castles and palaces to see in Copenhagen Carnival Today I will talk about tourism, because it was long. As the post title suggests, I'll introduce you to the castles and palaces to see the city and its surroundings because it is looking to see what all the tourists. And since I'm nice, I've visited all for you, and I'll give you a brief run in a complete single post. Go!
start by the royal palace, Amalienborg Slot (*), winter residence of the royal couple. Almost at the water's edge, it consists of a set of four buildings on a square octagonal open to all winds. Its construction was completed in 1760, but was initially reserved for families of the aristocracy. The royal family moved there in 1794, after the fire of Christiansborg Palace.
Taking the boat for tourists
We see the dome of the Marmorkirke (Marble Church) in the background
As before all the royal palaces of the world, there are guards at the gates, running at fixed times a little ballet for the next generation. What is nice here is that there is no gate that blocks the view as London for example.
Here with their winter uniforms
More information here Amalienborg. continue our little tour by taking a look at Rosenborg Slot . I feel that it is a choke point for most tourists. It's actually a small castle of approval, amid a beautiful park with picnic appointed Kongens Have (the King's Garden).
It was built in 1606 to serve as a summer residence to King Christian IV. In the early eighteenth century it was abandoned by King Frederik IV, who was too small for him. From the early nineteenth century it was transformed into a museum and opened its collection of royal objects to the public. It's in his basement that you can go the Crown Jewels.
More information here Rosenborg. Let's finish our tour in Copenhagen by the palace of Christiansborg Slot on the island of Slotsholmen. I noticed it was otherwise quite neglected by visitors, damage, his visit is very interesting ... This is actually the building that houses all the powers at the same time (executive, legislative and judicial).
There are both government, the Prime Minister, the Parliament (Folketing ), and the Supreme Court ( Højesteret ). It's like if we brought together the Elysée, Matignon, the National Assembly, Senate and the Palais de Justice in Paris in the same building! Very revealing striking detail: the courtyard of the building is completely open day and night and no one stands guard. Think of the Elysee Palace where he is downright forbidden to walk on the sidewalk next to the palace ...
It occupies the site where Bishop Absalon
built his fort in the XIIth century, of which there are still some remains. In the latter succeeded Castle in Copenhagen, which was replaced in the eighteenth century by Christiansborg. But the present castle is actually the number three Christiansborg, the previous two having accidentally burned in 1794 and 1884.
Now, let us in and around Copenhagen. The castle's most famous corner is called "castle of Hamlet." In fact, his real name is Kronborg Slot , and it is Elsinore, a small fifty kilometers north of Copenhagen. His nickname comes from the fact that this is where Shakespeare placed the action of his famous play. Moreover, there still plays many parts of it.
Elsinore is located at the entrance to the Strait of the Sound, after a tip that is similar to Sweden. Opposite, we see the Swedish city of Helsingborg.
The guns you see are not there to threaten the Swedes
but to salute the passing of King
From this strategic position, the role of this castle was to monitor entry into the Sound and to collect customs duties on ships that transited. For that, it was a trick: the master should report the value of its cargo and the King had the right to purchase the declared value. It was therefore necessary to avoid declaring a value too low!
If you walk through the dungeons in the basement (with a flashlight is better), we can see the giant statue of Holger Danske, installed there to watch over Denmark. According to legend, if the country is threatened, he wakes up to defend him.
More information here Kronborg. But personally, I confess that I much preferred my visit to Frederiksborg Slot in Hillerød (40 km north-east of Copenhagen), because the castle is much grander. At least that is the fact that I saw a beautiful sunny winter day and snow ...
Its construction was completed in 1620. He of course served as royal residence. Unfortunately, it was also destroyed by a terrible fire in 1859. We raised money throughout the country to rebuild, and some years later, the beer industry JC Jacobsen proposed to transform the castle into a museum of Danish history and to self-insure the funding. Thus one can admire the characters since 1885 and key events in the history of the country.
More information here Frederiksborg. (*) super hard riddle: What does it mean " slot?
