Rosenberg Castle, Copenhagen, Denmark
In 2016, during Women Deliver, 6th International Conference from May 14-20, 2016 I was able to sneak out to visit a royal hermitage set in the King’s Garden in the heart of Copenhagen, Rosenborg Castle features 400 years of splendour, royal art treasures and the Crown Jewels and Royal Regalia. I was there with my host organization “Concern Worldwide” as Social Impact Innovations officer, to attend conference on health rights and well-being of girls and women which has been largest in last decade. Mamoth of learning that happened in those three days will be requiring another blog to have just an over view. I rather focus on bit of fun-side of this trip.
It was quite a ride, got lost three times, changed two buses and at the end of the day decided to just walk around and explore the city near Rosenburg castle. Guys if you ever go there, near Rosenburg castle there is a big metro station with 7-Eleven coffee outlet. They have free services for tourists and you can get a map and quick tips to move around. Staff there speaks English and will guide you to castle, breath taking Royal and botanical gardens in matter of minutes. So now back to the castle……
Rosenborg Castle was built by one of the most famous Scandinavian kings, Christian IV, in the early 17th century.
Kings definitely had nice
sense of humours and were in to the pranks. First thing that made me laugh was a chair facing big portrait. On which if you sit down, wrist clutches and ankle clutches will pop-up to make you immovable and water will be wetting your pants…yes for real.
Another cute thing was an ancient but remarkable loud speaker system in King and Queen’s sitting are. It’s a small hole in a wall with wooden lid on it connected with tunnel like cemented sound channels with in walls throughout the castle. Apparently when any royal family member spoke in that hole the sound would amplify and could be heard in any corner of castle where servers will be all stand by to carry orders. Quite intelligent and exquisite.
Among the main attractions is the Knights’ Hall with the coronation thrones and three life-size silver lions standing guard. Tapestries on the walls commemorate battles between Denmark and Sweden.
The interiors are well-preserved and invite you to take a journey in time. You can experience the king’s private writing cabinet, his bathroom, and see wax figures of former royal inhabitants.
Rosenborg also houses an exquisite collection of Flora Danica and one of the world’s finest Venetian glass collections, both set in tower chambers.
The crowns of the Danish kings and queens are kept in special vaults and are embellished with table-cut stones, enamel and gold ornamentation.
The crown jewels primarily consist of four garnitures: a diamond set, a ruby set, a pearl set, and an emerald set – the emeralds being among the world’s finest. 
Rosenborg Castle has a sister museum at Amalienborg Palace displaying royal history from the mid 19th century unto today.
At Rosenborg Castle you can see portraits of Johan Friedrich Struensee and Queen Caroline Mathilde. Caroline Mathilde was married to the insane King Christian 7, but had a fatal love affair with the king’s physician Johan Friedrich Struensee.
While King Christian 7 was too ill to govern, Struensee led the country for almost two years. He was arrested and executed in 1772, after which Caroline Mathilde was exiled to northern Germany.
The portrait of Struensee is from 1824 by Hans Hansen and is a copy of a painting from the hand of painter Jens Juel. The portrait of Queen Caroline Mathilde is from 1771 and painted by Jens Juel.
Rosenborg Castle is part of the museum district Parkmuseerne in and around King’s Garden. A ticket to Parkmuseerne costs 195 DKK and gives you access to all six great museums in one ticket. Tickets are sold at all of the six museums.