The city of Copenhagen was initially founded by Bishop Absalom in 1160. At the time, Absalom was a counselor for the then-king of Denmark, King Valdemar I. Absalom was tasked by his liege to build a city on Zealand's east coast to help protect trade on the Sound. Originally, Copenhagen was a fishing village and a small fortress was built to protect the city from 1160 to 1167. The castle was attacked and demolished in 1369 by the German Hanseatic League, but the remains of the castle can still be seen under the foundations of today's Christiansborg Palace.Thanks to its position and advantageous harbor, Copenhagen grew extremely quickly throughout much of the 12th century. It grew so large that in 1254 Bishop Jakob Erlandsen gave Copenhagen a charter, allowing it to upgrade its status to that of a city. In 1417, King Eric of Pomerania, the then-current ruler of Denmark, moved into a new castle built on the ruins of Absalom's Castle. The city replaced Roskilde as the capital of Denmark in 1443, partially because of its centrally located position, making it a great trading port as well as a strong military and political center.