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The Land of Royalty
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Amaleinborg Palace
Amaleinborg
Palace is the Queens residence. It is a four building palace with a large
cobblestone square in the middle. Each building is identical. On the picture to
the right you can see the building were the queen lives.
Built between 1749 and 1757 not originally intended as a Royal Palace, but to celebrate the 300th jubilee of the royal House of Oldenburg in 1749. Amalienborg has been the residence of the royal family since 1794 when Christiansborg Palace burned to the ground.
Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg Palace is situated on Slotsholmen and houses the Danish Parliament, the Supreme Court and the State Rooms. So this is really where Denmark is ruled. Here we also find the Royal Reception Rooms, the Royal Stables and Coaches, the Queen's Library, the audience chambers, the Sovereign in Council rooms and the Prime Minister's Office.
The palace is actually built on the ruins of two earlier castles; Absalon's Castle built in 1167, and Copenhagen Castle, demolished by Christian VI in 1730, and two other palaces by the name of Christiansborg. The first baroque-styled Christiansborg was completed in 1745 but burnt down 49 years later, and the second in French Empire style, completed in 1828, lasted a bit longer; 56 years.
The Christiansborg Palace we know today was designed by Thorvald Jørgensen in neo-Baroque style and built between 1907 and 1928. In the cellars below the present palace the remains from the Absalon and Copenhagen castles are open to the public.
Rosenborg Palace
Rosenborg
Palace was built by King Christian IV in 1606, as he wanted a small country
place close to town. To this day the exterior is intact without any changes. All
the different kings who have used the palace as their summer residense have made
their mark on the interior though. Each room represents a different time-period
and style, and they have been altered both in size and as far as decoration is
concerned.
In the beginning Rosenborg was only a modest two-storied house, but as King Christian IV continued to improve the building it grew until 1633 when he considered it done. As an old man, he retired to his loved palace to die.
Nowadays Rosenborg - with its surrounding wonderful park, Kongens Have - is totally surrounded by modern Copenhagen. The contrast is striking, and it feels like stepping into a fairytale when one enters the park and sees the beautiful palace.
Crown Jewels
A lot of visitors come to Rosenborg Palace to see the Crown Jewels in the basement and the thrones and treasures of the royal family (including silver, chinaware and paintings) from early 16th to 20th century.
