Amalienborg: Royal Residence and Rococo Palace Complex in Copenhagen
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Very High
- Country
- Denmark
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- Danish
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Palace
On this page13 sections
History
Amalienborg is the official residence of Denmark’s royal family in Copenhagen, developed in the Rococo period as the centrepiece of Frederick V’s Frederiksstaden district between 1748 and 1760. The complex became a royal residence after Christiansborg Palace burned on 26 February 1794, and it has remained associated with successive Danish monarchs, including King Frederik X and Queen Mary.
Sophie Amalienborg and its destruction
The site first belonged to Sophie Amalienborg, a palace built for Queen Sophie Amalie and King Frederick III between 1669 and 1673. The land had been acquired by Christian IV outside Copenhagen’s old fortifications. Sophie Amalie lived at the palace until her death in 1685.
On 15 April 1689, Christian V celebrated his forty-fourth birthday at Sophie Amalienborg with a German opera performed in a temporary theatre. During a repeat performance on 19 April, a stage decoration caught fire. The theatre and palace were destroyed, and approximately 180 people died. Sophie Amalienborg was not rebuilt.
The creation of the four palaces
A second Amalienborg was begun at the start of Frederick IV’s reign. It included a summerhouse, a central pavilion with orangery buildings, flanking arcades, a French-style garden, and military drill grounds.
Frederick V launched the development of Frederiksstaden in 1748 and 1749 to commemorate the 300th anniversaries of the Oldenburg dynasty’s accession to the Danish throne and Christian I’s coronation. The Oldenburgs were then Denmark’s ruling dynasty. Amalienborg formed the centre of the new district under Adam Gottlob Moltke, the Lord High Steward, and architect Nicolai Eigtved.
The four palaces were planned as town mansions for distinguished noble families. The aristocratic plots were provided free of charge and exempt from taxes and duties, provided that the buildings followed Frederiksstaden’s architectural specifications and were completed within the required period. Construction of the western palaces began in 1750. When Eigtved died in 1754, both were complete, and his colleague and rival Lauritz de Thurah continued the remaining work according to Eigtved’s plans. All four palaces were finished in 1760.
The buildings were initially known as Moltke’s, Levetzau’s, Brockdorff’s, and Schack’s palaces. They are now called Christian VII’s, Christian VIII’s, Frederik VIII’s, and Christian IX’s palaces respectively.
Royal residence after 1794
Following the Christiansborg fire, the noble owners sold the palaces to the royal family. Moltke’s Palace became the king’s residence, while Schack’s Palace was used by the crown prince. A colonnade designed by royal architect Caspar Frederik Harsdorff was added in 1794 and 1795 to connect the two buildings.
Amalienborg continued as a royal residence through later reigns. Christian VII’s Palace is chiefly used for receptions, ceremonial purposes, and prominent guests, while the other palaces have served at different times as royal homes, military academies, government offices, museums, and accommodation for members of the royal family.
Christian VII’s Palace housed Frederick VI’s court after Christian VII died in 1808. Parts of the building accommodated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1852 to 1885, and it temporarily housed royal family members while their own residences were restored. A kindergarten and later a schoolroom for Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim operated there from 1971 to 1975.
Christian VIII’s Palace was bought in 1794 by the king’s half-brother, the hereditary prince Frederik, who commissioned its modernization in the French Empire style. This later style drew on monumental motifs associated with imperial Rome. After his death in 1805, the palace passed to his son Christian Frederik, who became King Christian VIII in 1839. Parts of the building housed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1885 to 1898. It later accommodated Crown Prince Christian, who became Christian X, and his wife Alexandrine. After Christian X’s death in 1947, it was placed at the disposal of Prince Knud.
Frederik VIII’s Palace was acquired by Adam Gottlob Moltke after Count Joachim Brockdorff’s death in 1763 and sold by Moltke to Frederick V in 1765. From 1767 it housed the Royal Danish Military Academy. Naval cadets replaced army cadets in 1788, and the academy moved elsewhere in 1827. The palace was refurbished in the French Empire style in 1827 and 1828 for the future Frederik VII and Princess Vilhelmine. After their marriage ended in 1837, it housed various members of the royal family. It became the home of Frederik VIII in 1869 and of Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid in 1934.
Christian IX’s Palace was occupied after the 1794 Christiansborg fire by Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Marie. Following their deaths in 1839 and 1852, it was used by the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Christian IX lived there from 1863 until his death in 1906. The palace was restored in 1967 for Princess Margrethe and Prince Henrik; Margrethe later became Queen Margrethe II.
War, restoration, and continuing use
During the German invasion of Denmark on 9 April 1940, Danish Royal Life Guards fought German troops from the 198th Infantry Division at Amalienborg for an hour. The engagement ended when Christian X called for a ceasefire to spare Denmark further destruction. During the Second World War, an underground tunnel was built beneath two of the buildings to reduce the risk of members of the royal family being taken hostage.
The Royal Life Guards, Denmark’s military unit responsible for guarding the monarch and royal residences, protect Amalienborg day and night. Their watch system distinguishes the King’s Watch, Lieutenant Watch, and Palace Watch according to whether the monarch, a regent, or no royal family member is in residence.
Severe damage to Christian VII’s façade led to the closure of parts of Amalienborg Square for public safety. Exterior and interior restoration began in 1982 and ended in 1996. Europa Nostra recognised the work with a medal in 1999. Restoration of Christian VIII’s Palace in the 1980s prepared it for use by the crown prince, the Queen’s Reference Library, and a museum of the Glücksborg royal house, the branch of the House of Oldenburg from which the modern Danish monarchy descends. Frederik VIII’s Palace underwent major renovation from 2006 to 2010 for use by the then crown-prince couple.
Remains
The octagonal palace complex
Amalienborg consists of four freestanding palaces with nearly identical exterior façades and different interiors. They surround the irregular octagonal Amalienborg Slotsplads, whose centre is occupied by Frederick V’s monumental equestrian statue. The complex measures approximately 203 metres from north to south and 195 metres from east to west. The building sides are about 46 metres long, while the sides along Amaliegade and Frederiksgade measure approximately 60 and 56 metres.
Eigtved designed the palaces during the Rococo period, an eighteenth-century decorative style known for elaborate ornament, asymmetrical forms, light colours, and richly treated interiors. Their interiors are Rococo, while their externally uniform façades are Classical or broadly Neoclassical. The four buildings differ in details such as the number of chimneys.
Christian VII’s Palace
Christian VII’s Palace, formerly Moltke’s Palace, occupies the southwestern side of the square. It was erected between 1750 and 1754 for Adam Gottlob Moltke and was the most expensive and lavishly decorated of the four palaces. Its Great Hall contains carved and painted wood panelling, known as boiserie, by Louis August le Clerc, paintings by François Boucher, and stucco by Giovanni Battista Fossati. The interior is widely regarded as perhaps the finest Danish Rococo interior. The palace formally opened on 30 March 1754, Frederick V’s thirtieth birthday. After Eigtved’s death later that year, Nicolas-Henri Jardin completed elements including the Banqueting Hall.
A façade decoration representing the Order of the Elephant, Denmark’s highest-ranking order of chivalry, was originally associated with Moltke’s membership of the order. The decoration was lost and restored in 2003. Christian VII’s Palace is used chiefly for receptions, ceremonies, and prominent guests.
Christian VIII’s Palace
Christian VIII’s Palace, formerly Levetzau’s Palace, is the northwestern building. It was constructed between 1750 and 1760 for Privy Councillor Count Christian Frederik Levetzau and later remodeled by Nikolai Abildgaard in the French Empire style. Successive occupants altered much of its original Rococo interior.
The palace contains royal apartments, storage for the Queen’s Reference Library, and a museum of the Glücksborg royal house. The museum includes private royal apartments used from 1863 to 1947, with original fittings and furnishings. Christian VIII’s Palace is open to the public.
Frederik VIII’s Palace
Frederik VIII’s Palace, formerly Brockdorff’s Palace, occupies the northeastern side of the square. It was built in the 1750s for Count Joachim Brockdorff and later refurbished by Jørgen Hansen Koch in the French Empire style. After serving as the Royal Danish Military Academy, the building returned to royal use and became the home of Frederik VIII in 1869 and of Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid in 1934. Major renovation from 2006 to 2010 prepared it for the then crown-prince couple.
Christian IX’s Palace
Christian IX’s Palace, formerly Schack’s Palace, stands on the southeastern side. Construction began in 1750 under Christian Josef Zuber and was later supervised by Philip de Lange. A fire after the change of ownership delayed completion. The building is connected to Christian VII’s Palace by Harsdorff’s colonnade and has principally served residential and royal functions.
Colonnade and associated buildings
Harsdorff’s colonnade joins Christian VII’s and Christian IX’s palaces at upper-floor level. It is supported by eight Ionic columns and crosses Amaliegade without obstructing traffic. A manege, a building or enclosed space used for riding and equestrian training, adjoins Christian VII’s Palace on the Frederiksgade side.
The wider architectural ensemble also includes Bernstorff’s Palace and Dehn’s Palace on Bredgade. These are privately owned components associated with the complex.
Statue, axes, and garden
Frederick V’s equestrian statue stands at the centre of Amalienborg Slotsplads. It depicts the king as a Roman emperor and was produced by the French sculptor Jacques Saly. Adam Gottlob Moltke commissioned the work when he was director of the Danish Asiatic Company. Work began in 1753, the foundation stone was laid in 1760 during celebrations of the centenary of Danish political absolutism, and the statue was unveiled in 1771, five years after Frederick V’s death.
Frederik’s Church, commonly called the Marble Church, is aligned with Amalienborg along the short axis of Frederiksgade. The same axis continues towards the Copenhagen Opera House, while Amaliegade forms the complex’s long axis.
Amaliehaven lies between the waterfront and Amalienborg Slotsplads. The two-level garden was designed by Belgian architect Jean Delogne and contains marble sculptures and a central fountain by Italian artist Arnaldo Pomodoro. It was established in 1983 as a gift from the A.P. Møller and Chastine McKinney Møller Foundation to Copenhagen’s citizens. The garden is jointly owned by the Danish state and the City of Copenhagen and maintained by the national agency responsible for palaces and properties.
