Copenhagen Municipality

Copenhagen Municipality (Danish: Københavns Kommune), also known in English as the Municipality of Copenhagen, located in the Capital Region of Denmark, is the largest of the four municipalities that constitute the City of Copenhagen (Byen København), the other three being Dragør, Frederiksberg, and Tårnby. The Municipality of Copenhagen constitutes the historical city centre and the majority of its landmarks. It is the most populous in the country with a population of 659,350 inhabitants (as of January 2024), and covers 86.4 square kilometres (33.4 sq mi) in area,. Copenhagen Municipality is located at the Zealand and Amager islands and totally surrounds Frederiksberg Municipality on all sides. The strait of Øresund lies to the east. The city of Copenhagen has grown far beyond the municipal boundaries from 1901, when Frederiksberg Municipality was made an enclave within Copenhagen Municipality. Frederiksberg has the largest population density of the municipalities of Denmark.

Copenhagen Municipality Københavns Kommune (Danish)
Municipality
Municipality of Copenhagen
Copenhagen Skyline
Flag Seal Coat of arms
Coordinates: 55°40′31″N 12°34′13″E
Country	Denmark
Region	Hovedstaden
Seat	Copenhagen
Districts	Districts Indre By Christianshavn Indre Østerbro Ydre Østerbro Indre Nørrebro Ydre Nørrebro Bispebjerg Vanløse Brønshøj-Husum Kongens Enghave Valby Vestamager Sundbyvester Sundbyøster
Government
• Type	City council
• Body	Copenhagen City Council
• Lord Mayor	Sophie Hæstorp Andersen (Social Democrats)
Area
• Total	86.4 km2 (33.4 sq mi)
Population  (1 January 2024)
• Total	659,350
• Estimate  (October 2016)	601,448
• Density	7,600/km2 (20,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	1000-2500
Municipal code	101
Website	www.kk.dk

The municipal seat of government is the Copenhagen City Hall (Danish: Københavns Rådhus), the headquarters of the Copenhagen City Council. The Lord Mayor of Copenhagen is Sophie Hæstorp Andersen, since 1 January 2022. The relationship between Copenhagen Municipality and the wider city of Copenhagen is one of an administrative unit within a significantly larger city, cf. the City of London or the City of Brussels.

In the Middle Ages, Copenhagen was defined as the area enclosed within the city walls. The city centre lies in the area originally defined by the old ramparts, which are still referred to as the Fortification Ring (Fæstningsringen) and kept as a partial green band around it. In 1856 the ramparts were pulled down allowing for growth and expansion. In 1901 the city expanded to include Amager and Valby, while Frederiksberg became an enclave within the municipality. The Finger Plan in the second half of the 20th century led to expansion outside the municipal boundary along the commuter lines of the S-train and the Lokaltog rail lines going to i.e. Helsingør (The Coast Line (Kystbanen) northbound) and Stevns Municipality (East Line (from Køge southbound) along the Øresund. The Copenhagen-Ringsted Line makes Køge one of the railway hubs of Eastern Denmark. Road and rail construction is planned to relieve traffic congestion because the narrow 14.5–15.3-kilometre (9–9.5 mi) isthmus between Roskilde Fjord and Køge Bugt (Køge Bay) forms a bottleneck.

Copenhagen Municipality was one of the three last Danish municipalities not belonging to a county, the others being Frederiksberg Municipality and (from 2003) Bornholm. On 1 January 2007, the municipality lost its county privileges and became part of the Capital Region of Denmark.

Geography

Copenhagen Municipality is a political division covering the central city (Indre By) and certain additional areas. It encloses Frederiksberg Municipality and stretches east to the waterfront. Neighboring municipalities are Gentofte, Gladsaxe and Herlev to the north, Rødovre and Hvidovre to the west, and Tårnby to the south.

The City Hall Square (Danish: Rådhuspladsen) is the old centre of the city, from which an old shopping street leads northeast to Kongens Nytorv, which was laid out in the seventeenth century. Christiansborg Palace, which houses the Danish parliament, is located on the islet of Slotsholmen.

• 
  Nørrebro
• 
  Slotsholmen
• 
  Amalienborg and Frederik's Church

Districts

The municipality is divided into ten administrative, statistical and tax districts (Danish: bydele):

Districts of Copenhagen municipality

Official districts:

1. Indre By
2. Østerbro
3. Nørrebro
4. Vesterbro/Kongens Enghave
5. Valby
6. Vanløse
7. Brønshøj-Husum
8. Bispebjerg
9. Amager Øst
10. Amager Vest

Other areas:

• Slotsholmen
• Frederiksstaden
• Islands Brygge
• Holmen
• Christiania (Freetown)
• Carlsberg
• Sluseholmen
• Amagerbro
• Ørestad
• Nordhavnen
• Bellahøj
• Brønshøj
• Ryparken
• Vigerslev

The suffix -bro in the names Østerbro, Nørrebro, Vesterbro and Amagerbro should not be confused with the Danish word for bridge, which is also bro. The term is thought to be an abbreviation or short form of the Danish word brolagt meaning "paved", referring to the roads paved with cobblestones leading to the city's former gates.

Demography

Historic population. The two figures for 1 February 1901 are before and after the municipality annexed some nearby parishes. The apparent decline since the 1960s are due to the figures not including the suburban and urban areas – notably Frederiksberg – outside Copenhagen municipality. With the exception of 2005, which saw a decrease of more than 1,000 people, the population of the municipality has been increasing since 1992 after having decreased by 303,539 inhabitants (39.517%) from 1950 to 1992. Copenhagen County rose from 313,601 (7 November 1950) to 618,529 in 2006, adding 304,928 inhabitants. Roskilde County rose from 76,781 to 241,523 inhabitants (2006), and Frederiksborg County from 147,695 to 378,686 inhabitants (2006). Frederiksberg Municipality went from 118,993 inhabitants to around 85,000 in 1988, and 104,664 in 2023. Counties were abolished from 1 January 2007.

Date Year Population 1450 est. 4–5,000 1500 est. 10,000 1650 est. 30,000 1700 est. 65,000 15 January 1769 80,000 1 July 1787 90,032 1 February 1801 100,975 1 February 1840 120,819 1 February 1850 129,695 1 February 1860 155,143 1 February 1870 181,291 1 February 1880 234,850 1 February 1890 312,859 1 February 1901 360,787 1 February 1901 400,575 1 February 1911 462,161 1 February 1921 561,344 5 November 1930 617,069 5 November 1940 700,465 7 November 1950 768,105 26 September 1960 721,381 9 November 1970 622,773

Year Population 1971 625,671 1972 610,985 1973 595,751 1974 576,030 1975 562,405 1976 545,350 1977 529,154 1978 515,594 1979 505,974 1980 498,850 1981 493,771 1982 490,597 1983 486,593 1984 482,937 1985 478,615 1986 473,000 1987 469,706 1988 468,704 1989 467,850 1990 466,723 1991 464,773 1992 464,566

Year Population 1993 466,129 1994 467,253 1995 471,300 1996 476,751 1997 483,658 1998 487,969 1999 491,082 2000 495,699 2001 499,148 2002 500,531 2003 501,285 2004 501,664 2005 502,362 2006 501,158 2007 503,699 2008 509,861 2009 518,574 2010 528,208 2011 539,542 2012 549,050 2013 559,440 2014 569,557

Note. The two population numbers given for 1901 are the municipality's population before annexation and following annexation of neighbouring municipalities, which in the process made Frederiksberg municipality an enclave within the municipality of Copenhagen.

Politics and government

Copenhagen City Hall, situated on City Hall Square

Copenhagen Municipality is distinct from the wider Copenhagen urban area. The seat of Copenhagen's municipal council is the Copenhagen City Hall (Rådhus). The council is chaired by the Lord Mayor who oversees the civic duties of the fifty-five representatives of the council. The council usually meets every other week at 17:30 on a Thursday. They discuss a range of issues including labour and employment, business growth, economics, international cooperation and IT, urban planning, housing and construction, and young, old, and disabled peoples' issues, healthcare, and traffic, with a central focus on making the city sustainable and meeting environmental and health targets.

All members of the council are elected every four years. In the municipal elections in November 2013 (see below), the Social Democrats remained in first place with 27.8% of the vote (down by 2.2% from 2009), while the Red-Green Alliance was in second place with 19.5%. In the 2021 elections, the Red-Green Alliance secured a higher vote total than the Social Democrats. This was the first time that a party other than the Social Democrats topped the ballot. The Social Democrats have claimed the office of mayor for the past 110 years.

The municipal government is divided into seven administrative departments: Employment and Integration, Culture and Leisure, Health and Care, Finance, Child and Youth, Social Services, and Technical and Environmental Administration. It has six political committees and a finance committee. The annual budget for the city is proposed in August and finalized in October and the annual report is published in May of every year. The accounting firm Deloitte is responsible for auditing the City of Copenhagen's accounts.

Lord mayors since 1938

Sophie Hæstorp Andersen, Lord Mayor

All lord mayors of Copenhagen have belonged to the Social Democratic party.

• 1938–1946: Viggo Christensen
• 1946–1956: Hans Peter Sørensen
• 1956–1962: Sigvard Munk
• 1962–1976: Urban Hansen
• 1976–1989: Egon Weidekamp
• 1989–2004: Jens Kramer Mikkelsen
• 2004–2005: Lars Engberg
• 2006–2009: Ritt Bjerregaard
• 2010–2020: Frank Jensen
• 2020–2021: Lars Weiss (acting)
• since 2022: Sophie Hæstorp Andersen

Municipal council

Copenhagen's municipal council consists of 55 members, elected every four years. Copenhagen's municipal council is by far the largest in Denmark, being the only municipal council with more than 31 seats.

Below are the municipal councils elected since 1909.

Election	Party																				Total seats	Elected mayor
	A	B	C	D	D	E	F	G	I	K	K	N	O	P	V	Y	Z	Ø	Å	L
1909	20	5	16																	1	42
1912	21	4	16																	1
1913	27	5	22																	1	55
1917	30	6	17																	2
1921	33	4	16												2
1925	31	6	17												1
1929	35	4	16
1933	35	4	15							1
1937	37	5	11							2												Viggo Christensen (A)
1943	32	6	15									1								1
1946	27	3	11							11					2					1		Hans Peter Sørensen (A)
1950	28	3	12			6				6
1954	32	2	13			1				6					1
1958	29	3	14			1				5					3							Sigvard Munk (A)
1962	27	2	15				9			1					1							Urban Hansen (A)
1966	23	2	15				13			1					1
1970	31	5	11				5			1					1	1
1974	22	3	6	1		1	7			7	1				1	2	3			1
1978	26	1	8	1		1	3			5					1	5	3			1		Egon Weidekamp (A)
1981	22	3	8	1			7			2					2	8	2
1985	18	1	9	1			15	2		1					1	7
1989	20	1	6	2			13	2		1				2	2	4	2					Jens Kramer Mikkelsen (A)
1993	18	3	6				10	1						1	8		3	4		1
1997	17	3	5	1			8						6	1	6			7		1
2001	16	5	4	1			9						4		11			5
2005	21	7	3				7						3		8			6				Ritt Bjerregaard (A)
2009	17	5	4				13						4		6			6				Frank Jensen (A)
2013	16	6	3				6		2				4		7			11
2017	15	5	3				5		2				3		5			11	6
2021	10	6	8		1		6		1				1		5			15	2			Sophie Hæstorp Andersen (A)
Election	A	B	C	D	D	E	F	G	I	K	K	N	O	P	V	Y	Z	Ø	Å	L	Total seats	Elected mayor
	Party
Data from Kmdvalg.dk, Dst.dk and Sa.dk

Environmental Policy

In 2009 the Copenhagen Municipal Council decided that Copenhagen will become the world's first carbon-neutral capital by 2025. In 2012 the European Commission announced that Copenhagen would be the 2014 European Green Capital.

See also

• List of cities and towns in Denmark

External links

• Official website
• CPH International Service - Citizen service for expats and students in Copenhagen
• Eniro map with named municipalities (in Danish)
• Krak searchable/printable map (in Danish)