OLD & NEW SQUARE (GAMMELTORV & NYTORV)
Place to find a large fountain designed by a German sculptor, depicting a woman carrying a child in her arms.
Frederiksberggade, the first stretch of Strøget from Rådhuspladsen, leads to these two vast squares.
On the left, Gammeltorv (the Old Square), was the first square built in the city. It has always served as a gathering place. At its center, the large fountain, named Caritas (1610), depicts a young woman carrying a child in her arms. This rare example of a Renaissance fountain in Denmark was designed by a German sculptor named Statius Otto. Good to know: on the birthday of a member of the royal family, a golden apple floats above the fountain jet. Rue Nørregade leads to Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Latin Quarter.
On the right, Nytorv (the New Square) is home to Domhuset, Copenhagen's former town hall, now the courthouse. Built of ashlar in 1815 by C. F. Hansen in a rather severe neoclassical style, it features a colonnaded façade surmounted by the inscription Med Lov skal man Land bygge , meaning "By the laws, the country must be built". A little anecdote: note the side balcony that spans an alley to the left of the building. This served as a passageway for convicts returning to their gaols. A Scandinavian version of the Bridge of Sighs! Ironically, as the prison is no longer in use, it is the magistrates who now occupy the cells, which have been converted into offices.
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