| Christiansborg Palace | |
|---|---|
Christiansborg Slot | |
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 Interactive map of Christiansborg Palace | |
| General information | |
| Type | Palace |
| Architectural style | Baroque,Neoclassicism,Neo-baroque |
| Location | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Construction started | 1907 |
| Completed | 1928 |
| Owner | Danish government |
| Design and construction | |
| Architects | Elias David Häusser,Christian Frederik Hansen,Thorvald Jørgensen |
Christiansborg Palace (Danish:Christiansborg Slot,pronounced[kʰʁestjænsˈpɒˀˈslʌt,kʰʁæs-]) is apalace and government building on the islet ofSlotsholmen in centralCopenhagen,Denmark. It is the seat of theDanish Parliament (Folketinget),[1] theDanish Prime Minister's Office,[2] and theSupreme Court of Denmark.[1] Also, several parts of the palace are used by theDanish monarch, including the Royal Reception Rooms, the Palace Chapel and theRoyal Stables.[3]
The palace is thus home to the three supreme powers: theexecutive power, thelegislative power, and thejudicial power. It is the only building in the world that houses all three of a country's branches of government. The name Christiansborg is thus also frequently used as ametonym for the Danish political system, and colloquially it is often referred to asRigsborgen ('the castle of the realm') or simplyBorgen ('the castle').[4]
The present building, the third with this name, is the last in a series of successive castles and palaces constructed on the same site since the erection of the firstcastle in 1167. Since the early fifteenth century, the various buildings have served as the base of the central administration; until 1794 as the principal residence of the Danish kings and after 1849 as the seat of parliament.
The palace today bears witness to three eras of Danish architecture, as the result of two serious fires. The first fire occurred in 1794 and the second in 1884. The main part of the current palace, finished in 1928, is in the historicistNeo-baroque style. The chapel dates back to 1826 and is in a neoclassical style. The showgrounds were built from 1738 to 1746, in a baroque style.
Christiansborg Palace is owned by the Danish Government, and is run by the Palaces and Properties Agency. Several parts of the palace are open to the public.
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The first castle on the site was Absalon's Castle, built in 1167 by the bishopAbsalon.[1] According to the DanishchroniclerSaxo Grammaticus, Bishop Absalon ofRoskilde built a castle in 1167 on a small island outside Copenhagen Harbour. The castle was made up by a curtain wall, encircling an enclosed courtyard with several buildings, such as the bishop's palace, achapel and several minor buildings.
At the death of Absalon in 1201, possession of the castle and city of Copenhagen passed to thebishops of Roskilde. A few decades later, however, a bitter feud erupted between crown and church, and for almost two centuries the ownership of the castle and city was contested between kings and bishops. Furthermore, the castle was frequently under attack, for example byWend pirates and theHanseatic cities, and during the years 1249 to 1259 it was occupied and plundered.
In 1370, KingValdemar IV of Denmark was defeated in a conflict with the Hanseatic League, who ordered the castle to be demolished.[5] They sent 40 stonemasons to demolish the castle stone by stone. The castle had long been a terrible nuisance to the Hanseatic cities' trade in theSound, and the time had now come to remove it.
During the years after the demolition of Bishop Absalon's castle by the Hansa League in 1369, the ruins on the island were covered with earthworks, on which a new stronghold, Copenhagen Castle, was built.[6] This was completed in the late 14th century.[5] The castle had a curtain wall and was surrounded by a moat and with a large, solid tower as an entrance gate.
The castle was still the property of theBishop of Roskilde until KingEric VII usurped the rights to the castle in 1417. From then on the castle in Copenhagen was occupied by the king. In the middle of the 15th century, the castle became the principal residence of the Danish kings and the centre of government.
The castle was rebuilt several times. In the 1720s,Frederick IV entirely rebuilt the castle, but it became so heavy that the walls began to give way and to crack. It became therefore evident toChristian VI, Frederik IV's successor, immediately after his accession to the throne in 1730, that an entirely new castle had to be built.
The demolition of the overextended and antiquated Copenhagen Castle was commenced in 1731 to make room for the first Christiansborg.[5] The ruins of Absalon's castle and Copenhagen Castle were excavated at the start of the 20th century and can be seen today in the subterranean excavations under the present palace.[6]
King Christian VI commissioned architectElias David Häusser to build the first Christiansborg Palace (Danish,Christiansborg Slot), and in 1733 work started on a magnificentbaroque palace. By 1738, work on the main palace had progressed so far that it was possible to start on the other buildings included in the total project. The palace included show grounds and chapel. Most of the palace complex was completed in 1745 and was the largest palace in northern Europe at the time.[7]
The palace and church were ruined by a fire in 1794,[7] but the showgrounds were saved.
While the royal family lived in temporary accommodations atAmalienborg Palace, the master builder ofAltona, architectChristian Frederik Hansen, was called to Copenhagen to resurrect the palace. Hansen started building the second Christiansborg in 1803 in a FrenchEmpire style. By the time the palace was finished in 1828, KingFrederick VI had decided he did not want to live there after all, and he only used the palace for entertainment. KingFrederick VII was the only monarch to live in the palace. This was between 1852 and 1863.
After the introduction of theconstitutional monarchy with theConstitution of 1849, the south wing of the palace became the meeting place of the two houses of the first Danish Parliament (theRigsdagen).
The second Christiansborg burned down in 1884.[5] The showgrounds, including the Riding School, court theatre and Hansen's chapel were saved.[5] The ruins remained in place for the following 23 years due to political fighting.[5]
Thorvald Jørgensen won an architecture competition to decide who would design the third (and current) Christiansborg, which was built from 1907 to 1928.[8] The palace was to contain premises for the royal family, the legislature and the judiciary, and was built inNeo-baroque style in reinforced concrete with granite-covered façades. Fragments from C.F. Hansen's palace were preserved in the north façade facingPrince George's Yard (Prins Jørgens Gård). The original roof was tiled, but after a national collection, the tiles were replaced with copper in 1937–1938. A weather vane with two crowns was later added to the tower, and at 106 meters became the tallest tower in the city.
During the digging work, they came across the ruins of Absalon's Castle and Copenhagen Castle. It was decided to make them publicly accessible, and the ruins under the current palace, and the historical exhibition opened to the public in 1924.
The palace is roughly divided in the middle, with theParliament located in the southern wing and the Royal Reception Rooms, theSupreme Court and thePrime Minister's Office in the northern wing.
Several parts of the palace are open to the public after published schedule with guided tours available, for a substantial fee. It is centrally located in Copenhagen'sIndre By ("City Center") district.
The Royal Reception Rooms at Christiansborg Palace are located on the ground floor and first floor in the northern half of the palace. The Rooms are used for official functions of the monarch such asbanquets,state dinners, theNew Year's levée,diplomatic accreditations,audiences and meetings of thecouncil of state.
The Reception Rooms are richly adorned with furniture and works of art rescued from the two earlier palaces, as well as decorations by some of the best Danish artists, such asNikolaj Abraham Abildgaard,Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg,Laurits Tuxen,Joakim Skovgaard andBjørn Nørgaard.
To reach the Royal Reception Rooms one goes through theQueen's Gate (Dronningeporten), and through theHall of the Halberdiers (Drabantsalen) to theKing's Stairway (Kongetrappen). At the foot of the stairs are theAudience Chamber (Audiensgemakket) and theState Council Room (Statsrådssalen). The King holds an audience every other Monday and attends Council with the government as required – usually on Wednesdays. The King in Council signs new Acts after their adoption in Parliament. The Audience Chamber and the State Council Room are the only Royal Reception Rooms that are closed to the public.
The King's Stairway gives access to theTower Hall (Tårnsalen). The Tower Hall displays a series of tapestries with motifs from Danish folk songs, woven after cartoons painted byJoakim Skovgaard.
Facing thePalace Square is the ovalThrone Room (Tronsalen) where foreign ambassadors present theircredentials to KingFrederik X. The Throne Room gives access to the balcony where the Danish monarchs are proclaimed. The Throne Room is decorated with a large ceiling painting by Kræsten Iversen, depicting how the Danish flag,Dannebrog, fell from the sky in Estonia in 1219.
The Royal Reception Rooms also include theFredensborg Hall (Fredensborgsalen), withLaurits Tuxen's painting of KingChristian IX and his whole family together atFredensborg Palace, and parts of the Queen's Library.
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The Great Hall is the largest and most spectacular of the Royal Reception Rooms. The Hall is 40 metres long with a ceiling height of 10 metres, and a gallery runs all the way around the room. The Hall seats 400 guests and is used for banquets, state dinners and receptions.
The Great Hall was renovated on the occasion of QueenMargrethe II's 60th birthday when artistBjørn Nørgaard's 17 tapestries recounting the history of Denmark were hung on the walls. The tapestries were a gift from the Danish business community on the occasion of Queen Margrethe II's 50th birthday.
TheAlexander Hall (Alexandersalen) is named forBertel Thorvaldsen's marblefrieze "Alexander the Great Enters Babylon". The frieze was made for the second Christiansborg Palace, and parts of it survived the fire. It was later restored and mounted in this room. The Hall is used for smaller receptions and official dinners, often in connection with state visits.
The first floor of the Parliament Wing is structured around the Lobby. At both ends of Lobby are the chambers ofRigsdagen, the formerbicameral parliament; theFolketing chamber is located at the far end and theLandsting located at the other (the far chamber has been the only one in use since the Folketing became the sole legislative assembly in 1953). Along the hall are various rooms such as the Speaker's office and offices for the administration.
Under the present palace lie the ruins of Bishop Absalon's Castle and Copenhagen Castle. When the foundations of the present Christiansborg Palace were being cast, workers came across ruins of several buildings and parts of a curtain wall.
Experts were called in from theNational Museum of Denmark and the ruins, which lay beneath the inner palace yard, were unearthed. Public interest in these ruins, which dated back to around the year 1167, was tremendous. It was therefore decided that the ruins should not be covered over again but preserved for posterity. The reinforced concrete structure erected to cover the ruins was the biggest of its kind in Denmark when it was built in 1908.
The ruins beneath the palace square were excavated in 1917 and a cover was also built over them. The ruins have been open to the public since 1924. The Ruins Exhibition was renovated during the period 1974–77 and has remained more or less untouched since then.
Christiansborg Palace Chapel is a part of the palace which is at the disposal of theDanish monarch.[3] It is used for religious ceremonies for members of theDanish royal family, most notablybaptisms,confirmations and officiallying in state. It is also used by theDanish Parliament for theChurch service in connection with theopening of parliament.
The history of Christiansborg Palace Chapel goes back to the first Christiansborg Palace, which was built by the contractor general Elias David Häusser from 1733 to 1745. King Christian VI was keen on architecture, and he commissioned a talented young architect in the King's building service,Nicolai Eigtved, to design the palace chapel (1738–42). Eigtved seized the opportunity and designed one of the most distinguished Rococo interiors in Denmark.
In 1794 fire ravaged the palace and it was decided to demolish the ruins completely. The demolition, however, never took place.
Architect Christian Frederik Hansen, who resurrected the palace between 1803 and 1828, was also commissioned to rebuild the palace chapel in 1810. Work commenced in 1813, using the existing foundations and masonry as far as possible. The church and main palace were built in strict neo-classical style, with a dome construction on top of a central church interior. The palace chapel was inaugurated onWhit Sunday, 14 May 1826, to mark the 1,000 anniversary of the introduction ofChristianity to Denmark.
The second palace fire in 1884 spared the church, as the fire was stopped in the buildings linking it to the palace. However, fate finally caught up with the church on 7 June 1992. The church burned to the ground, probably set ablaze by fireworks set off during the Whitsun carnival.
During the 1992 church fire, the roof, dome and dividing floor were burned down and the inventory severely damaged. Shortly afterwards, the Danish Ministry of Finance's Palaces and Properties Agency began rebuilding the chapel in collaboration with Erik Møller's Drawing Studio A/S and Royal Inspector of Listed State Buildings Jens Fredslund. No drawings existed of the dome and roof, but a systematic exercise in building archaeology registered the charred remains of the building, and made it possible to recreate the dome and roof. Historically accurate building methods were also used throughout the rebuilding process.
Danish craftsmen were unable to undertake the difficult work of restoring and recreating the interior'sscagliola. One of Germany's leading experts, Manfred Siller, took charge and taught the venerable technique to Danish stucco workers.
The rebuilt church was inaugurated on 14 January 1997 to celebrate Queen Margrethe II's Silver Jubilee. The rebuilding was awarded the prestigiousEuropa Nostra prize.
The Show Grounds are now all that remain of the first Christiansborg Palace. They consist of two symmetrical wings with a straight, low and narrow stable building followed by a high broad building and narrow, curved stables, after which a one-story narrow end building closes off the wings at the Frederiksholm Canal end.
In 1742, the north wing became the first one to be finished. Building work on the south wing started in June 1740 but ground to a halt by the autumn due to difficulties in obtaining supplies. Work did not recommence until January 1744, now under the supervision of the young architect Nicolai Eigtved. In 1746, 87 hunting horses and 165 carriage horses moved into the new stables, the largest number ever.
In 1766–67, the architectNicolas-Henri Jardin built a court theatre on the floor above the big stables. It now houses the Theatre Museum.
TheRoyal Stables are home to the horses and carriages used to perform the ceremonial transport for theDanish royal family during state events and festive occasions. In 1789 the number of horses reached a peak with 270 horses stabled. Today, there are about 20 horses left, and some parts of the original stable buildings have been converted into offices andgarages.[9]
From 2007 to 2009 the Royal Stables underwent a thorough renovation to meet the requirements of current animal welfare law.
A Riding School is located in the northern wing of the Riding Ground Complex, opposite the Court Theatre. The Riding School is used for horse shows and to exercise the horses of the Royal Stables. On occasion it is also used for various cultural events such asopera ortheatre performances.
The interior is more or less unchanged since the construction in the 1740s. It is equipped with a balcony and a royal box to allow audiences the possibility to attend exercises and performances. The royal box is unique as it is the only royal room preserved from the first palace.
The Court Theatre is located over the stables in the southern wing of the Riding Ground Complex, opposite the Riding School. Since 1922 the Court Theatre has housed the collection of theTheatre Museum. The auditorium is often used for theatre performances, lectures and television programmes.
Already at the Copenhagen Castle, one of the wings was fitted out as a theatre. However, the first Christiansborg Palace was constructed without a theatre. During the early reign of KingChristian VII it became customary to have theatre performances in the Banqueting Hall, and in 1766 it was decided to construct a proper court theatre. Aharness storeroom was adapted to an auditorium. The theatre was designed by the French architectNicolas-Henri Jardin and inaugurated by King Christian VII and QueenCaroline Matilda in January 1767. Little remains of this original theatre as it was reconstructed in 1842 following the designs of architectJørgen Hansen Koch. In time the Court Theatre came to function as an annex to theRoyal Danish Theatre. In 1881 the theatre was closed as performance venue following the tragic fire of theRingtheater inVienna which underlined the dangers involved in the continued use of old theatres.[10]
In June 2014, a viewing platform in the Tower, still the tallest in the city, was made accessible to the public, while the interior of the Tower was refurbished and a restaurant opened in place of what was once a storage room.[11] Access to the viewing platform is free, though passing through a security check is required due to the official nature of the building.[12] There is a comfortable lift giving access to upper levels.
The View, anobservation deck of the Tower, gives an opportunity to enjoy the views of the following buildings:[13]
In Häusser's original project from the first Christiansborg, the two wings of the palace were linked by a gatehouse at theFrederiksholms Kanal end, and a drawbridge led over the canal. The Palace Building Commission was not completely satisfied with the proposal and asked two young architects working for the royal building authority, Nicolai Eigtved andLauritz de Thurah, to come up with an alternative suggestion.
Their proposal included a permanent bridge over Frederiksholms Kanal forming the main entrance to the palace and two portal pavilions flanking an open drive and closing the complex off between the two wings. Both bridge and pavilions were in the newrococo style.
Responsibility was transferred to Eigtved, who was the prime mover behind the project.
The bridge was extremely elegant— sandstone covered with medallion decorations by the sculptorLouis August le Clerc. The pavements were paved with Norwegian marble, hence the name the Marble Bridge (Marmorbro), and the roadway paved with cobblestones.
The pavilions were every bit as magnificent as the bridge. They were covered with sandstone fromSaxony, and the sculptorJohan Christof Petzoldt richly decorated the concave roofs with the royal couple's back-to-backmonograms and four figures on each roof symbolising the royal couple's positive traits. The interior decoration was by the court's master stonemasonJacob Fortling. The bridge and pavilions were finished in 1744.
In 1996, when Copenhagen wasEuropean Capital of Culture, the Palaces and Properties Agency finished a restoration of the Showgrounds that had taken many years. The Marble Bridge and Pavilions were restored between 1978 and 1996 by architectErik Hansen and the Show Grounds from 1985–1996 by Royal Inspector of Listed State Buildings Gehrdt Bornebusch.
A collection was started for the construction of a monument to KingChristian IX shortly after his death in 1906. The following year four artists were invited to compete for the commission. There was no discussion about the position of the statue. It would be erected on Christiansborg Riding Ground Complex as a pendant to the statue of King Frederick VII on the Palace Square.
SculptorAnne Marie Carl-Nielsen, the wife of composerCarl Nielsen, won the competition with her proposal for a new equestrian statue. In the proposal, the statue was shown on a high pedestal, on the sides of which were reliefs depicting a procession of the leading men of the day, including industrialistCarl Frederik Tietgen, politicianJakob Brønnum Scavenius Estrup and poetsJens Peter Jacobsen andHolger Drachmann. The reliefs were later axed, and the architectAndreas Clemmensen designed the pedestal that bears the horse today.
The sculptor sought throughout the country for the right horse to stand as a model, but found it inHanover in Germany. This gave rise to a good deal of displeasure among Danish horse breeders.
The monument took a long time to complete, but in 1927, 21 years after the King's death, it was unveiled on the Riding Ground Complex.
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