Charlottenlund Palace ( da, Charlottenlund Slot) is a former royal summer residence in Charlottenlund, some north of central Copenhagen, Denmark. The palace was named after Princess Charlotte Amalie, who was responsible for the construction of the original palace. It was later extended and adapted for Crown Prince Frederick VIII to a design by

Ferdinand Meldahl Ferdinand Meldahl (16 March 1827 – 3 February 1908) was a Danish architect best known for the reconstruction of Frederiksborg Castle after the fire in 1859. Meldahl was one of the leading proponents of historicism in Denmark. Biography He was ...

in the early 1880s. From 1935 to 2017, the building has housed the Danish Biological Station (''Dansk Biologisk Station''), later renamed Danish Fishery Survey and in the final years called DTU Aqua. It is now a cultural event venue. The Great Hall is occasionally used for classical concerts.

History

Origins

In 1622, King Christian IV established a new deer park at the site, which was to replace Rosenborg Deer Park at Rosenborg Castle just outside Copenhagen. It was referred to variously as "Kongens nye dyrehave ved Skovshoved" ("The King's new deer park at Skovshoved"), "Gentofte dyrehave ved stranden" (" Gentofte deer park by the beach"), "Den lille dyrehave ved Ibstrub" ("The small deer park at Ibstrub") and "Freudendahl". In 1663, King Frederick III ceded the deer park to one of his courtiers, Jacob Petersen (''kammertjener'', later ''rigsbaron''). With

Henrik Ruse Henrik Ruse, Baron of Rysensteen (né Henrik Ruse 9 April 162422 February 1679) was a Dutch officer and fortification engineer. Following a period when he served in various armies in Germany and Italy, he wrote a well-researched book documenti ...

, he opened an inn at the site.

Gyldenlund

Due to a dispute at the court, Jacob Petersen had to leave the country. After his property was then taken over by

Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve, Count of Laurvig (20 July 1638 – 17 April 1704) was Governor-general of Norway (''Stattholdere i Norge'') from 1664–1699. He was the leading general in Norway during the Scanian War, whose Norwegian leg is conventio ...

, an acknowledged

illegitimate son Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...

of King Frederick III, it became known as Gyldenlund after its new owner. He renovated the buildings as well as the fishing ponds and constructed a new summer residence in the grounds. The exact location of the new house is not known but it is assumed that it was located at the site of the current palace. Gyldenløve had owned Gyldenlund for some ten years when Frederick III claimed it back in exchange for Skjoldenæsholm at Ringsted. The king used the house as a summer retreat and for hunting.

Christian V Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decree ...

constructed

Jægersborg Allé Jægersborg Allé is a major street in the Charlottenlund and Jægersborg neighborhoods of Gentofte Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs from Strandvejen in the southeast to a junction just east of Kægersborg stati ...

in 1706, originally as a private road, connecting the two royal residences in Charlottenlund and

Jægersborg Jægersborg is a suburban neighbourhood in Gentofte Municipality, some 12 km north of central Copenhagen, Denmark. History The whole area was from at least 1401 a royal estate known as Ibstrup (the earliest sources refer to it as Jepstor ...

Charlottenlund

In 1730, Crown Prince Christian (VI) gave Gyldenlund to his sister, Princess Charlotte Amalie. She replaced the house with a new building in the Baroque style. The construction took place under supervision of Engineer Officer H. H. Scheel, probably to a design by Johan Cornelius Krieger. Many of the building materials came from

Copenhagen Castle Copenhagen Castle ( da, Københavns Slot) was a castle on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built in the late 14th century and was located at the site of the current Christiansborg Palace. History In 1167, Bisho ...

which was under demolition. In the middle of the 19th century, Charlottenlund Palace was for many years the home of Louise Charlotte and Prince William of Hesse-Kassel. Quite atypically for a royal residence, the park remained open to the public. Throughout the century, on and off, it was a favourite excursion spot for Copenhageners on Sundays. In 1869, Crown Prince Frederick and his wife

Lovisa of Sweden Louise Josephine Eugenie of Sweden ( sv, Lovisa Josefina Eugenia; 31 October 1851 – 20 March 1926) was Queen of Denmark from 1906 until 1912 as the spouse of King Frederick VIII. Born into the House of Bernadotte, Louise was the only surviv ...

took over the palace. Both Christian X of Denmark and

Haakon VII of Norway Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick V ...

were born in the building. In 1880–81,

undertook a major rebuilding of the palace. The queen dowager Louise lived there until her death in 1926.

Later history

The royal family discontinued using the palace in 1935 and made it available to the Danish Biological Station (''Dansk Biologisk Station''), later renamed to Danish Fishery Survey (''Danmarks Fiskeriundersøgelser''). The Danish National Aquarium opened in a corner of the park in 1939 where it remained until 2013 when The Blue Planet was inaugurated in Kastrup. The Danish Fishery Survey, now called DTU Aqua, became a department under the Technical University of Denmark (''DTU'') in 2001. The department planned to move to a new building at DTU's main campus in Lyngby in 2015. The future use of Charlottenlund Palace had not yet been decided as of January 2016. As of 2019, Charlottenlund Palace is being used for caterings as well as office space for a vast amount of companies.

Architecture

Meldahl's extension of the palace in the 1880s adapted the original Baroque palace to reflect the French Renaissance style that characterizes its architecture today. Meldahl extended the building with two bays and the two corner risalits on the front side. The central hall with dome and lantern were also added. On the garden side there is a three bay central projection. The building was listed in 1918.

Park and surroundings

The park has an area of . The original Baroque park was redesigned into an English-style Romantic garden in the 1880s. It contains several small buildings, including an ice house and a thatched, yellow building with timber framing that has been used both as a wash house and a guard house for the

Royal Life Guards The Life Guards (LG) is the senior regiment of the British Army and part of the Household Cavalry, along with the Blues and Royals. History The Life Guards grew from the four troops of Horse Guards (exclusively formed of gentlemen-troopers un ...

. The park adjoins Charlottenlund Beach Park and Charlottenlund Forest.

References

External links

Charlottenlund Palace
at the website ''Royal Danish Palaces,'' managed by the National Museum of Denmark. {{coord, 55, 45, 1, N, 12, 34, 50, E, type:landmark_region:DK, display=title Palaces in Northern Zealand Royal residences in Denmark Listed buildings and structures in Gentofte Municipality