''1864'' is a 2014

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

television historical war drama series written and directed by

Ole Bornedal Ole Bornedal (born 26 May 1959) is a Danish film director, actor and producer. Bornedal was born in Nørresundby, Denmark. He wrote and directed '' Nattevagten'' (''Nightwatch'', 1994), a thriller about a law student who works in a morgue as ...

. It is based on two books by

Tom Buk-Swienty Tom Buk-Swienty (born July 19, 1966 in Eutin) is a Danish historian, journalist and author, known for his work on the Second Schleswig War. Buk-Swienty was raised in Sønderborg, Denmark. He holds degrees in history and American Studies from th ...

about the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. T ...

of 1864 between

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and an alliance of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

which ended in defeat for Denmark and the loss of a quarter of its territory to Prussia. It follows two brothers from a remote village on

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

who enlist in the

Danish army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures ...

just before the outbreak of war, and experience the horrors of combat in Schleswig. It also features actual historical figures such as Danish prime minister D. G. Monrad and Prussian prime minister

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...

. It was the most expensive Danish TV series to be made to date.

Production

''1864'' was produced by Miso Film for DR. It was a co-production with Film Fyn,

TV2 (Norway) TV 2 (''TV to'') is a Norwegian terrestrial television channel. Its headquarters are located in Bergen. TV 2 began test broadcasting on 13 November 1991, and a year later, it was officially launched on 5 September 1992, becoming Norway's first com ...

TV4 (Sweden) TV4 (''TV fyra'') is a Swedish free-to-air television network owned by TV4 AB, a subsidiary of the TV4 Media AB. It started broadcasting by satellite in 1990 and, since 1992, on terrestrial television. In 1994, TV4 became the largest channel a ...

SF Studios SF Studios is a Swedish film and television production and distribution company (both Swedish and international) with headquarters in Stockholm and local offices in Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki and London. The studio is owned by Nordic media congl ...

ARTE Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...

ZDF Enterprises ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...

and Sirena Film (Czech Republic). DR had recently produced the highly successful series '' The Killing'', ''

Borgen Borgen may refer to: Places * Borgen, Akershus, Norway * Borgen, Oslo, a neighborhood of Oslo, Norway **Borgen (station) * Borgen, Østfold, a suburb of Sarpsborg, Norway * Borgen, Ullensaker, Norway * ''Borgen'' ('the castle'), colloquial name ...

'' and '' The Bridge'', and several of the stars of those series, such as

Lars Mikkelsen Lars Dittmann Mikkelsen (born 6 May 1964) is a Danish actor. He has played Copenhagen mayoral election candidate Troels Hartmann in the drama series '' The Killing'', Charles Augustus Magnussen in the third series of '' Sherlock'', the Russian ...

Sidse Babett Knudsen Sidse Babett Knudsen (; born 22 November 1968) is a Danish actress who works in theatre, television, and film. Knudsen made her screen debut in the 1997 improvisational comedy '' Let's Get Lost'', for which she received both the Robert and Bodi ...

and

Søren Malling Søren Dyrberg Malling (; born 3 February 1964) is a Danish actor. Career Raised in Kjellerup, Malling trained at Skuespillerskolen at Odense Teater in 1992. He is best known for his role as Inspector Jan Meyer in the Danish TV crime thriller ...

, were among the cast. ''1864'' was filmed on location at

Dybbøl Dybbøl is a small town with a population of 2,339 (1 January 2022)climactic battle of the war, in the Svanninge Hills on

, and at Hagenskov, Egebjerggård and Hvidkilde Manors, also on Funen. The battle scenes were filmed in the Czech Republic over a period of seven weeks.

, on whose books the series was based, was a historical consultant on the series. It was the most expensive television series ever made in Denmark, with a projected cost of 173 million kroner (about $25 million). The director,

, described it as "a classic story about power and the abuse of power...of people getting separated." The BBC's John Wilson said it had "the sense of the epic in scale" but with "a great undertone of tragedy." The background to the opening credits is the painting (From the outposts, 1864) by

Vilhelm Rosenstand Vilhelm Jacob Rosenstand (31 July 1838 – 11 March 1915) was a Danish painter and illustrator. His best known work is a mural decorating the banqueting hall in the University of Copenhagen. Biography Born in Copenhagen, Rosenstand attended the ...

Plot summary

1850s

In 1851, the people of a Danish village await the return of the victorious soldiers from the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswig, ...

. Among the soldiers is farmer Thøger Jensen, who has incurred a severe leg wound and returns to his wife Karen and sons 12-year-old Laust and 11-year-old Peter. Also returning is Didrich, son of the local landowner, the Baron, who served as a captain. Didrich has been severely damaged psychologically by the war and has also been tainted by cowardice; his father reveals that he bribed his fellow officers not to report him to the military authorities. Didrich's mother died giving birth to him, and his father (

Waage Sandø Waage Sandø (born May 8, 1943) is a Danish theatre, film and television actor. He is known to international audiences mainly for his appearances in the TV series ''Bedrag'' (''Follow the Money'') Sandø, son of a tavern owner in Copenhagen, was ...

) has never forgiven him; while kind to his tenants, he treats his son with scorn. Overjoyed to have their father home, Laust and Peter also befriend Inge Juel, the spirited daughter of the Baron's new estate manager. Didrich, too, who is increasingly becoming a dissolute alcoholic, has feelings for Inge, although she is only a child. At the harvest festival celebrations he propositions her, but she slaps his face and runs away. Later, Thøger, whose wound has never really healed, dies suddenly while working in the fields. Laust goes to work for the Baron as a stable boy. In

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, the leader of the National Liberal Party, D. G. Monrad, meets famous actress

Johanne Luise Heiberg Johanne Luise Heiberg (; née Pätges; 22 November 1812 – 21 December 1890) was a Danish actress of the 19th century. She is most famous for her work at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, where she achieved great success. Though she was clo ...

, who begins to encourage him in his nationalist ideas.

1860s

In the 1860s, Monrad is now Council President (prime minister), and has become a convinced nationalist. He actively tries to provoke a war with Prussia over the

Schleswig-Holstein Question Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schl ...

, still encouraged by Mrs Heiberg. Monrad tries to persuade the new king,

Christian IX Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein ...

, that declaring war would show the people that Christian, who was born in Schleswig and grew up speaking German, is a true Dane. In Berlin, King Wilhelm, his minister-president,

, and his

chief of the general staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

, General Helmuth von Moltke, greet Denmark's sabre-rattling with disbelief but also relief as such a war would fit perfectly into Bismarck's plan of placing Prussia as the dominant power in the

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

. In the village, Laust and Peter have grown into young men, now both in love with Inge. A group of

gypsies The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

led by Ignazio arrives in the village and ask for work. Although Inge's father says they need help with the harvest, Didrich orders them to leave. Later, he and his dissolute friends catch Ignazio's son, Djargo, poaching pheasant on the Baron's land and severely flog him. He is found by Laust, Peter and Inge, who take him to the Baron. The Baron chastises his son and gives the gypsies work in the harvest. He also persuades Laust and Peter and their friend Einar to join the army. The brothers complete their basic training and return to the village on leave, arriving at the harvest festival celebrations. They leave with Inge and both end up kissing her. However, after they leave her, Laust, on the pretext of going to search for his lost knife, returns to her without Peter's knowledge and they make love. Later, Didrich, drunk as usual and unable to find Inge, rapes Ignazio's beautiful, mute daughter Sofia, who keeps the attack to herself. The brothers return to the army, where they and Einar are assigned to a company of the 8th Brigade. There they befriend Alfred, a naive young man from

Skagen Skagen () is Denmark's northernmost town, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalborg. The Port of Skagen is ...

, Erasmus, a cheerful bearded giant who is a miller in civilian life, and Johan Larsen, a middle-aged veteran who has a reputation for being psychic and is soon promoted to corporal. They also form good relations with the company's second-in-command, the young Second Lieutenant Wilhelm Dinesen, and with their senior NCO, Sergeant Jespersen. Monrad's plans are finally realised when he announces that Denmark has fully annexed Schleswig and Prussia decides to declare war. The 8th Brigade is sent south to occupy the

Danevirke The Danevirke or Danework (modern Danish spelling: ''Dannevirke''; in Old Norse; ''Danavirki'', in German; ''Danewerk'', literally meaning '' earthwork of the Danes'') is a system of Danish fortifications in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. This his ...

, a line of fortifications which has always been regarded as the country's southern border and which is regarded in Danish mythology as impregnable. However, when they arrive they find the Danevirke dilapidated, with no barracks accommodation. They are also assigned a new company commander to replace the former ancient and senile officer, who has died en route; it is Didrich, who has been recalled to the colours. The company is ordered to

Mysunde Missunde (Danish: ''Mysunde'', Old Norse ''Mjósund'' "narrow strait") is a village on the Schlei coast of Schwansen in Southern Schleswig in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, about 7 miles from Schleswig. It is part of the municipality Kosel. It has ...

, where they witness the devastation of the Battle of Mysunde, the first battle of the war giving the Danes an early victory, although Didrich keeps them well behind the action. Laust and Peter have both been writing to Inge and she to them, but she and Laust have also been exchanging further secret letters. Peter receives one of these by mistake and realises that his brother has slept with Inge. Devastated, he disowns Laust. Didrich later promotes Johan to sergeant and Laust to corporal. It becomes obvious to the Danish commander, General Christian de Meza, that he cannot hold the Danevirke because the marshes and water on which he had relied to defend its flanks have been frozen solid by the hard winter, and he asks for permission to withdraw to

Dybbøl Dybbøl is a small town with a population of 2,339 (1 January 2022)Georg Gerlach Georg Daniel Gerlach () was a Danish officer. He was the son of Captain Molter Christoph Gerlach of the Schleswig Hunters Corps and Anna Sabine Magdalena . In 1827 he married Caroline Marie Kromayer (1800-1846), who in the marriage gave birth to ...

, who is guaranteed to do anything he is told to do. Peter, Einar and Jespersen are among a small party led by Dinesen who volunteer to remain behind at the Danevirke to spike the guns after the Danish withdrawal. They escape just before the Prussians arrive and are pursued by a group of Prussian

hussar A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...

s, who capture them and execute one man before Dinesen, who has managed to escape, reappears and surprises them; caught off guard, all the hussars are killed by the Danes. Dinesen begins to get a reputation for ferocity and invincibility. Meanwhile, during the retreat to Dybbøl, Didrich orders Laust to jump into a frozen pond to retrieve a cannon that has fallen in. After his friends pull him out he develops severe hypothermia and he and his friends, including Johan, Alfred and Erasmus, begin to fall further behind the column. They thereby miss the

Battle of Sankelmark The Battle of Sankelmark (or Battle of Oeversee) was a minor battle during the Second Schleswig War. It took place on 6 February 1864 between Sankelmark and Oeversee, on the road between Schleswig and Flensburg, during the Danish retreat from Da ...

, although they come upon the bloody aftermath. Back in the village, Inge realises she is pregnant by Laust. Her mother disowns her and she leaves with the gypsies when they head south to see whether they can make any profit from the war. During the journey she and Djargo realise Sofia too is pregnant and Djargo swears to kill Didrich, whom he correctly surmises has raped his sister. They reach Dybbøl, where Inge encounters Didrich, who tells her that both brothers are dead. The Danish army digs in at Dybbøl. Both Laust's and Peter's groups arrive, although they do not encounter one another. Laust, now dying from pneumonia, is taken to a military hospital where Inge and Sofia are working as nurses, although they do not meet. Djargo disguises himself as a soldier to try to kill Didrich, but is caught. Didrich wants him executed, but Jespersen persuades him that this would be a crime and he instead has him locked in a dugout. Dinesen leads his group in a nighttime raid to kill the German bandsmen who have been playing marches near the Danish lines. Celebrating after the successful raid, Alfred, who has joined the group, has too much to drink and climbs onto the

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

, where he has both hands blown off by an exploding shell. He later dies of blood loss in a hospital, where Inge and Peter pass next to each other but do not notice the other. Johan mysteriously manages to cure Laust of his pneumonia and he returns to the company. Finally, the Prussians attack, beginning with a remorseless six-hour artillery barrage. They are now commanded by the highly competent Prince Friedrich Karl, the Prussian king's nephew, who has replaced the 80-year-old and increasingly senile Field Marshal von Wrangel. Most of Didrich's company are holding the trenches, although Dinesen's men are with the main body of the brigade who are forming a

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

behind the lines. The Prussian infantry attack and Erasmus is killed. Djargo, who has escaped during the barrage, finds Didrich and stabs him in the thigh, but is killed by a stray bullet before he can finish off his sister's rapist. Didrich, terrified and cowering, tries to surrender to a group of Prussian soldiers, but they ignore him. The 8th Brigade attacks, led by Dinesen after its commanding officer refuses to advance without orders from his superiors, and manages to push the Prussians back temporarily. A counterattack, however, destroys the brigade and kills Jespersen, and Peter, trapped behind enemy lines, finally realises that he has to find his brother. Meanwhile, Laust has discovered the wounded and frightened Didrich and begins carrying him to safety. However, he is spotted and shot dead by the Germans. Peter, arriving too late but witnessing his brother's death, falls into shock and is captured and confined to a prisoner of war hospital in

. Meanwhile, Inge gives birth as the battle rages. Realising his country is defeated, King Christian surrenders, although Monrad, abandoned by Mrs Heiberg, still tries to persuade him to continue fighting. Johan infiltrates the Prussian lines the night after the battle and collects all the papers, letters and photographs from the bodies of his dead comrades. He then travels throughout Denmark handing them to their families. When he reaches Laust and Peter's village he tries to give Laust's last letter to Inge, who has been taken back in by her parents, but her mother Ingrid (

Helle Fagralid Helle Fagralid (born 11 May 1976) is a Danish actress who has appeared in number of feature films and television series. Career Fagralid played Iben in the TV-series '' Nikolaj og Julie'' (2002–2003), Freja, the goddess of love, in the TV-s ...

) refuses to let him see her and later reads and burns the letter without giving it to her. The Baron asks Johan about Didrich, who is in a prisoner of war camp in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, and Johan bitterly tells him the truth: that his son is a coward and a deserter. As he leaves, the Baron shoots himself. Later Didrich is released and returns to the village, to find himself the new Baron. He asks Inge to marry him, implying an estate manager's daughter would be a fool to refuse such an offer from a nobleman. Still believing both Laust and Peter to be dead, she accepts, although she becomes hysterical when her child, whom she has named Laust after his father, is taken from her; Didrich has made it clear that he does not want another man's bastard. Two years later, Peter, now sane, fit and healthy once more, is finally released and works his way back across Austria and Prussia to Denmark, encountering en route Prussian troops now marching to fight their former allies, the Austrians. He returns to the village to find Sofia and her baby, whom she has named Peter after him, living with his mother. He goes to see Inge, who, pregnant with her and Didrich's first child, breaks down when she sees him and realises Didrich lied to her. Peter knocks a typically offensive Didrich down and leaves. He finds little Laust in the orphanage in which he has been abandoned and adopts him as his own son. He falls in love with and marries Sofia, who is now capable of at least limited speech, celebrating with his family and friends, including Einar, who has also survived the war. Monrad and his family make plans to leave for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Inge's voiceover tells us that she and Didrich had a number of children, each of whom seemed to calm him a little more, although he was never truly normal.

2010s

frame story A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

takes place in the modern day. Troubled teenage tearaway Claudia and her drug dealer boyfriend Zlatko are taken on a school trip to the Dybbøl battlefield, where they are bored and smoke marijuana. Soon afterwards Claudia, whose brother was killed while serving in the army overseas (probably in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

) and whose parents have retreated into depression, leaves school and is found a temporary job as carer for Baron Severin. In his nineties, nearly blind, reliant on a wheelchair and probably with

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

, Severin lives alone in his mansion, which it is soon clear is the same mansion formerly owned by Didrich. While looking for things to steal to finance her boyfriend's drug dealing, Claudia finds a handwritten journal, which turns out to be Inge's memoirs, written just before her death in 1939. Inge was Severin's grandmother and he asks Claudia to read it to him. She begins reluctantly, but soon warms to the story and to the old man, and it is this story, read by both Claudia and Inge, that forms the voiceover at various points in the series. Later Claudia discovers that through her mother she is Sofia's great-great-great-great-granddaughter and that she and Severin are therefore distant cousins (presumably her great-great-great-grandfather was little Peter, who was Didrich's son, as was Severin's father). She tries to sell the jewellery she has stolen from Severin, but the jeweller becomes suspicious and calls the police and she flees back to the mansion. Tearfully she admits to Severin what she has done, but he says he knows and forgives her. As she reads the end of the story to him, she realises that he was with Inge at the end and wrote the whole thing down for her. Excitedly she asks him about it, but then realises that the old man has died as she was reading.

Cast

Main cast members from the series: * Esben Dalgaard Andersen as Erasmus *

Pilou Asbæk Johan Philip "Pilou" Asbæk (; born 2 March 1982) is a Danish actor. He is known for his role as troubled spin doctor Kasper Juul in the Danish television political drama '' Borgen'', and as Euron Greyjoy in the television series ''Game of Thro ...

as Didrich *

Peter Benedict Peter Benedict (born Christian Riss; 13 July 1963) is an Austrian actor, director and writer. Early life Peter Benedict was born Christian Riss in Chur, Switzerland. He is the only son of actors Walter Riss and Christa Rossenbach. He grew u ...

as Lieutenant-General Edwin von Manteuffel *

Rasmus Bjerg Rasmus Bjerg (born 28 July 1976) is a Danish actor, comedian and singer. He has enjoyed much success alongside Jonas Schmidt, in series like '' P.I.S. - Politiets Indsats Styrke'', '' Wulffmorgenthaler'', ''Dolph & Wulff'' and '' Jul i Verden ...

as Colonel Max Müller *

Sarah Boberg Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pio ...

as Karen Jensen *

Rainer Bock Rainer may refer to: People * Rainer (surname) * Rainer (given name) Other * Rainer Island, an island in Franz Josef Land, Russia * 16802 Rainer, an asteroid * Rainer Foundation, British charitable organisation See also * Rainier (disambiguation ...

as Minister President

* Fanny Bornedal as Inge Juel (12 years old) * Sarah-Sofie Boussnina as Claudia Henriksen *

Nicolas Bro Nicolas Bro (born 16 March 1972) is a Danish actor born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Background Bro grew up in a family of actors; his mother is Danish actress Helle Hertz and father is the actor Christoffer Bro. His brother Anders Peter Bro is a ...

as Bishop D. G. Monrad * Zlatko Burić as Ignazio * Sylvester Byder as Laust Jensen (12 years old) * Heikko Deutschmann as Lieutenant-General Helmuth von Moltke *

Karel Dobrý Karel Dobrý (born 2 May 1969) is a Czechs, Czech film, television and stage actor. He is known for playing Liet-Kynes in the ''Frank Herbert's Dune, Dune'' 2000 miniseries, and Korba (Dune), Korba in the 2003 sequel ''Frank Herbert's Children of ...

as Major-General August von Goeben *

as Ingrid Juel *

Barbara Flynn Barbara Flynn (born Barbara Joy McMurray, 5 August 1948) is an English actress. She first came to prominence playing Freda Ashton in the ITV drama series '' A Family at War'' (1970–1972). She went on to play the milk woman in the BBC comedy ...

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

James Fox William Fox (born 19 May 1939), known professionally as James Fox, is an English actor. He appeared in several notable films of the 1960s and early 1970s, including '' King Rat'', ''The Servant'', ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' and ''Performanc ...

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...

* Peter Gilsfort as Inge's Father *

Jordan Haj Jordan Haj Hossein (born 1 October 1988 in Prague) is a Czech musician and actor. Biography Haj was born on 1 October 1988 in Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic ...

as Djargo *

Kristian Halken Kristian Halken (born 3 April 1955) is a Danish actor. He appeared in more than sixty films since 1981. Selected filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Halken, Kristian 1955 births Living people People from Horsens D ...

as Major-General Georg Gerlach *

Stig Hoffmeyer Stig or STIG may refer to: People * Stig (given name) * Nickname of Robert Stigwood (1934–2016), musical act manager Arts and entertainment * The Stig, a masked racing driver on the UK television show ''Top Gear'' * Stig (singer), Finnish perf ...

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

* Olaf Johannessen as

Carl Christian Hall Carl Christian Hall (25 February 1812 – 14 August 1888) was a Denmark, Danish politician, statesman. Hall served as the Council President of Denmark (Prime Minister of Denmark, Prime Minister), first from 1857 to 1859 and again from 1860 to 186 ...

* Eva Josefíková as Sofia *

* Johannes Lassen as Second Lieutenant Wilhelm Dinesen *

Lars Lohmann Lars is a common male name in Scandinavian countries. Origin ''Lars'' means "from the city of Laurentum". Lars is derived from the Latin name Laurentius, which means "from Laurentum" or "crowned with laurel". A homonymous Etruscan name was born ...

as King Frederick VII of Denmark * Jens Christian Buskov Lund as Alfred *

as Johan Larsen *

Bent Mejding Bent Mejding (born 14 January 1937) is a Danish actor, stage director and theatre manager. He won a Danish Film Academy Award in 1985 and 2007. He is married to the actress Susse Wold. Career Mejding had his debut at Folketeatret in Copenhagen ...

as Baron Severin *

Barnaby Metschurat Barnaby Metschurat (born 22 September 1974, in Berlin) is a German actor. He completed his training at the school ''Die Etage'' in Berlin. One of his first television roles was in 1993 as Kaspar Riedel in the German TV series '' Unser Lehrer Dok ...

as General Prince Friedrich Karl * Louise Mieritz as Emilie Lütthans *

as Thøger Jensen * Dieter Montag as King Wilhelm of Prussia * Benjamin Holmstrøm Nielsen as Peter Jensen (11 years old) *

Jakob Oftebro Jakob Hoff Oftebro (born 12 January 1986) is a Norwegian actor. He has appeared in more than twenty films since 2004 including Hamilton and ''Kon-Tiki'', which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 85th Academ ...

as Laust Jensen *

Søren Pilmark Søren Louis Pilmark (born 16 October 1955) is a Danish actor. Pilmark has worked as a film and theatrical actor, a director, and as an author. Career Theater Pilmark graduated from the School of Acting at Aarhus Theater in 1977, where he ...

as Major E. A. Lundbye *

Peter Plaugborg Peter Plaugborg (born 12 April 1980) is a Danish actor. Filmography References External links * 1980 births Living people Danish male film actors {{Denmark-actor-stub ...

as Sergeant Jespersen *

Henrik Prip Henrik Prip (born 31 March 1960) is a Danish actor. He appeared in more than sixty films since 1994. Selected filmography Henrik Prip References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prip, Henrik 1960 births Living people Danish male ...

King Christian IX of Denmark Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein ...

* Rainer Rainers as

Johann Gottfried Piefke Johann Gottfried Piefke (9 September 1817 – 25 January 1884) was a German band leader, (''Kapellmeister'') and composer of military music. Piefke was born in Schwerin an der Warthe, Prussia (now Skwierzyna, Poland). In the 1850s, he was ...

Hans-Michael Rehberg Hans-Michael Rehberg (2 April 1938 – 7 November 2017) was a German actor. Biography Rehberg, born in Fürstenwalde, Brandenburg, was one of six children. He grew up in Bavaria after the family moved to Lake Starnberg. After training as an ac ...

as Field Marshal Friedrich Graf von Wrangel * Carl-Christian Riestra as Einar * Adam Ild Rohweder as Lieutenant Viggo Monrad *

as the Baron * Jens Sætter-Lassen as Peter Jensen *

Søren Sætter-Lassen Søren Sætter-Lassen (born 11 July 1955) is a Danish stage, film and television actor. Filmography Awards * 2000: Reumert award for best supporting actor, ''Don Carlos'' * 2010: Reumert award The Reumert Award (Danish: Årets Reumert) ...

as General Christian de Meza * Philip Schenker as Lieutenant-General Eduard Vogel von Falckenstein * Roland Schreglmann as Ludwig *

Marie Tourell Søderberg Marie Tourell Søderberg (born 26 July 1988) is an actress known for 1864 (2014) and Itsi Bitsi (2015). She graduated from Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York in 2007 and finished her education at the Danish National School of P ...

as Inge Juel *

Jens Jørn Spottag Jens Jørn Spottag (born 13 December 1957) is a Danish actor. He appeared in more than seventy films since 1987. Selected filmography References External links * 1957 births Living people Danish male film actors {{Denmark-a ...

as Major-General Glode du Plat * Troels Malling Thaarup as Ernst Schau * Ludwig Trepte as Heinz * Besir Zeciri as Zlatko

Broadcast

''1864'' was first broadcast on

DR1 DR1 (DR Et) is the flagship television channel of the DR (broadcaster), Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). It became Denmark's first television station when it began broadcasting in 1951 – at first only for an hour a day three times a we ...

on 12 October 2014. It was broadcast in a four-week run on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

in the United Kingdom, starting on 16 May 2015 with 2 episodes shown each week. The series premiered on Swedish commercial broadcaster

TV4 TV4 or TV 4 may refer to: *TV4 (Poland), a private Polish television station *TV4 (Sweden), a Swedish television network **TV4 Group, owners of the Swedish television station *South African Broadcasting Corporation TV4, a channel operated by the st ...

and on the Franco-German network

Arte Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...

in June 2015. It was shown on Irish public service broadcaster

RTÉ2 RTÉ2 is an Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish free-to-air television channel operated by public service broadcaster RTÉ. It was launched in 1978 as the Republic of Ireland's second television channel. History In the 1970s, the Iri ...

in July 2015, and in Australia on SBS, commencing on 7 June 2016.

Reception

The series divided reviewers in Denmark; some were enthusiastic, praising the lavish cinematography, while others considered the cost should have been used for other programming, especially more

Scandinavian noir Nordic noir, also known as Scandinavian noir or Scandi noir, is a genre of crime fiction usually written from a police point of view and set in Scandinavia or Nordic countries. Plain language avoiding metaphor and set in bleak landscapes results ...

.''Online Post'', "1864 opens to mixed reviews and accusations of historical inaccuracies", 13 October 2014
. Accessed 2 June 2015 Some Danish critics and historians felt that the series contained historical inaccuracies, particularly in its assertion that excessive nationalism drove Denmark into a war that was bound to end in defeat. The 1864 war had a profound effect on Denmark, setting the country's course for its modern development. As a result, Tom Buk-Swienty, the series' historical consultant, believed that that sort of debate was inevitable. On the other hand, producer Peter Bose commented that "we were expecting debates but were rather surprised by the continuous bashing". It received a positive reception from reviewers in the United Kingdom, however. Andrew Collins of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' said that "1864 really is in television's top rank", and that "the most expensive TV series in Danish history puts every kroner up there on the screen." Gerard O'Donovan of the ''

Telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

'' said that DR had "taken a key moment in their nation's history and made it as compelling as any noir drama." Ellen E. Jones of the ''Independent'' said that "the scale of this series is too ambitious to grasp in a single episode, but the more you watch, the deeper you'll be sucked in."

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2010s Danish television series Danish drama television series DR television dramas Danish-language television shows Costume drama television series War television series Television shows set in Denmark Television series set in the 1850s Television series set in the 1860s Fiction set in 1864 Television series set in the 2010s Cultural depictions of Otto von Bismarck Cultural depictions of Queen Victoria on television