page_title: Gråbrødretorv
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Gråbrødretorv / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Daguerreotype of Ulfeldts Plads in Copenhagen, Denmark, taken by Peter Faber, the poet and telegraphy specialist. Dated July 1840, it is said to be Denmark's first photograph.
context_page_description: Gråbrødretorv is a public square in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark, just off the pedestrian street Strøget.
context_section_description: Gråbrødretorv (Greyfriars Square) takes its name from a Franciscan friary, which was established at the site in 1238. The friary consisted at its height of a church, a refectory, a great hall which was used on many occasions for important state meetings and meetings of the provincial which governed Franciscan monasteries in Denmark. The friary was dissolved in 1530 but the church tower was a visible part of the city skyline as late as 1596. The huge cellars of the friary became the town jail and eventually the church itself was converted to a prison. In 1621 Christian IV added an orphanage and recommissioned the church as a house of worship, though it was called the "Prison Church".
  In the middle of the 17th century, Corfitz Ulfeldt built a mansion at the site and the square became known as Ulfeldts Plads (English: Ulfeldt's Square). The mansion was demolished after his impeachment in 1663 and the subsequent confiscation of his property. Instead a pillar of shame was erected in the square to his disgrace, intended for people to spit on when passing it by.
  At the Copenhagen Fire of 1728  practically all buildings around the square were destroyed. The area was rebuilt, but after the British bombardment of the city during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1807 it saw new devastation but was once again rebuilt.
  In 1841 the square received its current name. A market building with room for 20 butchers' stalls was erected in the square in 1852. It was built in cast iron from Frederiksværk. The building was removed in 1901.
  For many years most of the square was occupied by a bunker surrounded by parking spaces.  On 7 June 1968 it became car-free as part of first expansion of the pedestrian zone around Strøget; a number of air raid shelters left over from World War II were removed, as well as parking places. According to architects Jan Gehl and Lars Gemzøe the square was not initially very popular, but gradually became more and more popular, especially among students from the nearby University of Copenhagen. By the 1980s the square "was crowded almost beyond capacity throughout the outdoor season," although it has lost some of its  popularity in recent years and is a comparably peaceful place now.
caption: Picture of Gråbrødretorv (then called Ulfeldts Plads) in 1840
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