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Denmark’s Largest Square 

Køge Square was established in the 13th century and, with its nearly 10,000 m², it is the largest provincial square in Denmark. In the 1200s, you would have been standing 1.65 metres lower. Over the centuries, the square slowly rose, layer by layer – built up by everyday life: dirt, waste, and the absence of sanitation.

The town’s founder, King Erik Menved, granted Køge market town rights in 1288 in an attempt to attract trade. Merchants from near and far primarily traded on the Swedish side of the Øresund, but the king lured citizens to settle in Køge by offering four years of tax exemption.

Market days Wednesday and Saturday

Køge’s natural centre

The square has always been Køge’s natural centre. Here, people traded, shouted, haggled over prices, and sold livestock, grain, fish, and schnapps. And the tradition lives on: every Wednesday and Saturday, the square is still filled with market traders and locals – just as it was 800 years ago.

Around 1824, the paving of the square was completed with the help of voluntary labour from the town’s citizens and surrounding farmers, as the municipal treasury was empty after the state bankruptcy in 1813. The open gutters were filled with around 1,000 loads of gravel, donated by Gammel Kjøgegaard. On Saturday, June 5th, 1869, around 10,000 people took part in a Constitution Day celebration here on the square to unveil a monument to the giver of the constitution, King Frederik VII. 

Experience more stories from Køge

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The statue on the square
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Denmark’s oldest functioning town hall
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From merchant’s house to museum