The Yellow Palace (), or ''Bergum's Mansion'', is an 18th-century town mansion situated at

Amaliegade Amaliegade () is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, which makes up the longer of the two axes on which the Rococo district Frederiksstaden is centred. Amaliegade extends from Sankt Annæ Plads to Esplanaden, passing through the central pl ...

18, next to

Amalienborg Palace Amalienborg () is the official residence for the Danish royal family and is located in Copenhagen. Frederick VIII's palace complex has four identical Classical façades, effectively four palaces, with Rococo interiors, laid around an octagona ...

, in the

Frederiksstaden Frederiksstaden is a district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Constructed during the reign of Frederick V of Denmark, Frederick V in the second half of the 18th century, it is considered to be one of the most important rococo complexes in Europe and was in ...

district of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. It is considered the first example of

Neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...

in Copenhagen. Originally built as a burgher's home, the mansion was acquired by the

Danish royal family The Danish royal family is the dynastic family of the monarch of Denmark. While some members of the Danish royal family hold the title of ''Prince(ss) of Denmark'', descendants of Margrethe II additionally bear the title '' Count(ess) of Monpe ...

in 1810. Prince Christian of Glücksborg, later to become

Christian IX of Denmark Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 15 November 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 Schlesw ...

, took up residence there, and it became the birthplace of his children

Frederik VIII of Denmark Frederik VIII (; 3 June 1843 – 14 May 1912) was King of Denmark from 29 January 1906 until his death in 1912. As the eldest son of King Christian IX, nicknamed the '' Father-in-law of Europe'', Frederick was related to royalty throughout E ...

, Alexandra, Queen of the United Kingdom,

George I of Greece George I ( Greek: Γεώργιος Α΄, romanized: ''Geórgios I''; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination on 18 March 1913. Originally a Danish prince, George was born in Copenhage ...

and Maria Feodorovna, Empress of Russia. Today the building is owned by the Danish Palaces and Properties Agency and houses the

Lord Chamberlain's Office The Lord Chamberlain's Office is a department within the British Royal Household. It is concerned with matters such as protocol, state visits, investitures, garden parties, royal weddings and funerals. For example, in April 2005 it organised t ...

History

Early history

When

was laid around 1748, it was envisioned as a uniform Rococo district. All new buildings had to comply with certain guidelines stipulated by

Nicolai Eigtved Nicolai Eigtved (4 June 1701 – 7 June 1754), also known as Niels Eigtved, was a Denmark, Danish architect. He introduced and was the leading proponent of the French rococo or late baroque style in Danish architecture during the 1730s–1740s. ...

, the district's master planner. After Eigtved's death in 1754 they were in principle upheld, but as fashions changed they were somewhat relaxed. In the new

cadastre A cadastre or cadaster ( ) is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented graphically in ...

of 1756, the property was listed as No. 71 I. It was by then owned by Johan Jegind. On Christian Gedde's map of St. Ann's Quarter from 1757, it was marked as No. 316. The Yellow Mansion was built from 1759 to 1764 for the merchant and slave trader Frederik Bargum. The architect was

Nicolas-Henri Jardin Nicolas-Henri Jardin (22 March 1720 – 31 August 1799) was a French architect. Born in St. Germain des Noyers, Seine-et-Marne, Jardin worked seventeen years in Denmark–Norway as an architect to the Danish royal court. He introduced neoclassic ...

and he designed it in the

Neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

Carl Friedrich Busky, 1775-1808

Carl Friedrich Busky (1743-1808), a wealthy merchant and Prussian consul, acquired the mansion in 1775. Busky was married to Ana Sophia Gad, a daughter of shipbuilder at Fabritius & Wever's shipyard Ole Gad and his wife Maren Gad. They resided in the building with their five-year-old daughter Ana Maria Elisabet, a coachman, a male servant and two maids at the time of the 1787 census. Another daughter, Caroline Frederikke Louise Busky (1789-1872), was born in 1789. She was later married to Peter Sigvard Neergaard (1784-1858). In the new cadastre of 1806, the property was listed as No. 123. Busky owned it until his death in 1808.

Royal ownership

King Frederick VI purchased the mansion in 1810 to use it as a guest residence for relatives visiting the royal family. In 1837, King Frederick VI handed the property over to his wife's nephew Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, who had just arrived in Copenhagen from Germany. At this stage no one knew that he was later to become King

Christian IX Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 15 November 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently List of dukes of Schleswig, Duke of Schleswig, List of dukes of Holstein, Holstein and Saxe-Laue ...

as the first

Glücksburg Glücksburg (; ) is a small town northeast of Flensburg in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is Germany's northernmost town. It is situated on the south side of the Flensburg Fjord, Flensborg Fjord, an inlet ...

king of Denmark. Prince Christian took up residence in the mansion and lived there with his family until 1865, when he became king and moved into Amalienborg Palace. Later, his youngest son Prince Valdemar lived in the Yellow Palace with his family until his death in 1939 as its last royal resident.

Architecture

The building has been described as the first neoclassic building in Copenhagen. The site also includes ''Garderstalden'' (English: Guard's Stable), which was built in 1842 to designs by

Jørgen Hansen Koch Jørgen Hansen Koch (4 September 1787 – 30 January 1860) was a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical Denmark, Danish architect. He was chief of the national Danish building administration from 1835 and director of the Royal Danish Academy ...

. It was used for Christian of Glücksborgs's horses and for the horses of the Royal Guards who were on duty at the mansion. In 1923 the roof was converted into a

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

with accommodation on the upper floor. The building was renovated and adapted by Bertelsen & Schewing in 2013. It contains administration on the ground floor and apartments on the upper floor.

References

External links

Source

Source
{{Copenhagen historic houses 1764 establishments in Denmark Houses completed in 1764 Houses in Copenhagen Neoclassical architecture in Copenhagen Nicolas-Henri Jardin buildings Alexandra of Denmark George I of Greece Christian IX of Denmark