126 / 165
at the sea fort T rekroner w hich, how ever, was not in use
at this time. Here there w as alw ays a clear fast-m oving
w arship, w h ich registered all the traffic and which, if ne
cessary, could catch up w ith any ship that m ight be un
identified. The v iew covers the stretch from N yh olm to
the Citadel. The roofs and spires are reflected in the water.
Tw o years later Bruun made a draw ing o f the same view
w ith sligh tly altered figures (reproduced in Thurah's D an
ish V itru viu s III, published 196 7, substitution plate XII).
67 V IEW FROM VESTERBRO T OW A R D S
CO PENH AG EN 175 6
The most valuable piece o f inform ation concerns the sub
urb of Vesterbro. In the m iddle of the picture Gammel
Kongevej can be made out, and on the right the present
Vesterbrogade. The long row of houses on the left-hand
side stands on the side o f H avem ann's department store,
w h ile the range of hills is purely im agin ary, for also at
that time this w as where Væ rnedam svej w as. O n the
right-hand side betw een the road and Kalvebod the Royal
D anish Shooting C om pany and Brotherhood from 1753
had their shooting range, and on this piece o f land the
buildin g w h ich n ow houses the Bym useet (C ity Museum
of Copenhagen), w as erected in the 1780s.
68
CH R IST IAN SBO RG 175 5
The v iew is taken from w h at is n ow Højbro Square; in the
foreground on the right w e have the Chapel (2), connected
to the m ain building o f the Palace via a gallery. In Slots-
holm sgade stands the Red Building (4), Postgården (the
post office 5), w h ich had earlier belonged to A n n a Sophie
R even tlow (see cat. no. 27), and the Lerche House (6),
built 1742.
69
THE T O W N H A L L 175 6
The m ain facade of the T ow n H all, w hich had been re
constructed after the fire in 1728, overlooked G amm eltorv
(see cat. no. 42). A b o ve the portal there is a balcony with
tw o atlantes supporting the sculptural decoration of the
pediment, am ong other things the n ational coat of arms
and the bust o f Frederik IV . The pedim ent w as inspired by
South Germ an and A u strian architecture. The window
frames have been sim plified. A fte r the burning of the
T ow n H all 179 5 the site w as cleared so that Gammeltorv
(the old square) and N y to rv (the n ew square) were united.
Reproduced p. 5 1.
70 AM A G E R T O R V 175 6
O ne of the few innovation s after the fire in 1795 was the
construction of H øjbro square. T he sites of the densely
populated area around H øjbro Stræde (3) and Store Færge
stræde were cleared, and thus a w id e opening was achieved
from Am agerto rv and dow n to the canal. The building at
the end of the square w as constructed 1582, and from
1656 it served as the city inn under the prom ising name
of "Store læ kkerbidsken " (the b ig titbit). The richly de
corated facades o f the houses on the right-hand side are
probably painted im itations o f stone ornamentation. Fur
thermore one notes several entrances to basement pas
sages, porches and outside fligh ts o f stairs. M any of the
houses have signboards advertisin g stockings, hats, etc.
7 1
FREDERIKSHOLM S C A N A L 17 5 5
The canal is here seen from the n orth w ith Slotsholmen to
the left (see cat. no. 52). In the foreground Stormbroen
bridge (4), built 16 8 1 and 176 2 converted into a fixed
bridge, since the construction o f the M arble bridge (3) had
already made passage impossible. O n the corner of Storm-
gade (5) and the canal w e have houses from the 1680s,
sligh tly modernized. Then the Prinsen and Plessen Houses
(7 and 8). In the background one can just make out a
powder m agazine on the C hristian sh avn side af the forti
fication (10).
120