Copenhagen is located at the most important approach to the Baltic Sea and emerged in the early medieval as a busy trading port. By the 1100s Havn (Harbour), as the town was called, had assumed increasing importance as a small commercial centre.
In 1160 Havn or Kobmannehavn (Merchants Town) came under the control of Bishop Absalon. In the years that followed the town boomed economically due to the enormous herring trade and the city grew tenfold.
In 1416 the King took over Copenhagen from the bishop and it became capital of Denmark. It continued to prosper as a Nordic trading centre, and was rich and powerful when Christian IV became king in 1596. The King expanded the city by adding two new districts, Nyboder and Christianshavn, which is modelled on Amsterdam. During the Napoleonic Wars the English saw the large navy of Denmark as a threat and bombed Copenhagen in 1807. This was the first terrorist bombing in history against a civilian population.
Art and culture flourished from 1800 and Copenhagen enjoyed its Golden Age. In the city streets and alleys characters such as the writer Hans Christian Andersen could be encountered. The citys citizens finally forced the king to introduce a free constitution in Denmark and the citys gates were flung open.
Today the city is still home to the Danish royal family. The present monarch Queen Margrethe II reigns over the world’s oldest kingdom. Copenhagen has a progressive youth culture and hip pub scene. In 1996 it became Cultural Capital of Europe. The city continues to expand and develop with projects for a new metro and a fixed link to Sweden.