HISTORY
Rosenborg Castle is a renaissance castle located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The castle was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IV's many architectural projects. It was built in the Dutch Renaissance style, typical of Danish buildings during this period, and has been expanded several times, finally evolving into its present condition by the year 1624. Architects Bertel Lange and Hans van Steenwinckel the Younger are associated with the structural planning of the castle.
The castle was used by Danish regents as a royal residence until around 1710. After the reign of Frederik IV, Rosenborg was used as a royal residence only twice, and both these times were during emergencies. The first time was after Christiansborg Palace burned down in 1794, and the second time was during the British attack on Copenhagen in 1801.
ARCITECTURE
Christian IV’s Winter Room
The Winter Room is the best preserved room from the original Castle, and it was the most important of the King’s three private chambers. The bays are from 1758. In front of the bay to the right stood Christian IV’s mechanical arrangement for raising and lowering the drawbridge. Christian IV lay in state here and the exhibits are mostly from his time.
The rich panelling was made by Court cabinet-maker Gregor Greuss and were completed around 1620. The inlaid paintings were purchased in Antwerp and constitute a unique collection of art from the Netherlands, although most of the artists are unknown. The original stucco ceiling was replaced around 1770 with Pieter Isaacsz’ mythological paintings from the room above, including The Feast of the Gods and The Fall of the Giants.
A speaking tube connects the Winter Room to the Wine Cellar, to the room above and to the gable room at the opposite end of the Castle. Audio channels in the floor allowed the King and his astonished guests to hear music being played from the cellar vault.
Christian IV’s Writing Room
From this tower chamber, Christian IV is believed to have carried out his vast correspondence. The room has been preserved, more or less intact, since the time of Christian IV in the first half of the 17th century: the ceiling paintings with scenes from the Italian epic Orlando Furioso, the paintings inlaid in the panels, and the fireplace. However, the wall coverings of green silk printed with gold ornaments date from around 1700.
In the extension of the chamber, which is located behind the jib door in the north wall, Christian IV had a staircase which gave direct access to the basement. Frederik III later had the staircase replaced with a so-called ascenseur, or “ascending chair”, which was very fashionable at the time. The chair could be drawn to the first and the second floor, so the King did not have to climb the stairs himself.
The items exhibited in the Writing Room are mainly mementos of Christian IV, his closest family and his forefathers.
Christian IV’s Bedroom
King Christian IV died here on 28th February 1648. This and the two preceding rooms constituted the King’s private chambers, and from this one he had direct access to a toilet and a bathroom. During the reigns of Frederik III and Christian V it probably served as the shared bedroom of the Royal couple. The items displayed in the room belonged to Christian IV.
The wall panels and doors are from Christian IV’s time and originally had floral-painted framing. In the 1660’s Frederik III and Sophie Amalie, who were highly fashion-conscious, had the wall panels and doors painted in the “Chinese” style. The green lacquered panels bear gold line drawings, based on descriptions of China from the time and older Chinese novels.
The stucco ceiling dates from the 1630’s. The ceiling paintings depict the gods of the earth, the heavens and the oceans. Abraham Wuchters painted the central painting: Hera – made to resemble Sophie Amalie – and Zeus on Mount Olympus. The other two were painted by Isaac Isaacsz.
Christian IV’s Toilet
This room, formerly known as “The Secret”, is the lowest of three toilets, each with its own disposal chute. Originally it had a door in the wall to the left leading to the bathroom (where the Garden Room is now situated).
There was a water cistern in the room used for flushing. The drain led to the moat which surrounds the Palace. During drier periods it was difficult to get water circulation into the moat, resulting in an unpleasant smell from below.
The stucco ceiling dates from the time of Christian IV and was probably made by Valentin Dresler. The blue and white tiles on the walls were put up in connection with Frederik IV’s refurbishing of Rosenborg in 1705. The original tiles were Dutch and were delivered in 1706; some of them are still on the walls. Later – in the 19th century – they were supplemented with tiles originally made in 1736 for the Hermitage Palace in a factory in Store Kongensgade.
The Dark Room
This room was originally connected to the Stone Passage and served as an antechamber dividing the King’s apartments from those of the Queen at the south end of the palace. In 1616 the room lost direct daylight following the building of the Great Tower, where Christian IV installed his bathroom with running water. In 1705 it became the bedchamber of the King and Queen.
The stucco ceiling was made by Valentin Dresler from Schmalkalden in connection with the building of the room. The fireplace with mirror and the silk tapestries date from the reign of Frederik IV. The striped tapestries with scalloped pelmets and tassels were probably inspired by the designs of the Dutchman Daniel Marot for the decoration of the stately homes of the time.
The armchair, which dates from the 17th century, was ingeniously constructed to hold down a guest with the use of securing devices, concealed in the armrests. The strapped person could then be soaked by water running from vessels in the back of the chair through pipes in the seat. When the victim was released and stood up from the chair, a trumpet hidden in the seat would toot.
The Garden Room
The room was originally Christian IV’s bathroom, which was connected by a passage to the King’s toilet and bedroom. The bathroom was closed in 1705-1706 and converted into a room for Frederik IV and Queen Louise, in connection with their shared bedroom. The name “The Garden Room” was first used in Frederik IV’s time. It was called so because one could sit in the room and enjoy the view over the garden.
The stucco ceiling was made by Frederik Ehbisch and the painting by Bénoit le Coffre. The wooden floor with inlays and the marbled and painted panels are from 1707.
The objects in the Garden Room are from the days of Frederik IV and Queen Louise, who were the last royal couple to take residence at Rosenborg. The chairs and the table by the central window were parts of their original furnishing.
By request of Christian VI the southern window was in 1745 replaced by a door that gave direct access to the private garden.
The Marble Room
This room was originally the bedroom of Christian IV’s morganatic (left-hand) wife, Kirsten Munk.
In 1668 Frederik III had the room furnished in a pompous Baroque style to celebrate Absolutism, introduced eight years before. Most of the exhibited items are from the same period. The ceiling was given new stucco and the walls covered with imitation marble, which was at the time much more exclusive than real marble. The ceiling paintings show putti (small, chubby, angelic child figures) carrying the Regalia; in the heart-shaped areas surrounding the paintings, the parts of the Danish coat-of-arms are shown.
Christian V, whose monogram is on one of the doors, used the Marble Room when in 1671 he bestowed the Order of Dannebrog for the very first time. Among the recipients were Griffenfeld and Cort Adeler.
The Marble Room underwent a thorough restoration from 2006-7, carried out by experts from Denmark, Germany and Italy. This was made possible with support from The A.P. Møller og Hustru Chastine Mc-Kinney Møllers Foundation.
Christian V’s Hall
This was originally the living room of Christian IV’s morganatic (left-hand) wife, Kirsten Munk. During the reign of Frederik III, it became a part of the King’s suite as an antechamber to the Marble Room. The objects in this room are related to Christian V, who is seen on several portraits.
The fireplace is from Christian IV’s time. It was originally in Frederik IV’s room, but was moved here after a conversion around 1700. The ceiling also acquired its present appearance on this occasion. The central painting, showing an orchestra, is from the time of Christian IV. Bénoit le Coffre supposedly painted part of the outer frieze and the two pieces of the inner frieze with the dancing and playing children.
At the end of the 17th century the walls were covered with tapestries, made by M. Wauters and purchased by Christian V in the Netherlands.
The Stone Corridor
The long passage connecting the two large gable rooms on the ground floor, was originally divided in two. It can be seen that the stucco of the ceiling is different at the two ends of the passage; at the northern end it dates from the time of Christian IV.
Most of the items on display in the passage date from the time of Christian IV, whose pedigree is seen in the middle of the corridor. There are, however, also important exceptions, connected to his two successors, Frederik III and Christian V.
The stairway to the Stair Turret
The stairway houses portraits from the time of Christian V. Although the stair turret was built in 1633, this stairway was not built into it until 1758. The reason was that the spiral staircase was originally built between only the first and second storeys, while access to the first storey was via an outdoor double staircase, which was torn down when the spiral staircase was prolonged to the ground floor.
The Stair Turret
The stair turret was built in 1633 for the upcoming wedding of Christian, the Prince Elect. To begin with, a spiral staircase was built only between the first and the second floor, while access to the first floor was via an outer double staircase. The ground floor of the stair turret was instead used as a silver room, with access from the Stone Passage. This made sense, because the ground floor was private chambers, while the official rooms were upstairs.
The spiral staircase was enlarged in 1758, now reaching the ground floor. The outer staircase was demolished at the same time.
In the Stair Turret hangs equestrian pictures from 1691-1693 and some of Maria Sibylla Merian’s famous flower paintings.
Frederik IV’s Corridor
This corridor is situated on the first floor and connects the central room, The Rose, with the northern end of the Palace. The walls in the corridor are covered with gilt leather tapestries from Frederiksberg Palace.
Frederik IV’s corridor contains, as the name suggests, mainly exhibits and paintings which date from the time of Frederik IV, among them mementos from the Great Nordic War, 1709-1720, Denmark’s last great war with Sweden. Several items have connections to the Swedish King of the time, Charles XII, or his commander, Magnus Stenbock, who became a Danish prisoner of war during the conflict. Also the Russian Czar, Peter the Great, another of the great players of the Great Nordic War, is represented by several items.
The Princess’ Chamber
This tower chamber was originally Christian IV’s Golden Chamber and was decorated with floral designs on gilt wooden panelling. It was used for confidential interviews when the King held official receptions in the adjoining Audience Chamber.
Frederik III used the chamber for informal audiences with foreign diplomats, and in 1663-1665 he had it decorated with chinoiserie in lacquer set with turquoise and mother-of-pearl. It was executed by the Dutch artist Francis de Bray, and based on illustrated travel accounts and novels from China, Japanese lacquered boxes and decorative art. In 1716 the Chamber was restored by Christian van Bracht, and was then used by Princess Sophie Hedevig, sister of Frederik IV.
The chairs, writing and dressing table are examples of lacquered furniture made around 1730 in Canton according to “English” taste. However, two of the chairs are copies made in Copenhagen in the 1750’s. The chandelier is probably French and was rescued from the fire at Sophie Amalienborg Palace in 1689.
Frederik IV’s Hall
This room was originally one bay longer and was used as Christian IV’s Audience Chamber. A marble fireplace, now in the King’s Chamber, and ceiling paintings with mythological motifs, now in Christian IV’s Winter Garden , were among the room’s original decorations; on the walls were family portraits of the King’s family.
As part of a conversion in 1700, the room was shortened and furnished as an antechamber for Frederik IV’s sister, Princess Sophie Hedevig. During the conversion, the ceiling panels with painted emblems were put up; they were originally on the oldest ceiling of the Long Hall and possibly painted by Anders Nielsen in 1623. At the same conversion the walls were covered with tapestries woven in Oudenaarde in the Netherlands, in modern day Belgium.
The chandelier of rock crystal with arms of chiselled steel was probably made in Vienna by Anton Matthias Joseph Domanöck. It was a present from the Austrian Empress Maria Theresia. From 1754 to 1794 it hung in the King’s Audience Chamber at Christiansborg Palace.
A Entry to the Treasury
A door in the stair tower, located at the centre of the northeasterne facade, gives access to the north part of Rosenborg’s cellar, which was added when the building was extended in 1613-17. Originally it consisted of a vaulted hall with four central sandstone pillars, but later it was divided up into the present three main rooms, when Christian V had the Royal Archives, the forerunner of the State Archives, brought together at Rosenborg in 1681. In these archives the various treaties with foreign powers were kept, along with other confidential documents. In 1720 the archives were moved to larger premises, and after the demolition of Copenhagen Castle in 1731 the royal wine-cellar was moved to Rosenborg’s cellar.
Ivory and amber
In the cellar room furthest to the north about half of Rosenborg’s 700 or so artefacts made of ivory and amber are displayed. They range in date from 1585 to1850. Some are gifts from foreign princes in return for white hunting falcons from Iceland and horses from Denmark. Some were bought in Nuremberg and Augsburg, the south German centres for luxury goods. Others are war booty from Gottorp Castle, the residence of the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein, which was emptied in 1713.
Most of these objects were made in the 18th century, however, and this is unique among European princely collections. From the time of Frederik II until that of Frederik V all the successive kings of Denmark-Norway employed turners and carvers, several of whom belonged to the international elite.
Many of these court artists had the special responsibility of teaching members of the royal family the art of turning. It was thought that work with the lathe encouraged the pupil’s interest in mathematics and mechanics and fostered patience and planning-ability – valuable qualities for a future monarch. In Denmark this activity culminated in around 1750.
Amber was often made into objects for religious use in the Catholic era – e.g. rosaries. After the Reformation it was used for secular purposes such as caskets, objects for the table and chandeliers for princely curiosity cabinets. In around 1720 amber was supplanted by the new European porcelain, which became the latest fashion at most of the courts. Not in Copenhagen, however; here amber, “the gold of the North” kept its status.
The Rosenborg Wine
The Rosenborg wine is served at the Queen’s New Year banquet and for special occasions in the royal household. At the present rate of annual consumption there is sufficient wine for at least another 300 years.
According to tradition the wine originally came from the German Rhine area, from Bacharach. The wine was formerly kept in wooden barrels, the three oldest of which, from 1598, 1599 and 1615, once belonged to Christian IV’s mother, Dowager Queen Sophie, and were kept in Nykøbing Castle. In 1659 these barrels were taken as war booty by the Swedes, but after they had been loaded onto ships for transport to Stockholm the wine was re-conquered by a Danish privateering ship.
The Green Cabinet
The Green Cabinet, which is today the name of the former Palace kitchen in the basement, was originally the name of a small room next to the Old Regalia Room. In that room, a collection of handicrafts, miniature portraits and parade arms founded by Frederik III was kept.
The collection in the “new” Green Cabinet dates from c. 1200 to 1718 and can be said to represent an important part of what was left of the Royal heritage after the Reformation in 1536 and the defeats of the Thirty Years’ War and the Swedish Wars in the 17th century. Most exhibits are princely presents and come from the personal collections of the Royals.
The items were arranged according to a combination of material and function, and the exhibition was structured to symmetrical principles, which placed the largest and the most noble item at the centre. This principle of exhibition is still used in the way that the exhibits are displayed today.
The Treasury
The Treasury in the castle basement was opened to the public in 1975. The raw concrete room was designed by the architect Peter Koch. The room, which houses most of Rosenborg’s most valuable treasures, is divided into three sections.
Among the treasures in the first section is Christian III’s State Sword. The Sword was among the regalia used at coronations before the introduction of Absolutism; it was used for the last time at the coronation of Frederik III in 1648. Also displayed are the earliest specimens of the Order of the Elephant, Christian IV’s Order of the Garter and other exhibits, mostly dating from the time of Christian IV.
One of the outstanding items in section 1 is the Oldenburg Horn. It is said that it was given to Count Otto, the first member of the House of Oldenburg, while hunting in 989 by a mysterious young girl. She wanted him to drink from it but he poured out the drink and took the horn with him. However, the horn was not made until around 1400, though that does not make the story any worse.
The most important item in the second section of the Treasury is Christian IV’s Crown, made for the coronation in 1596. At the time, fashion actually prescribed closed crowns. The fact that Christian received an old-fashioned open crown was probably because it was meant to symbolize the fact that he was the heir to the united Nordic countries, which Denmark had lead earlier. Nordic kings wore open crowns.
In the same section the baptismal set with with basin, pitcher and candlesticks, still used at christenings in the Royal House, can be seen. Until 1796 the names of the child and the father together with the time of birth were engraved, first underneath the basin, later on the attached plate.
The King’s private copy of the Royal Statutes, the constitution of the absolutist monarchy, is also displayed here. Among the stranger exhibits is a silver box containing Frederik III’s unbroken fetal membrane, or caul, thought to bring him luck. The same idea was behind the eight silver boxes containing the umbilical cords of his children; they supposedly protected against disease.
In the last section of the Treasury many of Rosenborg’s main attractions are on display, especially the Crown Jewels, the Crown Regalia, the Crown of the Absolutist Kings and the Queens’ Crown.
The collection of Crown Jewels for use by the reigning Queen was established with the will of Queen Sophie Magdalene in 1746 and subsequently enlarged through gifts from later queens and princesses. For the last coronation of the absolute monarchy in 1840, Queen Caroline Amalie had the main part of the Crown Jewels put together in four sets consisting of, for example, tiara, necklace, brooch and earrings.
The Crown Regalia in section 3 includes Sceptre, Orb, Anointing Rapier and Ampulla, all made in gold and jewels. Originally there were more Danish regalia, but some were sold by Christian II in 1523 and others by Christian IV in the 1620’s. The most important Regalia is the Crown of the Absolutist Kings. Unlike Christian IV’s old-fashioned open crown, this crown is closed. The large sapphire in front can be traced back to Frederik I.
CURRENT SITUATION
The castle is open to the public for tours and houses a museum exhibiting the Royal Collections, artifacts spanning a breadth of royal Danish culture, from the late 16th century of Christian IV to the 19th century. Some of these articles once belonged to the nobility and the aristocracy. The castle, now state property, was opened to the public in 1838.
Of special interest to tourists is a treasury displaying the Crown Jewels and the Danish Crown Regalia located in the castle. A Coronation Carpet is also stored there. The Throne Chair of Denmark is located in the castle. In the summer time, flowers bloom in front of the castle in the castle garden.
