S_BilledeborgenKøbenhavnsRådhus_1905-2005

On the front of the canopy cthe roses in Dana’s garden bloom and cthe spotless starling sings prettily while underneath the coat of arms of the city ‘lions are r ampan t and ‘hearts are on fire’ in the national coat of arms, thus proving the inspiration from many varions literary quotes.

(From A. Wassard’s memoirs »Det sode og det sure« from 1986)

COMPETITIONS AND CONTEMPORARY TASTE Qüaint and quirky designs At the time of construction and the period following it, it was the narrative element in the completeness of the City Hall that was weighed and discussed and evaluated, and not merely the apothegms and dates on the walls, bu t the entire narrative picture book of ornamentation and architectural details. Indeed, any monumental building can be considered a narrative, but the way the story is told differs immensely. This fact left its mark on the discussion of which project and which style were to win favour in the competition about who should be given the honour of solving the assignment of constructing the City Hall of Copenhagen, a major assignment by the standards of the time. Right from the beginning Martin Nyrop was quite certain as to the track he wanted to follow concerning the essential features of the internal dispositions and the proportions in relation to the surrounding city. The basic structure and form of the building were decided on almost from the very first draft. The smooth outer walls, the slanting roof and square merlons were rather unostentatious compared to other more elaborate suggestions. And where other competitors placed the tower in line with the middle of the front facing the square, or on the façade facing Tivoli, Nyrop’s tower was at a very early stage situated near the old town. This disposition was meant as a landmark for the modern times outside the old ramparts, with the City Hall Square as the future centre of activities for a coming range of Social-Democratic mayors and radical opinions from Politikens Hus across the square, the liberal national newspaper that functioned as the only real competitor to the conservative paper Berlingske Tidende. Internally Nyrop’s building was determined early on by the Banqueting Hall facing the square and the meeting rooms of the City Council being placed in the middle between the glass-roofed Main Hall and the garden court surrounded by four wings of offices. Consequently this led to criticism of the fact that the internal staircases lay far from the entrance and that the sketched Banqueting Hall became more elongated than was architecturally common. Titular Councillor of State Ferdinand Meldahl, Copenhagen architect and city planner, took the lead in the criticism of the City Hall. Both he and Nyrop were members of the Copenhagen City Council, and ultimately the fight was overall about a Conservative versus a Social Liberal ideology manifesting itself in

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