Within the Palace, apart from the Royal Reception rooms, there are the Royal Kitchen, Royal Stable and the Ruins.
Well, as I said in the earlier post, the present structure is the 3rd palace and the 5th building in this site. The ruins of the earlier structure can be still seen today under the palace square in the inner courtyard. This particular ruins was discovered by accident, during an excavation after the 2nd palace was burnt down.
This belongs to the 1st ever building built on this site - the 12th C CE Bishop Absalon's Castle. This particular well, made of limestone, infact belongs to the Absalon's Castle. This building stood here from 1167-1369.
In all the European this seems to a common feature. At some point or the other in the history of this city, the whole city including its major churches & castles & palaces has gotten burnt down in one or more arsons! The reason - the winters were cold and fire was the only way to keep them warm and in course of time, minor mistakes, caused major troubles, bringing down the whole city to ashes. The same happened in London, in Edinburgh and has happened here too.
1369-1731, here stood to Copenhagen Castle which was a much bigger building on top of it, stood a monumental blue tower whose foundation can also be seen still amongst the ruins. This blue tower too, similar to Tower of London, has a gory past and was used as a prison. The present spire of triple crown stands today atop this! The floor tiles of this era are here in display.
This is an important piece of evidence from the past. The dark bit of diagonal line on the plank is actually a later of waste from the Copenhagen Castle. The part below it was the original ground and the part above it is the sedimentation than happened over the years, after the original 1st Copenhagen Castle was built! This piece was preserved after being excavated in 1907. And ofcourse that's a brick on which a dog decided to take a walk, before it could get dried & hardened.
The first Christianborg Palace stood here from 1732-1794 and the second from 1803-1884. Both in 1794 and 1884, the palaces were burnt down by fire from the super heated pipes and stoves. Some buckets that played a role in extinguishing the fire in both cases, are here in display today.
2 of the original foundation poles are also in display today. The whole place is a bit humid, and cold and feels a bit eerie if no one else is there!
The Royal Kitchen is where the original kitchen set up in still maintained with all the original utensils, ceramics etc and with life like models of the meat, vegetables, cooked food incl desserts! There's also a phone here which is motion sensor-ed and rings when you're near it and if you pick it up a man on the other side starts yelling at you to bring the food to the dining table quicker!!! That is indeed interesting.
In the desserts area, another motion triggered action. A little gal starts speaking in a hushed tone in German. I tried to figure out where the speaker was and this life sized model of hiding gal scared the sh*t out of me! For an instance I thought someone was actually sitting there!!!!
From there I went over to the Royal Stable where a few pristine white horses are kept along with all the royal carriages since centuries.
To Get There & Entry Ticket:
Refer to my earlier post.
P.S: I was invited by Christianborg Palace to experience the place for review purpose, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service.
P.S: I was invited by Christianborg Palace to experience the place for review purpose, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service.
Relics of the past tell the present day travelers and curious readers how the ancient civilization was all about. And they are putting themselves into that time when they are there. This is what I am doing as I read your account about Copenhagen II on the ancient castle or palace of Christianborg in Denmark.
ReplyDeleteSo much history in one place! I hope I get to visit one day and tour Copenhagen :)
ReplyDeleteNice post with wonderful and beneficial contents in it. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteI like seeing ruins like this. It shows so much heritage and the story of the past.
ReplyDeleteI'm ok with exploring the living quarters of the palace above ground.But exploring underground is not my cup of tea, as they usually are eerie.
ReplyDeleteUnderground Kitchen? Seem this place is so unique. Wish I have chances to explore this nice place.
ReplyDeleteWow awesome pictures and awesome place..wish I could too travel there
ReplyDeletewow, i love the copper pans and pots there! i would love to visit copenhagen
ReplyDeleteCopenhagen is so high on my list! This isn't something you normally hear about when looking for places to visit. I love finding off the beaten path type of place. Looks like a great place to explore!
ReplyDeleteI love visiting ruins - I feel like a part of history when I am there. I didn't realize there were palace ruins in Copenhagen - the kitchen recreated as it used to be is incredible - however I'm not a huge fan of the life-sized girl hiding under the counter!
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