COPENHAGEN

COPENHAGEN – HISTORY AND LOCAL TIPS

Due to its history and size, Copenhagen is just about the most perfect (sight)running city in the world. Most of our historic buildings and attractions can be covered in just one or two running tours, from the castle of The Parliament, Nyhavn, The Royal Castle and The Little Mermaid to all the interesting new developments and architecture along the water front and urban life.

The design of the city is the result of many years deliberately trying to put Copenhagen in the lead when is comes to sustainability and environmental awareness, from our many parks, walking and running paths by the lakes, to the car free bridges and super bike lanes.

Copenhagen can be traced back to around year 700 when vikings settled on the coast of Zealand, right on the entrance to the Baltic Sea. By the 9th century “Hafn” had become a large village of some importance inhabited by mainly fishermen and tradesmen.

Written history goes back to 1167 which is when Copenhagen became officially considered a “town” and, with its perfect location, it soon became a very important merchant city connecting central Europe and the northern countries of Scandinavia.

Due to the defence line consisting mainly of moats and lakes that were built around the old city, Copenhagen grew slowly. However, more and more people were drawn to Copenhagen, and in 1850 the old defences had lost their meaning and the demarcation lines were abandoned. This literally meant that Copenhagen exploded and started shaping into the vibrant and diverse city it is today.

And that is why Copenhagen is so GREAT for running!