Three palaces, one site: a short history of Christiansborg in twelve objects.
Two great fires, a medieval castle and a twentieth-century national building: Christiansborg's story is one of destruction and patient reconstruction. We trace the site from Absalon's fortress to the neo-baroque palace that stands today.
The third Christiansborg was designed to hold both crown and parliament, a balancing act written into its walls. A guide to the chamber, its rituals and the long relationship between monarchy and representative government in Denmark.
Below the state rooms, a network of kitchens once fed banquets for kings, ministers and visiting delegations. The copper pans remain, and with them a practical history of taste, labour and courtly display.
Under the present building lie the foundations of a castle begun in the twelfth century. What survives underground tells a different story from the polished state rooms above: one of timber, brick, defence and the birth of a capital.
From the top of the palace tower, Copenhagen unfolds as layers of copper, brick and water. A short architectural walk through the view, from Slotsholmen's canals to the spires of the old city.
From Absalon's medieval castle to the fires and rebuildings that shaped the site we know today.
Baroque ambition, neo-classical restraint and the national style of the third Christiansborg.
Tapestries, silver, state rooms and the objects that turn a building into a stage for history.
The crown, the Folketing and the quiet negotiations that made Christiansborg a democratic home.
Plan your visit
Christiansborg Palace stands on Slotsholmen, the small island where Copenhagen began. The building is still a working centre of Danish public life, and several of its spaces can be visited.
External link. Christiansborg is an independent editorial site and is not the official palace website.