In the 12th century, there is an islet in the City of Copenhagen. It lies out at sea but close to a small fishing harbour named Havn. The island is called Slotsholmen (translates “The Palace Island”). Bishop Absalon of Roskilde is interested in the island because it is a good steppingstone on route to Sweden where he is archbishop. Furthermore, from the island he can oversee trading in the Baltic.

In the 1160s, Absalon builds a fortress on Slotsholmen – a castle surrounded by substantial walls to defend it from raiding pirates: Absalon’s Castle. No one knows precisely how it looked but we do know that the castle was relatively modest in size and surrounded on all sides by a 6-8-metre perimeter wall. 

The Castle is torn down in 1369

Absalon’s Castle remains standing for just over 200 years. After Absalon’s death, the castle is frequently attacked and twice razed to the ground. Worse still, in 1368, Danish King Valdemar IV is vanquished by the North German Hanseatic towns. The Hanseatic League then demolishes the castle. 

Ruins discovered in 1907

In 1907, the remains of the walls that surrounded Absalon’s Castle are discovered during excavation work in preparation for building today’s Christiansborg Palace. The ruins of Absalon's Castle still lie beneath the present-day Christiansborg Palace and are open to the public. On the Grand Square, semi-circular marks in the paving show where the castle walls once stood.

In the 1400s, Copenhagen Castle is built on Slotsholmen, on the ruins of Absalon’s Castle. It remains standing for 300 years. From the second half of the 15th century, it becomes the permanent residence of the Danish Kings. Especially In the 15th century, successive monarchs make sweeping changes to the castle.

Christian IV extends Copenhagen Castle

King Christian IV extensively refurbishes Copenhagen Castle in the 1600s. He builds a naval port between Tøjhuset (the Royal Arsenal), his Navy’s armoury, and Provianthuset (the Warehouse) where naval provisions were stored. The naval harbour was built on the site of today’s Garden of the Royal Library. Both buildings are still standing. The Administration of the Danish Parliament and many Members of the Danish Parliament have offices in the Warehouse while the Royal Arsenal is now home to the Danish War Museum.

Leonora Christina is imprisoned in the Blue Tower

Copenhagen Castle stood for 300 years, during which time it was rebuilt and extended many times. For example, King Erik VII of Pomerania built the Blue Tower – a ponderous five-storey prison tower with a bluish leaded roof (hence the name). Leonora Christina, King Christian IV’s favourite daughter, was a prisoner in the tower. King Frederik III accuses Leonora Christina and her husband Corfitz Ulfeldt of treason and sends the princess to prison. 

Leonora Christina is incarcerated in the Blue Tower for 22 years. While serving her sentence, she writes “Jammers Minde” (Memory of Lament), which is Denmark’s first memoirs. The book deals with her life as a prisoner. Archaeologists uncover remnants of the Blue Tower in 1902.

In 1660, Denmark becomes an absolute monarchy. Successive kings find they need more space and wish to demonstrate their power and magnitude. King Christian VI demolishes Copenhagen Castle. In the period 1731-1745, he builds the First Christiansborg Palace. The architect is Elias David Häusser. The new palace is named after the king. 

It is large and lavish – a square Baroque palace complete with stables, a court theatre and palace church. The Royal Court numbers about 1000 people. At this time, the palace is Northern Europe’s largest. It has 348 rooms of all sizes. 

The First Christiansborg Palace is destroyed by fire 

In 1794, a fire breaks out in the main building of Christiansborg Palace. Caused by an overheated stove, the fire sweeps through the palace. When the flames are at last extinguished, little remains except charred bricks. A few parts of the complex survive the fire, including 

• the Royal Stables
• chambers and apartments in the Royal Stables Wing
• the court theatre
• “Kirkeløngangsbygningen” (the edifice between the palace and the church)

You can see some of these buildings if you stroll across the Royal Stables at the present-day Christiansborg Palace.

The King removes to Amalienborg Palace. Construction of a new palace makes very slow progress due to many national crises, including the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, the bombardment of Copenhagen and loss of the Danish fleet in 1807, state bankruptcy in 1813 and the secession of Norway in 1814.

The mad king and Struensee, his physician

The first Christiansborg Palace remains standing for just less than 50 years. Life at the royal court is a spectacle. Among the scandals and intrigues, one of the most famous love stories in Danish history, the affair between Christian VII’s young consort, Queen Caroline Mathilde, and the King’s personal physician, Johann Struensee, unfolds here. The Queen admits Struensee to her bedroom in Kirkeløngangsbygningen that currently houses some of the Danish Parliament offices.

Inspired by the Enlightenment, Struensee tries to introduce liberal reforms. His dogged attempts to introduce political reform make him unpopular and in 1772, Johann Struensee and Caroline Mathilde are arrested. Struensee is beheaded and quartered. Caroline Mathilde is exiled to Celle Castle in Germany without her two children. Two years later, she dies of a fever, only 23 years old.

Democracy introduced at Christiansborg Palace 

The Second Christiansborg Palace is destroyed by fire

Rigsdagen moves into a barracks

The issue of rebuilding Christiansborg Palace is taken up in 1901 when, in the wake of many years of constitutional wrangling, negative parliamentarism is introduced in Denmark. This means that a government cannot be inaugurated or persist if it has a majority against it. The story of palace reconstruction therefore also describes the traumas of Denmark’s infant democracy.

From 1906 until 1928, architect Thorvald Jørgensen is commissioned to build the current (Third) Christiansborg Palace on the foundations of the previous two palaces:    

• In 1918, Rigsdagen moves into the Rigsdag’s Wing.
• In 1919, the Supreme Court rooms are ready.
• The palace is finally complete in 1928.

Imposing architecture reflects a strong sense of power

The palace is built in the Neo-baroque style. The solidity of the building emphasises the importance of the palace as Denmark’s political fulcrum. 

The architect decorates the façades with symbols that reflect the palace’s status as the stronghold of Danish democracy. The lower parts of the walls are clad with granite from every municipality in the country and Greenland. The only exception is Prins Jørgens Gård (Prince George’s Square) which is faced with sandstone salvaged from the Second Christiansborg Palace. Sandstone figures crowning the windows depict the coats of arms of Danish towns and shires and the faces of famous Danish politicians.

The Upper and Lower Chambers are different

Architect Thorvald Jørgensen is involved in every phase of the construction of today’s Christiansborg Palace. He also designs the interiors and furnishings, including even inkwells and pen stands.

Folketinget (then the Lower Chamber) is a body mainly of farmers, merchants and educated citizens. The Lower Chamber is fitted with dark oak panelling, echoing bourgeois taste. 

The white baroque Upper Chamber is appointed in a style typical of a manorial hall and its design reflects that the members of the Upper Chamber are wealthy landowners and civil servants. 

Royal Palace and Seat of Parliament

The Royal family initially intends to live at the palace so the architect Thorvald Jørgensen divides it into two distinct parts: the west wing facing Holmens Canal is appointed as a 95-room royal residence and the east wing facing the harbour is furnished to accommodate the politicians.

In 1920, King Christian X has a change of thought. He wishes to remain at Amalienborg Palace where the royal family has resided since 1794. Instead, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs moves into the west wing. The Danish Parliament acquires this part of the palace in 1980 while apartments on the second floor of the north wing of the palace – the corner facing the Royal Stables – become the Prime Minister’s Office. 

The original royal wing facing the Grand Square now houses parliamentary committee rooms. The Prime Minister meets the press in the Hall of Mirrors, which was originally intended to be the king’s dining room. 

The regent still has some of the west wing of the palace at her disposal. These are the Royal Reception Rooms, including the Throne Room. 

Christiansborg Palace burns again

The present Christiansborg Palace has stood for almost 100 years. Like its predecessors, it has been dogged by fire. 

1992 is a disastrous year for the palace. During an extensive restoration project, fire breaks out in the Warehouse attic. Restoration work is therefore already delayed when a firework sets the Palace Church alight during Copenhagen Carnival. Restoration work is completed and the church in use again in 1997.