King Frederik V took the initiative for the building of an entirely new district complete with palaces for the nobility, bourgeois houses, a church and hospital - and quite appropriately, the fine new district was named after him.
Royal celebration
The backdrop to this grand project was a coincidence of fortunate circumstances: Denmark was in the throes of an economic boom, and important businesspeople wanted a new development close to the port with residential buildings, administration and storehouses. And last but not least: the king wanted to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the royal house of Oldenburg with a project that would attract attention.
Octagonal centre
The entire system of streets in Frederiksstaden is rectangular. The octagonal Amalienborg Palace Square constitutes the monumental centre. This is where the two main axes of the district - Amaliegade and Frederiksgade - cross.
Edging the octagonal square, which we know today as Amalienborg Palace Square, four nobleman's palaces were built, identical on the outside, but different inside.
Controlling the facades
The king's court architect, Nicolai Eigtved, was the architect for the entire project. He demanded highly rigid designs: all building heights, windows and cornices were to be aligned, and Eigtved himself was either to design or approve all building projects in order to ensure homogeneity.
Frederiksstaden is seen as a sublime climax in European city planning and architecture. Without comparison, it is the finest work of Danish rococo architecture and measures up to projects from the same period in cities such as Paris, Vienna and Berlin.
Jeppe Villadsen is a freelance journalist and editor of the magazine KBH.
Parti af vindue ved Amalien-borg Slotsplads
Foto: Jens Lindhe