Frederiksborg Castle, a Dutch-Renaissance palace built in the early 1600s as a residence for Christian IV, is one of the most impressive buildings in Denmark with over 80 rooms full of paintings, tapestry, furniture and spectacular gilded decor. After a fire in 1859 destroyed much of the castle, Carlsberg brewery founder J. C. Jacobsen was a key contributer to the castle’s restoration and re-opening in 1882 as the Danish Museum of Natural History. The spectacular rooms now contain the largest collection of portrait paintings in Denmark.
From Anholt, we made a 61nm run to Helsingor, where we planned to stop for several nights. An easy train ride the next day brought us from Helsingborg to Frederiksborg Castle, where we spent the day exploring the spectacular palace and its extensive grounds.
Below are trip highlights from October 2nd and 3rd, 2019 in Helsingor, Denmark. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.
10/2/2019
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Departing Anholt
Position: 56°42.89’N, 11°30.71’E
We departed Anholt shortly past 4am this morning in order to reach Helsingor by early afternoon. The seas had settled down considerably since the storm two days ago, but conditions still were a little rough as we exited the harbour. The four-minute video at https://youtu.be/9a_pz743gMA shows us departing the inner and outer harbours and entering the Kattegat.
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Anholt Wind Farm
Position: 56°38.13’N, 11°28.72’E
The 111 turbines, each 465ft (142m) high, of the Anholt Offshore Wind Farm are clearly visible on radar to our southwest. With a 400 megawatt capacity, Anholt is one of the largest wind farms in the world, and the largest in Denmark.
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Hamlet
Position: 56°2.32’N, 12°37.67’E
The ForSea ferry Hamlet departing Helsingor on the 20-minute crossing from Helsingborg, Sweden with the Aurora arriving in the background.
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Kronborg Castle
Position: 56°2.08’N, 12°37.19’E
15th-century Kronborg Castle in Helsingor was immortalized as Elsinore, the setting for William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
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32-Amp Power
Position: 56°2.28’N, 12°37.02’E
Plugged into 32-amp power for the first time since leaving the US in 2017. We bought the adapter while in Amsterdam, which produces a single-phase 32-amp 200V connection from a three-phase 32-amp 400V source.
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Gaestgivergarden
Position: 56°2.20’N, 12°36.63’E
After a brief walk around Helsingor, we stopped at the cozy pub Gaestgivergarden for drink from their selection of local and imported craft beer.
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La Dolce Vita
Position: 56°2.24’N, 12°36.57’E
An excellent meal at Italian restaurant La Dolce Vita in Helsingor.
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Helsingor Havn
Position: 56°2.27’N, 12°37.00’E
Dirona moored at Helsingor Havn with Kronborg Castle in the background. What a fantastic location.
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10/3/2019
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Kronborg Castle
Position: 56°2.15’N, 12°36.96’E
View to Kronborg Castle as we walk along the waterfront to Helsingor train station.
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Train
Position: 56°1.98’N, 12°36.81’E
On the train to Hillerod to visit Frederiksborg Castle.
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Brunch
Position: 55°55.79’N, 12°18.19’E
A delicious brunch at Cafe Kobenhavn prior to touring Frederiksborg Castle.
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Frederiksborg Castle
Position: 55°55.84’N, 12°18.23’E
A first view to Frederiksborg Castle looking across the lake Slotso. The Dutch-Renaissance palace, built in the early 1600s as a residence for Christian IV, is one of the most impressive buildings in Denmark with over 80 rooms full of paintings, tapestry, furniture and spectacular gilded decor.
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Moat
Position: 55°56.05’N, 12°18.00’E
Frederiksborg Castle is built on three islets in lake Slotso, which provide a natural moat for the castle.
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Neptune Fountain
Position: 55°56.06’N, 12°18.03’E
The Neptune Fountain, created in 1620-1622 by famed Dutch sculpture Adrien de Vries, was considered the sculptural masterpiece of the castle intended to symbolize Denmark’s status as a leading 17th-century power. Unfortunately the fountain did not have the intended effect. Less than 40 years after its erection, Sweden claimed the fountain for war reparations following the 1658 Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. Swedish troops dismantled the fountain and transferred it to Drottningholm Palace, where we saw it earlier this year. The current fountain at Frederiksborg Castle is a copy made in 1888.
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Entrance
Position: 55°56.08’N, 12°18.05’E
The dramatic entrance to the main castle building.
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Chapel
Position: 55°56.11’N, 12°18.07’E
The spectacular chapel in Frederiksborg Castle is the best-preserved part of the castle and one of the few sections to escape a major fire in 1859.
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Compenius Organ
Position: 55°56.10’N, 12°18.06’E
One of the prized possessions of the castle is a 1619 organ designed by Esajas Compenius. The organ is ingeniously constructed to appear as just a large cabinet when closed, with no indication that a beautiful organ lies inside.
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Concert
Position: 55°56.10’N, 12°18.02’E
We were lucky to be visiting the castle on the one day of the week that the Compenius Organ is opened and played. The organist spent several minutes unlocking and opening the various compartments that revealed the fabulous organ before playing a wonderful half-hour concert.
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Bellows
Position: 55°56.10’N, 12°18.02’E
While the organist plays the Compenius Organ, the bellows must be hand-filled with air. This man pictured is pulling down on the ropes to fill the bellows above. It was a remarkable show.
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Audience Chamber
Position: 55°56.10’N, 12°18.06’E
Christian IV’s audience chamber also largely escaped the 1859 fire and is decorated in a combination of Baroque and Renaissance styles.
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King’s Chair
Position: 55°56.10’N, 12°18.06’E
When the king received people in the audience chamber, he could arrive seated via “elevator” in this chair that comes up through the floor.
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Christian IV’s Coronation
Position: 55°56.12’N, 12°18.11’E
After the 1859 fire destroyed much of the castle, Carlsberg brewery founder J. C. Jacobsen was a key contributer to the castle’s restoration and re-opening in 1882 as the Danish Museum of Natural History. The spectacular rooms now contain the largest collection of portrait paintings in Denmark. This 1887 painting by Danish realist painter Otto Bach is of Christian IV’s 1596 coronation.
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Ceiling
Position: 55°56.12’N, 12°18.11’E
The rooms throughout the castle were impressively decorated, but the ceilings were particularly elaborate.
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Great Hall
Position: 55°56.12’N, 12°18.11’E
The spectacular Great Hall, reconstructed as it would have appeared during the reign of Christian IV.
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Royal Bedchamber
Position: 55°56.12’N, 12°18.11’E
Elaborate and ornate royal bedchamber. The beds were made shorter in these days because people slept partially sitting up.
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20th Century
Position: 55°56.10’N, 12°18.04’E
A portion of the Danish Museum of Natural History’s collection of 20th-century art and furniture at Frederiksborg Castle.
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Slotshaven
Position: 55°56.23’N, 12°18.14’E
Looking north across Slotshaven, the extensive park built for the castle.
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Baroque Garden
Position: 55°56.30’N, 12°18.30’E
The view south across the Baroque Garden in Slotshaven back to Frederiksborg Castle.
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Mushrooms
Position: 55°56.37’N, 12°18.41’E
Another example of unusual-for-us Danish mushrooms.
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Mowing
Position: 55°56.44’N, 12°18.35’E
We were wondering how the gardeners mowed the steep slopes of the Baroque Garden. This photograph shows how—with three remote mowers suspended from crane from a garden tractor above.
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Castle from East
Position: 55°56.13’N, 12°18.39’E
A final view to Frederiksborg Castle from the eastern edge of the lake Slotso as we return back to Hillerod train station. We really enjoyed touring the spectacular palace and grounds.
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Wine Truck
Position: 55°55.77’N, 12°18.18’E
We loved the idea of a Piemonte wine street food truck that we saw parked along the main square in Hillerod. If we’d had a little more time, we would have definitely stopped for a glass of wine.
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Hillerod Station
Position: 55°55.60’N, 12°18.64’E
At Hillerod train station, opened in 1864.
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930R
Position: 56°1.98’N, 12°36.86’E
Our ride back to Helsingor, the 930R, will get us back in a half-hour.
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Tycho Brahe
Position: 56°2.01’N, 12°36.92’E
Adjacent to the train station is the Helsingor ferry terminal, where we spent some time watching the big ferries load and unload. This is the Tycho Brahe, one of two electric ferries that make the run between Helsingor, Denmark and Helsingborg, Sweden. We’ll take this ferry in a couple of days to visit Helsingborg.
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Restaurant Strejf
Position: 56°2.00’N, 12°36.88’E
We enjoyed watching the ferries to much that we decided to stop in at Restaurant Strejf for a bite to eat with a view to the ferry terminal. While watching the ferries come and go, we read more about the technology behind the two electric ferries. With roughly a ten-minute stop at each end, a robotic arm is used to efficiently charge the ferries as they land and depart. Each trip requires the replenishment of just over a megawatt of energy.
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Helsingor Station
Position: 56°2.05’N, 12°36.91’E
Helsingor train station, opened in 1891, lit up at night.
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Culture Center
Position: 56°2.25’N, 12°36.89’E
The Kulturvaeftet cultural centre, just above our berth at Helsingor, looks spectacular lit from the inside. Dirona is moored just out of the picture on the right.
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Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise.
On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps. |
Wow, Fredriksborg Castle is ornate! Great fun to see the extent of the decoration. Interesting when you look at the Castle from the front gate, it is sort of symmetrical but not entirely — the clock tower on the left throws it off, and the fenestration of the two wings is very different — perhaps the wing to the left is the chapel?
The ceilings are incredibly embellished as you noted. So hard to study details of a highly-decorated ceiling unless you are laying on your back. Loved the Baroque Garden as well — fun to compare the northern-friendly evergreen plantings to more lush plantings at Versailles and places south.
The castle is incredible. One of the best we have seen and our list of castles visited is getting fairly extensive :-).