Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen

You're standing on Kongens Nytorv, the King's New Square, the largest square in Copenhagen. Behind you, the shopping street Strøget comes to an end, and across the way Nyhavn begins. Hard to picture now, but this was once a mud pit. Under King Frederik III it was full of leftover city ramparts and piles of garbage. When it rained, you could barely get through. Locals jokingly called it Hallandsåsen, after a ridge travellers had to struggle across on the way to Halland.