Tour into Danish royal palace Amalienborg

COPENHAGEN, June 18 (Xinhua) -- As the Danish royal palace with a centuries-old history, Amalienborg Castle has always been a tourism hotspot and one of Denmark's most ranking attractions to see for global visitors.

Amalienborg has been the home of the Danish royal family for more than 200 years, but until the late 18th century, the Danish kings had been living with their family at Christiansborg that today houses the Danish parliament. However, as Christiansborg was burned in 1794, King Frederick VI moved his residence to Amalienborg, and ever since then the four palaces that Amalienborg consists of have been home for the royal families up to today.

The royal castle is seated near the downtown of Copenhagen -- close to the capital's harbor channel-- and the first thing the visitor will notice is the calm and the quiet in the beautiful surroundings. At one side you can see the great Marble Church that actually has the largest dome in Northern Europe. To the other side -- across the channel -- you will see the modern style Opera House.

Just outside the Amalienborg premises is a wonderful peaceful garden called Amaliehaven with a sprinkling fountain at the entrance. Actually Amalienborg is not just one castle -- it is four palaces, formed as a circle around the octagonal courtyard with the equestrian statue of its founder King Frederick the Fifth at the center.

"The four palaces were built in the late 18th century in a new part of Copenhagen called Fredericks Town in honor of the king Fredrick the Fifth. Amalienborg is the center of this new part of the Copenhagen city," Birgit Jenvold, curator of Amalienborg Museum situated now in one of the four palaces, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Originally, there was another smaller castle at today's Amalienborg place, used as a summer residence for Queen Sophie Amalie in the 17th century, which was called Sophie Amalienborg. It was also used for grand parties with music and theatre halls entertaining the noble guests.

Tragically, for a grand celebration party for the birthday of King Christian the Fifth in 1689, some candle lights caught fire in a stage decoration resulting in the theatre and palace to burn to the ground and killing around 180 people.

Actually the four palaces forming Amalienborg were originally homes for four Danish noble families before the royal families moved to here in very late 18 century. Two fires at Christiansborg in 1794 made the royal family decide to find a new place to live and then they bought Amalienborg complex from the noblemen. Since then Amailenborg became the residence for future generations of Danish monarchs.

"Even if Christiansborg were rebuilt -- actually twice -- the royal family preferred to stay at Amalienborg because it is very convenient," Jenvold said.

SEE HOW KINGS LIVED

At first glance, the four palaces of Amalienborg are identical. But there are actually small differences to see for the observant eye. At the palace where the Queen and Prince Consort Henrik lives one can see that it has five chimneys.

To the left of the Queens residence lies the palace where current Crown Prince Frederik lives with his family, -- Crown Princess Mary and their four children. Here there is a clock in front.

Besides the two royal residences, there two other palaces: one for royal reception and ceremonies, and another one is a museum where one can see many of the items that have belongs to the late kings and their families -- the Amalienborg Museum.

As a special attraction, the museum shows what the exact original items of the last four Danish kings' studies (book rooms) that were precisely reconstructed as they looked actually like when the kings used them.

"They are actually not copies. It is the real thing. We have in our permanent exhibition the studies of the late Glucksborg kings," Jenvold told Xinhua.

"When a king dies, his study will be preserved. During his lifetime everything will be photographed and every detail is noted and when the time has come, this room can be moved from where it was to the museum."

In the study of King Christian the 10th one can almost sense the old king's presence. You can smell the tobacco that he smoked and feel the soul of the old King while you are gazing at the things in his private room.

Here was a man who would fight for what he believed in. During the occupation by Germany of Denmark, King Christian the 10th got the name "The Rider King," because every morning he took his horse from Amalienborg and thru the streets of Copenhagen.

"He was a very important figure especially during the German occupation of Denmark in 1940 to 1945," Jenvold said. "During World War II Denmark was occupied by the Germans and the King had this tradition that every morning he took his horse from Amalienborg, and went around on horseback in Copenhagen."

The king continued doing that during the occupation, which was seen as a symbol of the freedom that the Germans had taken away, and also a spirit of resistance by the population. This made him a very important symbol for the Danes in those tough years.

Getting closer to our time, one can see the study of King Frederick the 9th - married to Queen Ingrid and father to the current monarch Queen Margrethe II and her two sisters, Benedikte and Anne Marie.

King Frederik was known as a man of the sea, but he was also a rather skilled musician and at the Amalienborg Museum visitors can see the original grand piano that he practiced his music skills.

Jenvold said: "He was very good at playing the piano. He was interested in music since he was a little boy and his parents ensured he got good music teachers."

"Several times he conducted the Royal Danish Symphony Orchestra for charity purposes and he was very good at it. Every day he played the piano."

PARENTS-IN-LAW TO EUROPEAN ROYAL COURTS

The long line of Danish kings goes back as far as the 10th century starting with the king Gorm the Old. Ever since then, it has been a tradition that the elder son inherited the throne after his father with only a few exceptions.

But in 1863 something happened and made a significant mark in the history of the European royalties. At that time King Frederick the 7th was sitting on the Danish throne but died with no children, the Danish society had to find someone who could be king after his death.

Jenvold told Xinhua the story about how a Danish king and his queen became the parents-in-law to most of the European royal houses:

"Frederick the 7th was not considered a very good king and was not popular with the Danish people. As he furthermore died childless, the leading men of the kingdom had to find another king. So from a side branch in the royal family - called the Glucksborg branch -- they found the one who became Christian the 9th and his wife Queen Louise."

And not only became Christian the 9th, he is also the great great grandfather of Queen Margrethe II who is Denmark's monarch today. King Christian 9th and his wife Queen Louise had six children, of whom several of them became reigns or married to a king in different European countries.

"They had six children and four of them came to sit on European thrones. They were known all over Europe because of these very important international connections," said Jenvold.

The couple had a daughter who became Queen of England, another daughter who became the empress of Russia, a son became the king of Greece and of course a son became king of Denmark (Frederick the 8th).

Jenvold considers herself to be very lucky to have the privilege to have her job in Amalienborg.

"These palaces are considered to be one of the most beautiful palaces in Europe, and are on the tentative UNESCO list of world heritage sites," she said.

"It is in the middle of the capital but you can feel here is also very quiet. We have a lot of tourists coming from the entire world -- many from China -- and for me as a museum person I could not dream of a better place to work," she said, with a big warm smile in face.

One could add that Amalienborg also is located just a few minutes' walk from two other most famous attractions of Copenhagen: the ancient harbor Nyhavn and the well-known statue of Little Mermaid. Just to put some topping on the cake.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/culture/2013-06/18/c_132465585.htm