King's New Square

King's New Square

Introduction: King's New Square serves as the gateway to the famous pedestrian street. This ancient square was built in the 17th century. The equestrian statue of King Christian V in the center of the square is its iconic landmark, erected in 1688 and known as the "King's Horse." The square is home to several notable buildings in Baroque architectural style, such as the Royal Theatre (the Royal Theatre), the Royal Academy of Arts (the Royal Academy of Arts), and more. The master of fairy tales, Hans Christian Andersen, had a close connection with King's New Square. In his youth, he once lived at No. 6 Vingårdsstræde on the square. Later, he rented several rooms for an extended period at the "Hotel du Nord" located on Vingårdsstræde. Eventually, Andersen also rented two rooms at No. 17 with a photographer. As a result, there are multiple former residences of Andersen in this square, making it easy to imagine that it was here that he created many of his beloved fairy tales. The square also features a Parisian-style building, which is a well-known department store with over 100 years of history—Magasin. The street to the south of the mall is Vingårdsstræde ("Vineyard Street"). At No. 6 on this street stands a very interesting house. The main structure is the "King Hans’ Wine Cellar," built in the Middle Ages and owned by the Danish royal family. The basement of this building houses one of Denmark’s finest restaurants, Restaurant King Hans. The Royal Theatre was built around 1870, where the renowned Royal Danish Ballet performs. At the entrance of the Royal Theatre, there are two sculptures: on the left is the Romantic poet Adam Oehlenschläger (1779–1850), known for his nationalistic poetry and Romantic tragedies, and on the right is the playwright Ludvig Holberg (1684–1754), whose comedies and satires remain popular with audiences today. The building of the Royal Academy of Arts was formerly Charlottenborg Palace, which was once the residence of Queen Charlotte Amalie, the wife of King Christian V. It is a Dutch Baroque building dating back to the 1670s. Today, within this oldest building on the square, future dancers, sculptors, and architects are being nurtured. To the north of Charlottenborg Palace lies the man-made canal, Nyhavn (New Port), and to its south is a cluster of urban buildings constructed in the late 18th century.

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