Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen

15 November 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  18 minutes

Amalienborg Palace and Opera House Copenhagen in the background © flickr.com - Rob Deutscher/cc-by-2.0

Amalienborg Palace and Opera House Copenhagen in the background © flickr.com – Rob Deutscher/cc-by-2.0

Amalienborg is the home of the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo interiors around an octagonal courtyard; in the centre of the square is a monumental equestrian statue of Amalienborg’s founder, King Frederick V. Amalienborg was originally built for four noble families; however, when Christiansborg Palace burned on 26 February 1794, the royal family bought the palaces and moved in. Over the years various kings and their families have resided in the four different palaces. The Amalie Garden (Danish: Amaliehaven) is located between the waterfront and Amalienborg Slotsplads. Established in 1983, it was a gift from the A.P. Møller and Chastine McKinney Møller Foundation to the citizens of Copenhagen. The two-level garden was designed by Belgian architect Jean Delogne. It features marble sculptures and a central fountain designed by Italian Arnaldo Pomodoro. It is owned jointly by the Danish state and the municipality of Copenhagen, and maintained by the Palaces and Properties Agency. The short axis on which Amalienborg lies, Frederiksgade (English: Frederik’s Street) has been much discussed due to construction the building of the Copenhagen Opera House in 2001–04. Aligned on the short axis is the Frederik’s Church (Danish: Frederikskirke), commonly known as The Marble Church (Danish: Marmorkirken). The equestrian statue of King Frederik V was commissioned by Moltke, as Director for the Danish Asiatic Company, and it was made by French sculptor Jacques-Francois-Joseph Saly. Work began in 1753, and the foundation stone was laid in place in 1760 at the 100-year celebration of political absolutism in Denmark. The statue was finally unveiled in 1771, five years after King Frederik V’s death in 1766.   read more…

The Baltic island of Bornholm

21 December 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Half-timbered houses in Svaneke © Ipigott

Half-timbered houses in Svaneke © Ipigott

Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of (most of) the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, and north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts such as glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is important during the summer. The topography of the island consists of dramatic rock formations in the north, sloping down towards “pine and deciduous forests” and farmland in the middle and sandy beaches in the south. It also refers to Bornholm Regional Municipality, the municipality (Danish: kommune) which covers the entire island. Bornholm was one of the three last Danish municipalities not belonging to a county – the others being Copenhagen and Frederiksberg. On 1 January 2007, the municipality lost its short-lived (2003 until 2006) county privileges and became part of Region Hovedstaden.   read more…

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