Kongens Nytorv & the Royal Danish Theatre

In 1669 Christian V was crowned, and he had spent time in France. He had seen Paris, and he came home to a city that still looked medieval: narrow streets, no plan, nothing that impressed anyone. So he cleared this ground. It sat just outside the old city gate and consisted mostly of ramparts, rubbish and an old ropewalk. In 1670 he laid out Copenhagen's first planned square here, on the French model, with himself in an equestrian statue in the middle. Look closely at that statue. The king is dressed as a Roman emperor, in a laurel-wreathed helmet. It dates from 1688 and is the oldest equestrian statue in Scandinavia. The original was cast in gilded lead, and that went about as well as you would expect: over two hundred years the king slowly sagged under his own weight, until he finally had to be recast in bronze. It is hard to find a better image of absolute monarchy than a king of lead, sinking. Around the square stand the Royal Danish Theatre, Charlottenborg with the art academy, and the Hotel d'Angleterre. And notice one thing. Every building here turns its front towards the square. That was the whole point. This was not meant to be a place you walked through. It was meant to be a place you arrived at.