ABSTRACT
In contrast to the many Classical town halls, which were still being designed and built at the start of the twentieth century, Copenhagen’s town hall, by Martin Nyrop, represented a new spirit that had been developing throughout Europe in the latter part of the nineteenth century in response to the continent’s increasingly rapid industrialisation. By the end of the nineteenth century, Copenhagen was in the full throes of industrial revolution and growing at an alarming rate. The great fortress-like facade is relieved by a civic balcony above the central entrance archway, flanked by copper guardian knights, below a golden statue of Bishop Absalon who is sheltered by a spiky copper baldacchino. After the initial controversy surrounding Nyrop’s selection, the scale of the new town hall building and its long construction period served to engage the citizens of Copenhagen in its progress, with the raising of the clock tower in particular being followed with genuine enthusiasm.
