The second Christiansborg Palace was a new main residence for the Danish Monarch built from 1803 to 1828 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 ...

as a replacement for the first Christiansborg Palace which had been destroyed by fire in 1794. The new palace was constructed on

Slotsholmen Slotsholmen (English: The Castle Islet) is an island in the harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, and part of Copenhagen Inner City. The name is taken from the successive castles and palaces located on the island since Bishop Absalon constructed the c ...

, on the ruins of its predecessor, and designed by royal masterbuilder

Christian Frederik Hansen Christian Frederik Hansen (29 February 1756 – 10 July 1845), known as C. F. Hansen, was the leading Danish architect between the late 18th century and the mid 19th century, and on account of his position at the Royal Danish Academy of Art (''De ...

. By the time the palace was completed, King Frederick VI had found himself comfortable at his temporary residence at

Amalienborg Palace Amalienborg () is the official residence for the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Queen Magrethe ll lives here in winter and autumn. It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo interiors arou ...

and decided he did not want to live in the new palace after all. He only used the royal premises for entertainment. The palace also housed the Parliament and administrative services. Frederik VII was the only monarch to live in the palace. This was between 1852 and 1863.

History

Construction of the new Christiansborg

After the fire in 1794, the royal family initially took up temporary residency at

Rosenborg Castle Rosenborg Castle ( da, Rosenborg Slot) is a renaissance castle located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The castle was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IV's many architectural projects. It was built in the D ...

and later moved to

, until then master builder in Altona, was called upon to resurrect the palace. Construction started in 1803 but was slow as a result of the difficult times compounded by the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

and the national bankruptcy in 1813.

Second Christiansborg's short life, 1828–1884

By the time the palace was completed, King Frederick VI was happy with his temporary residence at Amalienborg and decided he did not want to live in the new palace after all, using it only for entertainment.

Frederik VII Frederick VII (Frederik Carl Christian; 6 October 1808 – 15 November 1863) was King of Denmark from 1848 to 1863. He was the last Danish monarch of the older Royal branch of the House of Oldenburg and the last king of Denmark to rule as a ...

was the only monarch to live in the palace. Christiansborg became a focal point for many of the events which led up to the transition from absolute monarchy to democracy in 1849. After large crowds had gathered in front of the palace in March 1848, the

Constitution of Denmark The Constitutional Act of the Realm of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Riges Grundlov), also known as the Constitutional Act of the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply the Constitution ( da, Grundloven, fo, Grundlógin, kl, Tunngaviusumik inatsit), is the c ...

was adopted on 5 June 1849. The king ceded some of his chambers to the new Parliament,

Rigsdagen Rigsdagen () was the name of the national legislature of Denmark from 1849 to 1953. ''Rigsdagen'' was Denmark's first parliament, and it was incorporated in the Constitution of 1849. It was a bicameral legislature, consisting of two houses, th ...

, which from January 1850 had sessions in the wing where

Folketinget The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands an ...

meets today. Other parts of the palace continued to be used by the royal family. Frederick VII was the only monarch to live in the palace, between 1852 and 1863.

Fire of 1884

The second Christiansborg burned down in October 1884. Hansen's chapel and the building linking the palace to the chapel were left undamaged as were the showgrounds, court theatre and pavilions. These had also survived the fire of 1794. The third and current Christiansborg was built between 1907 and 1928 by Thorvald Jørgensen in a neo-baroque style that pays lip service to the first Christiansborg. The building is used by the Danish parliament.

Architecture

The second Christiansborg was designed in a French Empire style. It was built on the foundations and remaining walls of its predecessor but the wing with the tower and Grand Hall was not rebuilt but replaced by a colonnade.

References