the French Embassy), the Hotel D'Angleterre and the Magasin du Nord department store.

In the beginning of the 17th century, the eastern city gate, Østerport, was located at the eastern ramparts of Copenhagen, Østervold, which ran along the western edge of the area later to become Kongens Nytorv with the eastern city gate located at the end of the street Østergade. Outside the gate, an undulating terrain extended towards the sea. As part of Christian IV's ambitious plans to strengthen Copenhagen as a regional centre, he wanted to double the area of the fortified city, he acquired 200 hectares of land outside Østerport in 1606. To protect the new city district, called New Copenhagen (Danish: Ny København) or Saint Anne's Town (Danish: Sankt Annæ By), he started construction of a redoubt, Saint Anne's Post (Danish: Sankt Annæ Skanse), at the site later to become Kastellet. In 1627 a customs house was added at the site. In the beginning of the 1640s the old Østervold was abandoned altogether in favour of the new ramperts further north, and the location of the King's new square, Kongens Nytorv, was decided in 1647 with the construction of the street Godtersgade in 1647. According to a masterplan from created by the fortification engineer Axel Urups, Kongens Nytorv was to be connected to the sea by a canal.

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