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i COPENHAGEN FROM LAND AND SEA 1587
This double v iew is the oldest kn ow n reproduction of
Copenhagen.
A b o ve,
w e see the city from V a lb y H ill, from
where the h ighw ay turns and tw ists over the bridge at
St. Jørgens lake, ending in V esterport (the w estern gate)
at the centre o f the en gravin g. O utside the city, to the left
in the foreground, St. Jørgens H ospital, a couple of post
mills along the road, the place of execution on a low pro
montory to the right, and a few scattered buildings shel
tering under the tow n w a ll w h ich dates back to the late
Middle A ges. A b o ve this rise the tow n 's roofs, towers,
and spires. O n the left the h ea vy tow er o f St. Petri, while
the tall steeple belongs to V o r Frue kirke (the Church of
Our Lady). Then fo llo w to the righ t the convents of St.
Gertrud and St. C lara, and N icolai Church. The right half
of the picture is dom inated b y the tremendous Castle
buildings.
Below,
the city seen from Am ager; in the fore
ground ships at anchor in the G rønnegård harbour. From
the isthmus on the right there w as a ferry across to Slots
holmen. Opposite the isthm us w e have the entrance to
Gammelbod harbour, and to the right o f that K ing Frede
rik II's anchor sm ithy. To the far righ t Ø sterport (the
eastern gate). The prepatory draw ings for these tw o en
gravings are p robably rig h tly ascribed to Hans Knieper,
the Court painter.
The view from land reproduced p. 16.
2 COPENHAGEN FROM THE NORTHEAST 1596
The city is here seen as it looked imm ediately before
Christian IV began his w idespread building projects. The
engraving show s Copenhagen situated on a plateau, and
in order to provide a better v iew o f Am ager, this island
is placed in the air h igh above the city in the top left-hand
corner. Two w ide roads lead to Ø sterport (the eastern gate,
5
)/ where Kongens N y to rv (the K in g's n ew square) is
now. A ll this territory, w h ich is actu ally much more flat
than expressed in this v iew , w as later enclosed b y the new
ramparts and were to contain the northeast end o f the
city, called N y-K øbenhavn (New Copenhagen, see cat. no.
7). The palisades and the city w all run along w h at is now
Gothersgade and Nørrevold. The fenced-in ensemble of
buildings outside the ramparts in the foreground are T egl
gården, and below it in the right-hand corner we see part
o f the D anish Com pany's shooting range w ith the parrot's
pole. The engraving is based on an unknow n prepatory
draw ing, or possibly an engraving still to be found in the
Council H all in the 1680s, printed in 1596 b y Caspar
Illum inerer and Byens M aler (the city painter). The en
gravin g was called "Københavns D elineatio."
3
COPENHAGEN FROM THE SOU TH EA ST 1 6 1 1
The panorama is taken from an im aginary point above
Am ager, from w hich w e see the city against an extensive
scenic background. The accession to the Throne of Chris
tian IV in 1596 meant a number of important changes for
the look o f the city. The city w all was replaced b y modern
pentagonal bastions w hich can be seen b y the n ew Vester-
vold (the western rampart) on the left, and on the right
Ø stervold (the eastern rampart). The left h alf of the pano
rama is dom inated b y the K in g's new n aval arsenal (1602-
06) w ith the parallelling armoury and provision depot - on
land connected to the armoury of Christian III. Opposite
the entrance we have the landmark sym bolizing Copen
hagen, m arking a shoal in the harbour. Several n ew towers
characterize the city skyline: from the left the T ow n H all
(1610), Blåtårn (the blue tower) near the Castle (1596),
the spires of the Church of O ur Lady and St. Petri Church,
both completed c. 16x0, and the spires of the H elligånds
kirken (the Church o f the H oly Ghost) and N icolai Church
(1594 and 1610 respectively), both of w hich were paid for
by Christoffer Valkendorf. A t Gammel Strand, a little to
the left of the middle, there are typical crenellated gabled
houses and a few large houses w ith gable attics. Slotshol
men is connected to the city b y means of the Højbro and
Holmen bridges (in the foreground). Near the form er the
Exchequer can be seen, and to the right o f the latter w e see
the anchor sm ithy situated on the large Bremerholm. A t
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