On our last day in Copenhagen, we decided to visit Rosenborg Slot and have a good long walk around some neighbourhoods to get a sense of Copenhagen beyond the attractions. We have had a wonderful week here and have really enjoyed the laid back feeling that we see in the lifestyles and attitudes of the local residents. Copenhagen has a large number of parks and recreation areas, people use bikes to get around and the high quality of museums, galleries and attractions keep one as busy as you want to be. And who can't love a city with Tivoli at its centre?
Visually Copenhagen is a wonder. They have wisely allowed the historical buildings to shine and have not allowed modern buildings to dominate the skyline. We saw interesting modern Danish architecture that seamlessly fits in to and compliments the old.
Rosenborg Slot is part of a large city block - the water filled moat remains a dramatic feature, the historic castle gardens are beautiful and Kongens Have (The King's Garden), the city's oldest park provides a lovely and well used graceful surrounding to this extraordinary castle.
King Christian IV built Rosenborg Slot (Castle) in 1606-34 as a summer castle. Much of this Dutch Renaissance style castle was designed by the king himself. Three generations of kings lived at the castle until Frederiksberg Castle was built in 1710. From then on the castle was used only for occasional visits. It also became a storehouse where regalia, royal heirlooms and thrones were kept. We keenly felt the depth of history in Denmark compared to Canada, when we read that Rosenborg was first opened as a museum in 1838...Canada wasn't even a country at that point! When we arrived at the castle all of the information sheets in English describing the artifacts at the museum were unavailable. This turned out to be a fortunate thing as it led to some wonderful conversations with the museum staff. Typically, we find that Danish people are initially understated and reserved (much like Canadians), but when we asked them about the rooms and the contents, each of them became our personal tour guide and gave us the gift of interesting anecdotes and trivia that we would never have known.
One of two guards keeping watch over the Rosenborg Castle and the Crown Jewels
One of the upper floor receiving rooms - the roof is original and the walls are covered in Flemish tapestries. The tapestries were more than decoration: they helped to insulate the walls.
A truly unique painting - the accordion profile creates a painting with two images - from the left you see the prince and from the right, the princess. It is most disconcerting to look at it straight on.
Bathroom humour is alive and well in the 17th century. This chair has plumbing to make the person sitting on it wet, and mechanisms to make socially inappropriate sounds when sat upon.
The Long Hall with Royal thrones at each end - notable are the tapestries made in Copenhagen depicting the bttles from the Scanian War of 1675-79. All other tapestries originate in Holland. The ceiling's images reflect political events of the time.
Beer steins made of silver and ivory - an opulent time. That being said, the king was in financial trouble due to the costly decades of war defending Denmark from the Swedes, as well as his work building the Stock Exchange and many other buildings that remain today.
6 months ago