History of Copenhagen - Absalon's Town

Absalon's Town

In the 12th century Copenhagen assumed increasing importance and the town was reinforced with earthworks. The Roman Catholic Church erected cathedrals in Roskilde and in Lund (in what is now Sweden), which laid the basis for further development in those regional centres. As Copenhagen was midway between the two cities, it was centrally located for traffic and trading.

The earliest written mention of the town dates back to the 12th century, when Saxo Grammaticus in Gesta Danorum refers to it as Portus Mercatorum, which translates into Merchants' Harbour or in the Danish of the time Købmannahavn. In a letter from 1186, Pope Urban III refers to the city as Hafn, but this is probably just a shortened version of the full name.

In around 1160, Valdemar I gave control of Copenhagen to Absalon, Bishop of Roskilde. Whereas other cities in the Danish realm were under the governance of the king, Copenhagen was given to the Bishop of Roskilde as its lord and master.

In the years that followed, the town grew tenfold in size. Churches and abbeys were founded. Copenhagen's economy blossomed as a result of the hugely prosperous herring fishery trade, which provided large parts of Roman Catholic Europe with salted herring for Lent.