Copenhagen's devastation nevertheless provided new opportunities. Architects and planners widened the streets, constructing beautifully designed Neoclassical buildings offering a brighter yet intimate look. At the time, with a population of only 100,000, the city was still quite small, built within the confines of the old ramparts. As a result, the leading figures of the day met frequently, sharing their ideas, bringing the arts and the sciences together. Henrik Steffens was perhaps the most effective proponent of the Romantic idea. In a series of lectures in Copenhagen, he successfully conveyed the ideas behind German romanticism to the Danes. Influential thinkers, such as Oehlenschläger and Grundtvig were quick to take up his views. It was not long before Danes from all branches of the arts and sciences were involved in a new era of Romantic nationalism, later known as the Danish Golden Age.