In Copenhagen

After crossing the Danish islands, Samuel Kiechel arrived in Copenhagen. Regarding his experience travelling to Scandinavia during winter so far, he observed that it was much colder in Denmark than in his hometown of Ulm, Swabia, and he explained that the farther north one travelled, the colder it became.

Kiechel’s remarks on Copenhagen are typically brief. He noted that the city, which is the capital of the Kingdom of Denmark, is quite small and lacks fortifications. The Danish king resides there, but the palace could easily be mistaken for a fortress. Additionally, Copenhagen boasts a very deep harbour that can accommodate even large, heavily laden ships. At the time, Kiechel observed that all vessels in the harbour were trapped in the ice, and eight large ships belonging to the king were anchored close together near the palace.

Two views of Copenhagen are featured in volume four of the Civitates Orbis Terrarum. Both are profile views and appear on the same page. The first depicts Copenhagen from the land, with a farm, a few windmills, and two carriages in the foreground: a peasant’s cart leaving the city and the coach of a wealthy individual approaching Copenhagen.

Today, neither the Church of Our Lady nor the royal palace still exist. The church was destroyed by fire in the eighteenth century. The old palace was demolished and rebuilt several times. Today, the site is occupied by Christiansborg Palace, constructed in the early nineteenth century.

In the background of this view, behind the city’s silhouette, are the Øresund and, on the horizon, the coast of Scania. The Øresund is the easternmost of the three large straits connecting the Baltic to the North Sea. The other two are the Little and Great Belt, which our traveller had crossed in the previous days. The Øresund separates the Danish island of Zealand from the Swedish province of Scania.

While in Copenhagen, Kiechel heard that one winter had been so cold that the sea had frozen over, allowing people to travel across the ice in the Øresund to Malmö on the other side. He was astonished and wrote that it must have been very cold for the Sound to freeze over, as its waters are usually very rough.

The second view in the Civitates shows Copenhagen from the Øresund and the harbour. The narrow strips of land in the foreground are islands close to the coast that offer some protection to Copenhagen’s harbour from the sea. The city appears relatively small, just as Kiechel described. But its significance as a major trade centre is highlighted by numerous large ships either anchored or at sea. The palace and the Church of Our Lady are also visible.

An alternative view of Copenhagen from the early seventeenth century provides a more detailed depiction of the city. In this image, the harbour is in the foreground with the Øresund on the right — both filled with many ships. On the right, beside the water, is a shipyard. Meanwhile, on the far left side of the image stands the Arsenal of Copenhagen, built in 1604. Behind and to the right of the Arsenal is the palace, with the Church of Our Lady and other smaller churches situated in the background. Additionally, compared to the images in the Civitates and Kiechel’s comments, Copenhagen is now surrounded by a wall.

To Helsingør

Samuel Kiechel and his two new companions left Copenhagen around noon on 8 February 1586, riding north along the coast of the Øresund in the back of a cart. As they travelled, the freezing weather and strong northerly wind cut into their faces. Kiechel worried he might suffer frostbite on his nose or ears, a concern fueled by stories he had heard from his innkeeper in Copenhagen. The innkeeper recounted a winter journey from Bergen, Norway, when he travelled with fourteen others—only six returned with their ears intact, while the rest suffered frostbite from the cold and wind.

The travellers arrived in Helsingør, a town in the northeast of Zealand, in the evening. Kiechel wrote that Helsingør was a small, unfortified town by the sea. The sea was called the Sound (Øresund). Next to the town was Kronborg Castle. It had been built by the current king, Frederick II (1534-1588), and was fortified with mounted guns and garrisoned by many soldiers.

Views of Helsingør and the Øresund

A view of Helsingør is in volume five of the Civitates Orbis Terrarum. The town is depicted from the east with the Øresund in the foreground. Kronborg Castle appears on the right side of the image. Helsingør is positioned to its left and shown as a small town. Two churches are highlighted by their names. They are both labelled “Deutsche Kirch” (German Church), which is likely an error on the part of the mapmakers. The largest church in Helsingør is St. Olaf’s Church. The other, smaller church, marked as “Deutsche Kirch” on the map, might have been built by German merchants who settled in the town.

A bird’s-eye view of the entire Øresund from the west appears in volume four of the Civitates. Kronborg Castle is at the centre of the scene, highlighting its importance in regulating traffic through the Sound. In the waters surrounding Kronborg, more than forty large ships can be seen; many are anchored on both sides of the castle, likely stopping to pay the toll. Some gunfire is also seen: two ships are firing their cannons, along with a single shot from Kronborg. These shots could be gun salutes, or they might have been added to the view to demonstrate that Kronborg is not only strategically located but also heavily fortified.

Below Kronborg, to the right, is the town of Helsingør, and in the lower right corner of the map, a small section of Copenhagen (Hafniae pars). Across the Sound from Kronborg, the village and castle of Helsingborg are depicted. On the right side of Helsingborg (to the south), along the coast of the Sound, are the cities of Lund (Landeskron) and Malmö (Elbogen).

A depiction of Helsingborg is also included in the Civitates, but upon closer inspection, it is merely a cut-out from the Øresund view.