Rosenborg Castle

Even though we have lived in Copenhagen, there are many places I haven't visited. This time I really wanted to see Glyptoteket and Rosenborg Castle. Well, I made it to one of them at least!

Nathan, Lucas and I went to have a look at the Renaissance castle Rosenborg one afternoon.

This castle is situated in the middle of Kongens Have, in the center of Copenhagen. It was originally build as a summerhouse for Christian IV 1606-1607 and was later changed, over the course of nearly 30 years it went through four stages of development to finally become in 1633 what it is today.
It was used as a royal residence until 1710 and opened to the public in 1838.

A selfie in one of the impressive mirrors in The Marble Room. The walls here are all covered by faux marble, which in the 17th century was more exclusive than real marble.

Christian IV's toilet, referred to as the 'secret'. There was three toilets in the palace, each with their own separate chute.
The Dutch blue and white tiles here were installed in connection with the refurbishment 1705.

 Many of the original tiles are still in place.

The Knights' Hall, completed in 1624, originally intended as a ballroom. However it has also been used for audiences and banquets. It is now decorated with woven tapestries memorialising the victories in the Scanian War of 1675-79.

To the left, the anointment throne, modelled on the throne of the Biblical King Solomon, and made out of narwhal tooth. To the right The Queen's throne, with the three silver lions in a protective stance in front.
The latter was only used from 1671-1840. Nowadays the transition of a new monarch is solely marked by the Prime Minister's proclamation from the balcony of Christiansborg Palace, the seat of the Parliament.

Nathan in The Mirror Cabinet. This room was commissioned by Christian V in the late 17th century, and a few decades later the parquet floor was laid. In here you could see yourself reflected in the ceiling, the walls and this oval mirror in the floor.
The interest in using mirror glass came from the Palace of Versailles. Many baroque palaces from this time would model cabinets on the Hall of the Mirrors.

The fireplace in Christian V's Hall, originally the living room of Christian IV's second wife Kirsten Munk.

I was very impressed by this double portrait, painted on a ribbed canvas in 1692. It depicts Frederik IV and his sister Princess Sophie Hedevig.

Another fascinating object was this birdcage in gilt bronze, that had both a clock, musical works and mechanical birds, made in Paris around 1780. It really shows that despite the growing fascination for nature during the late 18th century, there also remained a deep fascination with mechanical devices and imitation.

The Glass Cabinet, another impressive and quite unusual room. This was designed by Frederik IV during the end of the 17th century, when porcelain cabinets of this type were quite common. This is the only known glass cabinet, and it came to hold an exquisite glass collection the King had received from the city of Venice.

Time to go down into the basement!

There was a lot of things to see down there. Rosenborg in fact has a long museum tradition. The collection of riding trappings and parade arms of Christian IV were transferred here already 1658, followed by the King's heirlooms and precious items. During later reigns the Regalia were also transferred here, and collections of glass and porcelain as well as art collections.

The Rosenborg collection has around 700 objects in ivory and amber, the gold of the north. Some were gifts, some were bought and others were spoils of war.

This is Christian V's breastplate and helmet, made of gilt brass. This was used for carousel tournatments, where the participants competed to hit a variety of objects using a variety of weapons.
Hunting was another favourite past-time, reserved for royals and nobles. Christian V started the huge weapons collection, many made of precious materials.

In the Ole Rømer Room I found something I recognised! This is a set with a planetarium and an eclipsarium, made at the same time as the ones we presented at the museum during our Versailles exhibition, which were a gift for Louis XIV.

Finally, we reached The Treasury!

Regalia is Latin and can be translated to 'royal things'. These objects were used only once in a King's life, during the coronation. Today, the regalia are only used at the death of the monarch, while the coffin is placed in the 'castrum doloris' ceremony.

The Globus Cruciger, a golden globe decorated with a band of enamel and diamonds, topped by a diamond-studded cross. The cross represents Christ's dominion over the orb of the world. This was made for the coronation in 1648.

The Danish crown jewels are living cultural heritage. Today, four jewellery parures (the pearl-ruby set, the rose-cut diamond set, the brilliant set and the emerald set) designed as crown jewels are kept here at Rosenborg. According to custom, the crown jewels cannot leave the country and are only worn by the incumbent queen. They are the only crown jewels in the world that are both exhibited as museum objects and, at the same time, worn by the queen.

The emerald set is the only set to include a diadem, created in Germany in 1840 and inspired by the French crown jewels of the time, in a neoclassical style. The emeralds and diamonds were partly reused from an earlier jewellery collection together with reused items from other pieces, combined with newly purchased stones.

Just in April, the first official portrait of the new King Frederik X and Queen Mary was released, and she is there wearing these pieces for the first time.

Christian III's sword of state:

Christian IV's crown, made 1595-96 in gold with enamel, pearls and table-cut stones, weighing just under 3 kg. This crown was used for the last time at the coronation of Frederik III in 1648.

 
Christian V's crown, or The Crown of the Absolute Monarchs, made 1670-71. Total weight just over 2kg, made in gold with enamel and table-cut stones. Since the abolition of absolutism, the crown has only been used at the 'castrum doloris' or the deceased Kings.