Frederik @ 350th anniversary of historical military office

Today Crown Prince Frederik has attended the 350th anniversary celebration of the establishment of the office of the Commandant of Copenhagen ("Kommandanten i København") at Børsen in Copenhagen.

The Commandant of Copenhagen is in charge of the garrisons in Copenhagen and is also in charge of Copenhagen Fortress. Historically the commandant was therefore was also responsible for the defence of Copenhagen, an especially important post when the King was not in town. The last time a commandant acted on his own was in 1807. Contrary to his orders, the then commandant surrendered Copenhagen to the British after the city had been bombarded for three nights. The Danish fleet was also handed over, again in violation of his orders. The commandant subsequently narrowly avoided being executed for treason. (thanks for the explanation and historical note Muhler!)



Read the latest about this piece of history in this book: Defying Napoleon by Dr Thomas Munch-Petersen of the Department of Scandinavian Studies, University College London
Napoleon duped the British over Copenhagen - press release about Dr Thomas Munch-Petersen's book Defying Napoleon
The Wikipedia version 'Battle of Copenhagen (1807)'