Welcome to Copenhagen!

From commentaries by tour guides in neighbouring Scandinavian countries, there appears to be ‘2 Scandinavias’, Denmark and ‘Not Denmark’! What had the Danes done to upset everyone? You may well have guessed from reading the blog posts, that Denmark had a history of conquering their neighbors, and when they invaded a country, the ‘locals’ didn’t have the best ‘experience’.

Denmark has a long history of battles for Baltic dominance and colonialism. Sometimes, it had to choose its battles carefully; they were attacked by Britain, until they agreed not to side with the French at the time of the Napoleanic wars. Between 1860-1920, the ‘colonial bubble’ had burst, living and working conditions were poor, so there was a mass emigration to Midwest America, where settlers were promised land and American Citizenship after 5 years.

They then remained neutral during World War 1, and Copenhagen benefitted from both British and German trade. Indeed the name ‘Copenhagen’ means Trade ‘Copen’ and Harbour ‘Hagen’. However in World War 2, Denmark was occupied by the Nazi’s, so they had a ‘taste’ of what occupation was like.

In recent times, Denmark has become a place with a very high standard of living; Copenhagen has been the voted the “Most livable City in the World”, as well as the ‘Happiest’. The criteria for this include the amount of green spaces, transport, standard of living, work/life balance and safety. As far as ‘work/life’ balance, the Danes have the concept of “Hygge”, which essentially means being comfortable and cosy; spending time with friends and family in a relaxed atmosphere.

In relation to green spaces, it is mandated that at least 15% of the land to be covered in Forest, so a conscious effort is made to maintain populations of oak, beech and pine trees. This reforestation has led to more wolves on the outskirts of small town and villages; this has made the locals more wary, especially as it is illegal to kill the wolves. Although a member state of the European Union, Danes voted in 2002 to keep Danish Kroner, which remains the currency. Denmark is also one of the founding states of NATO, and therefore the main ‘threat’, Danish people fear is nearby Russia. Since Jan 1st 2026, all 18 year olds, both male and female must join military if found to be fit enough for 11 months ‘National Service’.

The standard of public services e.g. social security, housing and healthcare, is very high, offset by a high taxation rate of 48%! Universal Health Care is free to citizens, and this extends to elderly care in the home, although not Nursing Homes. The retirement age is 70, with a life expectancy of 81 for men and 83 for women. I certainly wouldn’t relish the prospect of working to 70; as I plan to start my pension drawdown at 60! Part of the livability is the high usage of bicycles as a method of commuter transportation; for a population of 650,000 people in Copenhagen, there are over 750,000 bicycles! There weren’t traffic jams on the roads; our guide Tonia, informed us that cars sold in Denmark are subject to a 125% Tax! Public transport abounds and belies the size of the city.

Denmark isn’t a large country; having just 6 million people. It has a very popular monarchy. Between 1660 and 1849 there was an absolute monarchy, where the King held power. There is now a democracy with elected Prime Ministers alongside a more symbolic Monarch. The Danish Parliament has 179 members which includes 2 from Greenland and 2 from Faroe Islands, 2 territories overseen by Denmark. There are 17 different political parties so any government is essentially a coalition. The current King is King Frederick X and Queen Mary; the former Queen Margrethe abdicated in favour of her son in 2024, so she could ‘enjoy’ a form of retirement. Notably, Queen Mary hails from Tasmania, and met Frederick in a Sydney Bar at the 2000 Olympic Games!

My tour today was to visit three Palaces in the Copenhagen environs. The first was Frederiksborg Castle. It was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway in the early 17th century, replacing an older castle to become the largest Renaissance residence in Scandinavia. It is built on three islets, adjoined by a large formal garden in the Baroque style.

Frederiksborg Castle was the first Danish castle to be built inland. All previous castles had been on the coast or close to ports as the sea had traditionally been the principal means of travel. It was also the first to be built for purely recreational purposes (hunting) rather than for defence. Its location in Hillerød led to the development of vastly improved roads, initially reserved for the King. Kongevej (King's Way), linking Frederiksborg with Copenhagen, was completed in 1588. There was a penalty if the road was used ‘illegally’, which was acquisition of stock, and then acquisition of land for repeated ‘offences’.

The castle is noted for its towers and turrets. All the outer corners are decorated with towers. Two octagonal towers with lofty spires overlook the lake and two round one-storey towers face the central islet. Stair turrets with copper-clad domes decorate the courtyard side of the King's Wing. The highest and most impressive tower stands above the Chapel.

There was a serious fire in 1859, which destroyed most of the castle; however the Chapel and its furnishings suffered only minor damage. The Chapel has also been used as the ceremonial chapel for the Order of the Elephant and the Order of the Dannebrog since 1693. It houses the Danish royal family's art collection, notably works on the life of Jesus by the Danish painter Carl Heinrich Bloch.

The coats-of-arms of recipients of the Order of the Elephant and of the Dannebrog are displayed on the Chapel walls. They include those of international figures such as Nelson Mandela and outstanding Danes including Niels Bohr and Mærsk McKinney Møller.

In the Forecourt is the Neptune fountain designed by Adrien de Vries, which is considered to be the castle's sculptural masterpiece. It was created from 1620 to 1622 to stand on the castle's forecourt symbolizing Denmark's position as a leading Nordic power in the early 17th century. The large bronze figures were cast in Prague.

The second Palace visited was Fredensborg Palace, which is now the Summer Residence of the current King and Queen. It is used to host guests, hold parties and reunions, and also hunting parties. After the Great Northern War, King Frederick IV asked architect Johan Cornelius Krieger, royal gardener to the court at Rosenborg Castle, to build him a small pleasure palace on the site of a farmyard named Østrup. Krieger built the French-inspired baroque palace between 1720–1726, and the King himself took an active part in the planning of the building and grounds and followed construction closely.

The palace gardens are among Denmark's largest historical gardens, and are Denmark's finest example of a Baroque garden. These too were designed by Krieger, and were extended and altered during the 18th century. The long, straight avenues which extend from the castle in a star-shaped pattern were recreated in the 1970s to 1990s. Between these avenues lies large wooded areas with winding paths. The area of the gardens closest to the palace is reserved for the royal family, but is usually open to the public in July. Here are the kitchen gardens, which supply fresh vegetables for the household, and a modern orangery, which was opened in 1995. In 2021, after extensive restorations and redesign of the gardens, the Fredensborg Palace Garden was awarded the prestigious European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage by the international cultural heritage association, the jury noted that the Garden was an "exemplary redesign and the combination of public and private funding for a public garden is a positive example for other similar heritage gardens.

Our visit was just to the exterior of the courtyard, as the Royal Family were in residence. Following this we headed for a traditional Danish lunch of open sandwiches, which we assembled ourselves with Rye bread, local fish, then local pork – the best crackling I’ve ever eaten!

The third castle visited was Kronborg, which is a historical stronghold in the town of Helsingør, on the extreme northeastern tip of Denmark, right across the Sound from the Swedish province of Scania (which was also Danish until 1658).  For 400 years, it was the location for collecting the toll; its menacing canons pointed directly at the ships passing through the Sound, forcing them to stop and pay the Toll to the Danish Crown. For the 16th and 17th centuries, this income constituted up to two thirds of Denmark's state income. The Sound toll filled the King's treasury and King Frederick 2nd, adorned the castle with spires, sandstone and copper roofs, making this one of the most beautiful castles of the renaissance period. However, as with so many buildings, a fire devoured most of the castle in 1629, taking with it most of its valuable furtiture and paintings. 

Thus this notorious Castle has been immortalised as Elsinorein, in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000, with some 250,000 annual visitors. 

The Danish King, Eric of Pomerania built this fortress in the early 15th century, as a means of collecting tolls from all ships wishing to enter or leave the Baltic Sea through the Øresund; at the time, the Kingdom of Denmark extended across both sides of the Sound. On the eastern shore the Helsingborg Castle had been operating since the Middle Ages. With the two castles and a guard ship, Denmark could control all navigation through the Sound.

From 1739 until the 20th century, Kronborg was used as a prison. The inmates were guarded by the soldiers billeted in the castle. The convicts had been sentenced to work on the castle's fortifications. The convicts were divided into two categories: those with minor sentences were categorised as "honest" and were allowed to work outside the castle walls; those serving sentences for violence, murder, arson or the like were categorised as "dishonest" and had to serve the full sentence doing hard physical labour inside the castle ramparts. Otherwise, they served their time under the same conditions: they all had to wear chains and spend nights in cold and damp dungeons. Royalty was not spared Prison either; from 17 January to 30 April 1772, Kronborg was the place of imprisonment of Queen Caroline Mathilde, sister of King George III, following the scandal of her affair with Johann Friedrich Struensee.

As Kronborg's importance as a royal castle diminished, the armed forces came to play a greater role. From 1785 to 1922, the castle was completely under military administration. During this period, a number of renovations were completed.

Rendered as "Elsinore," actually the anglicised name of the surrounding town of Helsingør, Kronborg serves as the setting of William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Hamlet was first staged at Kronborg in 1816, in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Shakespeare's death; it was performed by soldiers from the castle garrison, and staged in the telegraph tower in the castle's southwest corner. The play has since been performed several times in the courtyard and at various locations on the fortifications. Later performers to play Hamlet at the castle include Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Christopher Plummer, Derek Jacobi, David Tennant, and in 2009 Jude Law. During our visit scenes were being played out in several areas of the Castle.

Exhausted, after learning so many stories, we returned to the ship for a day’s rest at sea, before the next port Amsterdam in the Netherlands.