architecture
Frederiksborg Castle
"Once upon a time...". "Once there was a king and a queen...". "In a great, magnificent castle once lived...". This is how many fairytales from the past or from distant, unknown countries to us begin. But what does a good fairytale actually need?
It is about love. Very important. Revenge, too, for the most part. About conquest, betrayal, war and peace. Not to forget: It needs a fair bride or a beautiful girl with long black hair, red lips and even skin. And it needs a counterpart: a strong, brave prince who courts her heart or – even better – conquers it painstakingly in cruel battles. Perhaps it also needs a best friend or faithful companion who can offer good advice and a swift sword. In any case, a scheming marquise or a fake string-puller in priestly garb must not be missing in the background. A villain in the guise of an evil fairy, a wandering demon or a father who is believed to be dead is absolutely necessary. But what really must not be missing from any fairytale is the legendary fairytale castle – surrounded by high mountains, enchanted gardens or mirror-smooth lakes. A veritable dream castle in which the Frog Prince would undoubtedly have enjoyed himself.
Of course, fairytale castles such as Versaille, west of Paris, or Neuschwanstein Castle, inhabited by King Ludwig II more than 130 years ago, immediately come to mind. But we can think of one more: As we were travelling in Sealand, Denmark, in September 2021, we think above all of Frederiksborg Castle. Huge, magnificent and wonderfully romantic.
Frederiksborg Slot – as it is called in Danish – is the largest Renaissance castle in Scandinavia. Originally built as a hunting lodge, it is surrounded by a moat, an adjacent lake, a baroque garden and a landscape garden. The castle itself lies – in a sequence of three islands – on the western edge of the castle lake. The castle area is protected from the city by a fortified outer castle with towers and walls, followed by the middle island with the outer castle courtyard, the castellan's house and the Neptune Fountain. On the last island lies the actual castle, whose walls – built entirely of brick and are decorated with countless cornices, ornamental gables and figural decorations made of sandstone – rise directly out of the water. A genuine moated castle.
It was built between 1600 and 1620 by Prince Christian IV and houses in its approximately 60 rooms, among other things, the Danish National History Museum, more than 10,000 portraits of kings, queens and noble namesakes, as well as fabulous porcelain and beautiful furniture from various eras, which in turn were collected from castles and manor houses all over Denmark.
The ground plan of the three-winged complex is horseshoe-shaped around a courtyard decorated with arcades. The central royal wing with its courtyard-side staircase and garden-side residential towers forms the heart of the castle. The north-western wing – characterised by the castle's largest tower – houses the chapel. A chapel unlike any other: along the galleries, in addition to impressive oil paintings, frescoes and putti, countless coats of arms of the holders of the Dannebrog Order and the Order of the Elephant can be seen. Also unique is the organ by Esaias Compenius dating from 1610, made of ebony, ivory and silver which sits enthroned at the end of the chapel tower.
The castle has seen and experienced many things: coronations, destructions and sumptuous festivities. In 1720, for example, the Great Northern War was ended in the Knights' Hall of the castle with the Peace of Frederiksborg between Denmark and Sweden. On the night of 16-17 December 1859, a fire broke out in the castle, destroying the furnishings in the main building. After that major fire – caused by the heating system – Frederiksborg Slot was completely restored with the financial support of the Danish industrialist Jacob Christian Jacobsen. And so the museum is still part of the Carlsberg Foundation today.
But back to the fairytale: So anyone travelling in Copenhagen should consider a magical excursion to Frederiksborg Castle, 40 kilometres away. As one wanders through the many rooms, one immediately feels transported to a time when queens and kings ruled with prudence and dined sumptuously, when dubious characters spun their intrigues, when princesses played practical jokes and ran away giggling from their housemaids, and when little princes grew up to be brave heroes.
And the end of this fairytale? "With light hearts and free of all burdens, they now leapt away until they arrived home or were on their way to their next adventure."
Denmark, September 2021. | All words and photos by The Sturgheons.
