City Hall Square (Radhuspladsen), Copenhagen

City Hall Square (Rådhuspladsen), situated in the heart of the Danish capital, fronts the striking Copenhagen City Hall. As a prime venue for a myriad of events taking place in the city, this is a favored gathering spot for street performers and international folk visiting the capital. The square is notably used as a reference point for measuring distances from Copenhagen much as for many miles of beautiful pedestrian streets within the city. Just as in so many other places throughout Denmark, English is spoken here widely and, surprisingly so, often of better quality than you would hear in many English-speaking destinations.

The square's historical relevance dates back to the times when it was a hay market and housed the Western Gate of the city's fortifications. Back then, the area was overcrowded (housing as many as 150,000 people), which quite naturally led to hygiene problems. So, eventually, the walls had to come down.

Following the removal of fortifications in the 1850s, the area transitioned into an exhibition space. The late 19th century brought further transformative changes with plans to construct a new city hall, thus turning the square into a significant urban space. Subsequent redesigns in 1996 and more recently, in 2010, with the introduction of a metro station, enhanced its utility and accessibility.

Today, the square hosts, among other attractions, significant buildings like Politiken's House, home to the national newspaper 'Politiken', and the rather peculiar Dansk Industri building containing a showroom for green technologies (the House of Green), plus a series of two-story flagship stores and restaurants on the adjacent Vesterbro Street. Also nearby is the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Copenhagen's only skyscraper, built in 1960 as the world's first design hotel that focuses on visual appearance such as architecture, interior decor, or aesthetics style.

Among the artistic highlights in the square are the Dragon Fountain, installed in 1904, depicting a mythical battle between a bull and a dragon, and the Weather Girl sculpture, perched atop the Richs Building, which provides a whimsical weather forecast. Other notable additions to the square's cultural landscape include the statue of Hans Christian Andersen, the most popular Danish writer, and the bronze depiction of Lur Blowers mounted atop a tall terracotta column. The latter was a gift to the city from the Carlsberg Foundation on the occasion of the centenary of its founder, Jacob Christian Jacobsen.

In addition to being a dynamic venue for public expression, the square is surrounded by multiple bars and nightclubs and serves as a central transportation hub, continuing its legacy as a pivotal city landmark.