Frederiksborg Castle

Needless to say, I woke up exhausted on Friday morning. I was a walking zombie going to class, but I was ready for another exciting day. It was the second day of class and we were already having our first field study. Before we immersed ourselves in the culture, we visited Frederiksborg Castle to take a tour and have lunch on our own. The Museum of National History has been in the castle since 1878, but the castle was built during the time of Christian IV (1588-1648) and restored after a fire in 1859. The Museum contains portraits, paintings, and various artwork that exemplifies Danish culture and history from the 1500's to present day.

During the time of Christian IV, the Rose Room, or Knight's Room, was used as a dining room for the lords and ladies of the court. It has beautiful ceilings with so much intricate detail. Thinking that this was one of the only rooms we would be looking at, Lindsay, Natalie, and I walked down the main hallway and into the sculpture room only to turn around and head right out of the building. We must have just missed the staircase leading to the remainder of the exhibit and had to awkwardly turn around and make our way upstairs. From there we went to the Chapel. I thought the Rose Room had a lot of detail, but it seemed like nothing compared to the Chapel. Every square inch of this room was detailed and must have taken hundreds of hours of painstaking work. The walls in the Chapel and along the staircase were covered with plaques of what looked like various family crests. Some were old and faded, and others looked crisp and brand new. Everywhere you turned there was something new and beautiful to look at.

One of my favorite rooms was the Great Hall. From the doorway you see just enough of the room to become intrigued and curious to see more, without the first glimpse giving away too much of all the beauty the room has to offer. Immediately inside the door are a couple of steps up to the main floor. At the top of the steps you become overwhelmed by the patterned tile work, enormous paintings, detailed ceilings, and brilliant chandelier. There is so much to see and take in that you could spend hours in this room alone.

After finishing the rest of the rest of the tour, we wandered the streets to find some lunch before walking through the gardens. Regardless of what direction you are looking, the castle is breathtaking!