6 Gorgeous Castles in Copenhagen to Visit to Feel Like Royalty!

17

Jun

I think the castles in Copenhagen are some of the prettiest in Europe! There are a variety of castles, from Medieval fortresses to ornate Renaissance palaces, and when you visit Copenhagen, you should try to see as many of the castles as you can ๐Ÿ™‚

Gorgeous castles in Copenhagen

6 Gorgeous Castles in Copenhagen to Visit to Feel Like Royalty!

Christiansborg Palace

Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen

Christiansborg is definitely one of my favorite castles in Copenhagen! I think the tour is awesome because there are so many gorgeous rooms (including my dream library!), AND you can go to the top of the tower for views of the city- for free! It’s also one of the view castles still in use, and it’s used by Denmark’s Parliament.

Christiansborg is one of the newest palaces, and it was built in 1907. But there have been many other castles built on that site, and the first castle was built in 1167. The royal family lived in that palace until 1794, and it became the seat of parliament in 1849 and itโ€™s home to the three supreme powers now. Even though itโ€™s used for the government now, Christiansborg was built with Royal Reception Rooms for the royal family to use, which you can see on the tour.

You can go to the top of the tower for views of the city for free (which I highly recommend), but the tours of the rest of the castle are not free. You can do a tour of the Royal Reception Rooms for 90 krone or you can do tours of everything in the palace for 150 krone, which includes seeing the ruins of the previous castles.

Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagenย View from top of Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen

Copenhagen stock exchange building

View from top of Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen ย View from top of Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen

View from top of Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen

View from top of Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen

There is an elevator you can take to the top of the tower, so you don’t have to climb!

Christiansborg Palace chapel

Christiansborg Palace

Christiansborg Palace library

I want this library in my home!

Christiansborg Palace library

Christiansborg Palace tour

Christiansborg Palace

Christiansborg Palace doors

Christiansborg Palace doors

Christiansborg Palace chandelier

Amalienborg Palace

Marble Church in Copenhagen

Amalienborg is the home of the royal family, and you can see the changing of the Royal Guard! It was designed in the 1750s, and it has four identical buildings in a circle with a courtyard in the middle and the Marble Church lined up to the center (which is pictured above). You can tour the museum to see the history of the palace, but most of the palace isn’t open to the public since it’s still used by the royal family.

Some parts of the palace are open to the public at different points in the year, so check the Amalienborg website to see if it will be open when you’re there! And you can always see the changing of the Royal Guard for free every day at noon.

Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen

Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen

Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen

Rosenborg is another one of my favorites because it’s right in downtown Copenhagen and it has a beautiful garden that is open to the public! I featured it in my top parks in Copenhagen post ๐Ÿ™‚ Rosenborg was built by Christian IV, one of the most famous Scandinavian kings (and you can see his symbol all over the city), in the 17th century.

Rosenborg is known for housing the crown jewels, which is the only set of crown jewels that is still used by the royal family in Europe! I did go on the tour and see the jewels when I was studying in Copenhagen in college, but I couldn’t find my photos from then, I’m sorry! But I do recommend taking the tour if you have the time, and tickets are 115 krone.

Rosenborg Castle gardens in Copenhagen

Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen

Rosenborg Castle gardens in Copenhagen

Rosenborg Castle gardens

Red roses in Rosenborg Castle gardens

Frederiksborg Castle

Frederiksborg Castle

Frederiksborg is known as the Versailles of Denmark! It’s a very ornate Renaissance castle like Versailles, but it is actually a little older. It is outside the center of the city, so you’ll need to take an S train to Hillerรธd.

Frederiksborg Castle was built for King Christian IV in the 17th century (he built so much!), and it was the largest Renaissance castle in Scandinavia. The castleโ€™s chapel was the place for coronations of Danish rulers (except Christian VI) from 1671 to 1840. There was a serious fire in the 1800s, but the castle was restored to its original look. To visit the castle, it costs 75 krone, and I highly recommend touring it!

Frederiksborg Castle

Frederiksborg Castle chapel

Frederiksborg Castle decorative ceiling

Frederiksborg Castle tour

Frederiksborg Castle

Frederiksborg Castle tour

Frederiksborg Castle clock

Frederiksborg Castle

Frederiksborg Castle

Frederiksborg Castle ย  ย Frederiksborg Castle tour

Frederiksborg Castle ย ย Frederiksborg Castle

Frederiksborg Castle gardens ย Frederiksborg Castle gardens

Frederiksborg Castle

Frederiksborg Castle

Frederiksberg Palace

Frederiksberg Palace

Frederiksberg is different from Frederiksborg! I know, the similar names can be confusing. Frederiksberg is closer to the center of Copenhagen in the Vesterbro neighborhood. It was built in the 18th century in by King Frederik IV, and it was built in the Baroque style.

Frederiksberg is much smaller than the other castles, and they only offer tours at specific times so I wasn’t able to see inside. But the gardens outside are beautiful and you can walk around or have a picnic! The gardens sit right next to the zoo, so you can also peek in and see the flamingos.

Frederiksberg Palace park

Frederiksberg Palace park

Frederiksberg Palace

Frederiksberg Palace

Frederiksberg Palace

Flamingos at the Copenhagen Zoo

Sneak peek of the Copenhagen Zoo

Kronborg Castle

Gates at Kronborg

Kronborg is Hamlet’s Castle! Shakespeare actually used Kronborg as the setting of Hamlet, so it’s known as Hamlet’s Castle in the area. It’s located outside Copenhagen in Helsingรธr (which is a short ride via regional train from Copenhagen), and Shakespeare renamed it as Elsinore in Hamlet.

Kronborg was built as a fortress instead of a castle in the 1400s, but it was renovated and built up into a Renaissance castle in the 1500s by King Frederick II. They would hold feasts there for foreign diplomats, which is likely how Shakespeare learned about Kronborg (it hasn’t been confirmed that Shakespeare traveled to Kronborg). If you’re able to visit during the summer, actors actually perform live performances of โ€œHamletโ€ throughout the castle! We got to see a few scenes and talk with some of the actors.

Kronborg is also known for being the home ofย Holger Dankse, or Holger the Dane. In the tales of King Arthur, Holger was a king in Denmark, and he was taken by Morgan le Fay and escaped to rescue France from danger. He returned to Kronborg, and he will sleep until Denmark needs him to save them.

Gates at Kronborg

Kronborg

Shakespeare statue at Hamlet's castle

Kronborg Castle

Kronborg Castle

Holger Danske statue at Kronborg

Holger Danske

Kronborg Castle chapel

Hamlet's castle in Denmark

Hamlet performance at Kronborg Castle

Hamlet performance in Hamlet's castle

Kronborg Castle

Kronborg Castle

Kronborg Castle Hamlet performance

Hamlet play at Kronborg Castle

Kronborg Castle

Kronborg Castle view of ocean

You can see Sweden across the water!

Sea between Denmark and Sweden

Kronborg Castle ocean view

You can’t go wrong with visiting any of these castles in Copenhagen ๐Ÿ™‚ If you’re short on time or on a budget, make sure you at least visit the gardens and see the outside of the castles because they’re all gorgeous!

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Blog, Denmark, Europe, Photography, Travel

  1. Fizz says:

    These all look absolutely stunning, and I love your photos. Iโ€™m going to Copenhagen soon, so this post made me very excited! I had no idea there are so many castles though, wow!

  2. I’d absolutely love to visit Copenhagen and definitely more of Scandinavia! Will be adding this to my pinned Bucketlist for future ref! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Shannon x
    http://www.shanylou.co.uk

  3. Ann says:

    Its almost embarrassing to say, but I live in Sweden and I have ever been to Copenhagen. Shame on me for missing out!

  4. Jasmine says:

    So beautiful! I love castles!

  5. Linnea says:

    Hi Julia! It’s always so great to see your Copenhagen posts! I’ll be going back again in two weeks! I’ve been to all these castles, but I loved how you captured them in your photos! Gives me great inspiration for my next trip!

  6. Aga says:

    These are stunning! I got a chance to visit Rosenborg Castle and Amalienborg, but would love to go back and see the rest.

  7. Tina says:

    I’ve been to most if these, so it brings back memories! Your photos are beautiful!

  8. Patricia McKenzie says:

    These are gorgeous pictures!! I love your blogs!

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