Classicism

In the second half of the 18th century, European architecture underwent a significant change. Rococo, which had dominated the preceding decades with its playful and decorative style, quickly came to be seen as outdated. A new style emerged instead: classicism.

Classicism was inspired by the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome. Clear forms, columns, and triangular pediments were reinterpreted and adapted for a new era stretching from the mid-18th century into the 19th. In Denmark, the period began around 1754 with the founding of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, lasting until about 1856.

Where Romanticism of the same period explored mystery, emotion, and fantasy, classicism focused on simplicity, order, and structure. It became a style that both reflected and supported a society in transition.

Antiquity reinterpreted

Classical architecture is recognizable by its simple, stringent forms. Squares, triangles, and circles formed the basic elements, while triangular pediments and columns – directly inspired by ancient temples – often adorned buildings.

The architectural expression was meant to be clear and harmonious. Buildings were constructed in symmetrical compositions with straight lines and balanced proportions. Where baroque and rococo favored ornamentation and movement, classicism emphasized simplicity and rationality.

Columns, arches, and pediments were reintroduced, but without excessive decoration. The ideal was an architecture that in itself radiated dignity and grandeur.

The bourgeoisie and new building types

In the 18th century, a new social class arose in Europe: the bourgeoisie. Merchants, officials, and other wealthy townspeople no longer wished to remain in the shadow of nobility and church. They wanted influence, playing an increasing role in the political reforms that slowly paved the way for democracy.

This social change left clear marks on architecture. Where churches and palaces had once dominated, a wide range of new building types appeared – reflecting the values and needs of the bourgeoisie for shared institutions and gathering places.

New institutions in the cityscape

For the bourgeoisie, reason and knowledge were central values. As a result, educational institutions gained prominence. Schools and universities multiplied, and new frameworks for learning and cultural development were created.

Libraries, theaters, and museums were built as places where citizens could unite around shared values and experiences. State and municipal institutions such as town halls and courthouses also gained importance, marking that power no longer resided solely with the king and nobility but also with the people.

Architecture had to reflect this shift. A courthouse should express seriousness and justice, while civic houses signaled dignity and social responsibility. Even banks and stock exchanges adopted columns and pediments so they could appear as monumental as temples.

A new architectural language

The many new institutions required a design language distinct from past grandeur. The lavish decorations of the baroque were tied to monarchy, nobility, and church, and therefore unsuited for the new age.

Instead, inspiration came from antiquity. Classical forms were revived but adapted to bourgeois values. The key ideals were clarity, simplicity, symmetry, and balance. The result was an architecture that appeared both elevated and rational.

The clean forms also reflected function: a courthouse should convey law and order without superfluous ornament, and private homes for wealthy citizens demonstrated the rise of society’s new powerholders. Public buildings took on a monumental character that could rival – and sometimes surpass – the churches and palaces of the era.

The Academy and the French architects

The founding of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1754 marked the beginning of classicism’s breakthrough in Denmark. Its first director was Nicolai Eigtved, but soon after, the Frenchman Jacques-François-Joseph Saly took over.

Another Frenchman, Nicolas-Henri Jardin, arrived in Copenhagen in 1755. He quickly became a professor at the Academy and later royal architect. Strongly inspired by French classicism, Jardin left a lasting imprint on his students.

Over the next hundred years, classicism came to dominate Danish architecture. Copenhagen in particular was transformed, taking on the classical character around 1800 that still shapes many of its streets and squares today.

Jardin’s influence and Harsdorff’s breakthrough

Jardin became an important figure in Danish architecture, not only through works such as Bernstorff Palace in Gentofte but also through his students. The most significant was Christian Frederik Harsdorff, who would later leave a defining mark on Copenhagen.

Jardin’s influence spread beyond the capital, too. His ideas were carried on by provincial builders, making classicism a nationwide phenomenon.

Harsdorff’s House as a model

In the years before 1800, few large-scale works were built in Denmark. Instead, a tradition of smaller houses grew – a field in which Harsdorff played a central role.

In 1766, he became a professor at the Academy. His position came with housing at Charlottenborg, but King Frederik V instead offered him an adjacent plot free of charge – on condition that he build a house to serve as a model for bourgeois residences in Copenhagen.

Between 1779 and 1780, Harsdorff built Harsdorff’s House. The building became a full-scale model of classical ideals. With three facades on an irregular site, it combined modest bourgeois elements with monumental features.

The outer facades were plain and restrained, while the central section stood out with pilasters and a temple pediment. The house became a prototype, inspiring hundreds of new buildings during Copenhagen’s extensive rebuilding in the early 1800s.

C. F. Hansen and the monumental works

After the Great Fire of 1795 and the British bombardment of 1807, there was a great need for new monumental buildings. This task fell to architect C. F. Hansen.

While Harsdorff drew on Greek architecture, Hansen also looked to Roman models. He favored simple, powerful forms and expansive wall surfaces, with a few carefully chosen details creating dramatic effects of light and shadow.

His most significant works in Copenhagen include the Courthouse and City Hall, the Chapel at Christiansborg Palace, and Our Lady’s Church. All demonstrate his mastery of strict simplicity and monumental impact.

The Courthouse and City Hall at Nytorv

The 1795 fire also destroyed Copenhagen’s town hall, which had stood on Strøget, dividing Gammeltorv and Nytorv. It was decided to combine the town hall, courthouse, and jail in a single building at Nytorv.

With C. F. Hansen as architect, plans were approved in 1803, and the building was completed in 1815. It is a clear example of classical design. The central section is monumental with a colonnade, while the sides are simple and strictly formed.

The facade is almost bare, with few windows placed in regular rhythm. The entrance is set back behind the columns in a loggia, emphasizing the seriousness of the building’s function. The Courthouse expresses calm, dignity, and a sense of justice – precisely the values meant to define the bourgeois society.

New townhouses in Copenhagen

The post-fire rebuilding brought a new type of townhouse. For safety, several new regulations were introduced. One banned timber framing on street-facing facades in multi-story houses. Another required “cut” corners. In the narrow medieval streets, fire brigades had struggled with sharp corners, so trimming them eased access and gave buildings a distinctive look still seen in Copenhagen today.

Economic hardship in the early 1800s also shaped the new houses. Facades were built simple and regular, without lavish decoration. This austerity matched the classical ideals of simplicity, order, and functionality. The result was a harmonious cityscape that still characterizes Copenhagen.

Late Classicism and Thorvaldsen’s Museum

In the early 19th century, it was discovered that ancient buildings had not stood in bare white marble but had been painted in vivid colors. This knowledge sparked a new phase: late classicism.

A key work of this period is Thorvaldsen’s Museum in Copenhagen, designed by Gottlieb Bindesbøll and built between 1839 and 1848. One of the first museums in the world dedicated to a single artist, it housed the sculptures and collections of Bertel Thorvaldsen.

The museum differs greatly from Hansen’s works. Bindesbøll combined clear, simple lines with bold colors. A painted frieze by Jørgen Sonne, depicting Thorvaldsen’s return from Italy, encircles the entire building. Thorvaldsen’s Museum thus marked both the breakthrough of late classicism and a new understanding of antiquity’s expression.

Classicism in the provinces

While Copenhagen underwent major transformation in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, provincial towns changed more slowly. Some, however, prospered, and this was reflected in their architecture.

Slotsgade in Møgeltønder remains one of the finest examples. Here stand rows of long, brick-built houses with large thatched roofs and elegant details, some dating back to the 1730s.

In the 19th century, changes spread. Thatched roofs were banned in many market towns for fire safety reasons, replaced by one- or two-story brick houses with plastered facades and tile roofs. The result was more uniform streetscapes, visible in towns like Bogense, Nibe, Sæby, and Kerteminde – giving the provinces a classical look, though in simpler, plainer form than in the capital.

The legacy of classicism

Classicism left a deep mark on Danish architecture. It transformed both Copenhagen’s monumental buildings and the more modest townhouses of the provinces. Its ideals reflected a society in which the bourgeoisie emerged as a new power.

Buildings were created with clear purposes: the courthouse to express justice, the museum enlightenment, and the home dignity. Architecture became a mirror of the values that carried society forward.

From the Academy’s founding and Jardin’s teaching to Harsdorff’s models, Hansen’s monuments, and Bindesbøll’s colorful museum, classicism shaped Denmark. To this day, walking through Copenhagen’s streets or visiting old provincial houses, one still encounters its legacy in the rhythm of facades, the clarity of lines, and the harmony of the urban fabric.