The history of Frederiksberg goes back to 2 June 1651 when King Frederik III gave 20 Danish-Dutch peasants the rights to settle at Allégade (from the words allé (tree-lined street) and gade (street)), and founded the town then named "Ny Amager" (New Amager) or "Ny Hollænderby" (New Dutchman-town).

This meant that the peasants were unable to pay taxes, and the land reverted to the crown by Frederik III's son Christian V. In 1700–1703, King Frederik IV built a palace on top of the hill known as Valby Bakke (bakke = hill).

During the summer, rooms were offered for rent, and restaurants served food to the people of Copenhagen who had left the cramped city for the open land, and to be near the royals.

In 1852, Parliament removed restrictions which prohibited permanent construction outside Copenhagen's city walls.

Frederiksberg is thus effectively a municipal island within the country's capital – a unique phenomenon in present-day Europe.

Other than administratively, however, it is largely indistinguishable in character from the districts of Copenhagen city which surround it.

[3] Frederiksberg has several stations on the Copenhagen Metro system, and is home to the tallest residential structure in Denmark and the second tallest residential building in Scandinavia: the 102-metre high Domus Vista.

The Lycée Français Prins Henrik, a French international school, is in Frederiksberg.