Another day, another Danish castle – the Frederiksborg Castle! I took the train and bus to Hillerod, approximately 30km to the north of Copenhagen, Denmark. From Copenhagen Central Station, I rode ten stations to Lyngby St. The whole journey took about 25 minutes. From Lyngby St., I took Bus #301 to Frederiksborg Castle.
Hillerod is famous for its large Renaissance castle, the Frederiksborg Castle. In the 17th century, the Frederiksborg Castle was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway. The Frederiksborg Castle replaced an older castle acquired by Frederick II.
Together with the hurrying tourists from the tour buses which arrived at about the same time, I walked into the inner courtyard taking in the impressive Neptune Fountain. The fountain demonstrates King Christian IV’s command of the waters of Denmark and Norway. The Roman god of sea, Neptune, stands high on top of the fountain. Meanwhile, the river, springs and water deities surround the fountain pedestal.
Frederiksborg Marble Gallery of the King’s Wing
As I was coming from the King’s wing, I came across the Frederiksborg Marble Gallery. It has seven bays containing two arched openings with statues standing at each bay. The exquisite artworks are the 19th century replacements for the originals which were removed after the fire of 1859. Some of the original statues are now displayed in the castle chapel.
The Knights’ Room or The Rose
The first room I entered was used to be “the knights’ room at the time of Christian IV (1588-1648). Then, it was altered in 1740 to a dining room for the ladies and gentlemen of the court. It was then known as “the rose”. It was hard not to take notice of the elaborately decorated, vaulted stucco ceiling and the marble columns.
The circular panels with the figures of the coats of arms of Christian IV and his queen, Anna Catherine could be seen on the ceiling.
The room contains a few carved chests, cupboards and a table in the renaissance style.
Frederiksborg Castle Chapel
The Frederiksborg Castle Chapel escaped the disastrous fire in 1859 when the other parts of Frederiksborg Castle burned down to ground. The Frederiksborg Castle Chapel remains the magnificent church built as private church of the royal family since its construction in 1606-1617.
The Chapel escaped the disastrous fire in 1859 when the other parts of the castle burned down to ground. It remains the magnificent church built as private church of the royal family since its construction in 1606-1617.
At the centre of the castle chapel, there stands the Compenius Organ, built in 1610. The Compenius organ has 1,001 pipes, all made of rare kinds of wood and decorated in silver, ivory and ebony.
The Baroque Garden
The Baroque Garden is a part of Frederiksborg Castle Garden. King Frederik IV redesigned the former herb and ornamental garden as a baroque garden at the beginning of the 18th century. There are four terraces which descend downwards towards the castle lake. The garden are characterised by straight lines, box hedges, finely cut grass slopes and shapes trees. On the upper level, there were fountains from where the water cascaded to the castle lake.
Although the box hedges looked stunning in the picture, they fell prey to the nematodes, which are tiny worms that feed off the roots of the plant. At the time of visit, the box hedges were amid restoration and will be completed in the early summer of 2021.
