Travel
Frederiksborg Castle
11/08/2018
We planned to spend an afternoon together and experience something beautiful at the same time. Driving to one of the castles in the northern part of Copenhagen sounded like a great idea for a brief family escape, but we had a surprise. Arrived to Frederiksborg Castle just two hours before closing time, we have discovered that this place it too beautiful to be rushed through and deserves a proper visit.
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Frederiksborg Castle was build in the fist decades of the 17th century. It was the danish King, "Frederik II's son, Christian IV was born at Frederiksborg Castle in 1577 and was deeply attached to it. In 1599 he instigated extensive restoration work in the course of which the old main buildings were pulled down and replaced by a magnificent new Renaissance castle." Back then it was used as a royal residence, but then severely damaged by fire in December 1859, it was seen as an important part of the history. The founder of the Carlsberg Breweries, J.C. Jacobsen proposed to renovate it and establish it as a national Museum of History. It was restored in the best of Renaissance style, and this is how how we have experienced it. The castle is magestic in line with Versailles in France or St.Peterhoff in Russia.
For me, being a descendant from the Baltics, it was interesting to realize that the Neptune fountain created by the Dutch artist Adrian de Vries - is a symbol of the Denmarks position as the leading power in the Baltics during the 17th century. The fountain is fully functional and greets you as you enter the castle yard.
For me, being a descendant from the Baltics, it was interesting to realize that the Neptune fountain created by the Dutch artist Adrian de Vries - is a symbol of the Denmarks position as the leading power in the Baltics during the 17th century. The fountain is fully functional and greets you as you enter the castle yard.
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The little and very remarkable part of the museum is that it has Childrens Musem the Danish History for Children, where my kids tried to write in ink with a feather, see the costumes, or actually clothes that royal kids wore in 1500 - 1700 time, and have a short introduction to the life of Christian IV.
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One of the highlights of the castle is the Chapel which is built in 1617 and survived the fire in 1859. The Chapel is still used for the royal ceremonies, and both Prices of Denmark, Joachim and Frederick had wedding ceremonies performed in the Chapel followed by the reception parties in the castle. The ceremonial hall and the Chapel are open to walk through and on the day of our visit, we could see a special exhibition dedicated to Prince Frederick.
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Beside from the magnificent interiors, there is also the outside area with the park, the cafes and the museum shop that we did not manage to see this time.
I have already marked the calendar to the next trip to Hillerød!
I have already marked the calendar to the next trip to Hillerød!
