Origins

The city hall at Gammeltorv as it appeared after the rebuilding in 1610 as seen from Gammeltorv

Already prior to Absolon's construction of his castle on Slotsholmen, there seems to have been a marketplace at Gammeltorv, possibly also a Thing.^[1] Copenhagen's first town hall, of which practically nothing is known, was built on the east side of the square but later destroyed during Hanseatic capture and pillaging of the city in 1368. In 1374 the square is referred to as Forum and in 1446 the square is referred to as "the old square" as opposed to the somewhat younger Amagertorv. From 1470 the name Gammeltorv is used consistently.

In 1479 a new town hall was built on the southern side of Gammeltorv. Towards the end of the 16th century, King Frederick II provided for the construction of a water tube from Lake Emdrup. Six kilometres long, it was made from carved out tree trunks, and with an altitude difference of 9 metres the water pressure was high enough to erect Copenhagen's first fountain at Gammeltorv.

King Christian IV rebuilt the town hall in Renaissance style from 1608 to 1610. He also moved and redesigned Frederick II's fountain, creating the Caritas Well. It was also at this point that the area behind the town hall was cleared and Nytorv founded.^[2]

When Kongens Nytorv—King Christian V's grand new place royale—was established in 1670 and the area of the Copenhagen fortified was doubled, Gammeltorv lost its status as the focal square of the city.^[3]

Effects of the two fires

Gammeltorv with the Caritas Well and the new city hall, c. 1730, painting by Johannes Rach

Gammeltorv seen on Gedde's map of Copenhagen's Vestre Quarter

In the Great Fire of 1728, the town hall was among the many buildings lost to the flames. A new town hall was erected on its foundation, built to a design of Johan Conrad Ernst and Johan Cornelius Krieger in the Baroque style. To commemorate the tercentenary of the House of Oldenburg's accent to the Danish throne, the City Magistrate erected an octagonal memorial temple in the square in 1749.

In the Copenhagen Fire of 1795 the city hall burnt down once again. After this it was moved to a site at Nytorv and the two earlier squares were merged to form one large, rectangular space.^[4] After the fire the buildings around the square were mainly rebuilt in the Neoclassical style typical of the time.

The meat market

Chicken ladies at Gammeltorv, c. 1800

In spite of King Christian IV's refurbishments, Gammeltorv remained a crowded marketplace in the middle of an over-populated city which, away from the main streets, had not changed much since the Middle Ages.

After a royal decree on 28 July 1684 provided that all trade in fresh fruit and vegetables was to take place at Amagertorv,^[5] Gammeltorv had primarily been a meat market, mainly for trade in pork and poultry. The square was particularly known for its 'poultry ladies' who gathered around the Caritas Well, selling poultry and eggs.^[6] They came from the village of Valby unlike the vendours on Amagertorv who came from Amager.

Modern times

In 1901 a covered market hall was constructed in the Meat District, established by the City in 1879 to ensure ordered and hygienic handling of meat and livestock, but it was dedicated to trade in calf, sheep and lamb meat. After this the City's attention became directed at the trade at Gammeltorv and on 15 April 1910 a Pork Hall was inaugurated. From the same date all trade in pork meat was stopped at Gammeltorv while the poultry ladies were allowed to continue their activities by the Caritas Well until 1 April 1917.^[7]

Gammeltorv became increasingly dominated by cars and in the 1950s it turned into a car park. This was changed when the Strøget pedestrian zone was created starting in 1962.^[8]