A Self-Guided Walk Between Rosenborg Castle and the Round Tower
The walk between Rosenborg Castle and the Round Tower is very short – it’ll take you about 15 minutes – but I think the walk is lovely. You get to pass through the King’s Garden, see some old 18th century merchant houses, and pass the Trinity Church. This is also a route you’ll likely do when you’re in Copenhagen; both points are major attractions in the city.
In the future I’ll write detailed overviews of both Rosenborg and the Round Tower, but for now here is a nice walk between the two main points.
In this article...
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Walking Route
Rosenborg Castle
Rosenborg Castle was constructed in 1606 as a summer house for King Christian IV. It served as a royal residence until 1710. Since then it has been home to the royal collection, which has allowed for the interiors to be well-preserved.
Layout
On the third floor is the long hall, which was originally intended as a ballroom but was eventually converted into the Royal Reception Rooms. From the 19th century it was known as the “Knights Hall”. Inside you can see the coronation chair of the kings.
Architecture
The castle is designed in a Dutch Renaissance style in red brick, which is common for Danish architecture of the time.
Visiting Rosenborg
Rosenborg is open throughout the year.
Virtual Tour of Rosenborg Castle
If you can’t visit the castle, it is possible to do a virtual tour of the castle online. Click here to view it.
The King's Garden
The King’s Garden is the country’s oldest royal garden. It is built in the Renaissance style and was designed shortly after Rosenborg was completed.
This was also where herbs and vegetables were grown for the royal kitchen. You can visit the royal herb garden to see the apples, pears, cherries, plums and other foods such as almonds and figs. The garden is much smaller than it used to be – when it was built it had 1,400 different plants.
The park has become one of the most popular places to spend time in the summer, and you’ll often see picnics in the park.
The royal family lost interest in the garden in the 18th century. It was open to the public in the 1770s under King Christian VII’s doctor, J.F. Struensee. Their relationship is featured in a Danish movie called A Royal Affair.
Most of the trees you are passing are lime trees.
The Pavilions
As you exit the park, you’ll pass some lovely pavilions on either side of the gate. These were designed by city architect Petery Meyn, who had just returned from Paris. He was inspired by the Pont Neuf with its iron fence and small shops.
With this inspiration, he had 14 small shop pavilions built around The King’s Garden. They were completed in 1806 and sold everything from cakes to stockings. All of them are in a matching Neoclassical style.
Today they are still little shops. They are rented out by the Palaces and Properties Agency on two-year leases with the possibility of extension. To be granted a lease, you have to have the shop open for a minimum of 20 hours a week and the shop has to be somewhat relevant to the areas history – many of them are cafes.
Gothersgade
The name Gothersgade comes from the royal title “de gothers” (and gade means street).
The street runs along where the eastern rampart of Copenhagen’s former fortifications was. The street was laid out in 1647 after the Eastern Rampart had been moved north to expand the city.
Landemærket
The name directly translates to “The Landmark”. Historically, the street was where the transition from the built-up area of the city and the last undeveloped lots within the city walls were.
The street can be seen on maps from the 16th century. From the late 18th century, this is where some small shops were established. They sold various goods such as tea and coffee, porcelain, stockings and bread.
The houses from numbers 43 to 55 are all from 1730 and are listed for protection.
Trinity Church
The church was constructed between 1637 and 1651 and includes the former University of Copenhagen library. It was constructed to be the student church for the nearby University of Copenhagen, and the decision was to include the church in the same complex as the astronomical observatory.
The current exterior dates to 1870 from the renovation work.
Round Tower
You’ve made it to the Round Tower! I cover the Round Tower in a separate article (including what you can see inside), but here’s a short overview:
The Round Tower is an astronomical observatory constructed in the mid-17th century. At the time, astronomy was growing in importance around Europe, and countries were competing with each other in establishing colonies around the world. This created the need for accurate navigation across the ocean, of which astronomy played a vital role.
The tower was built for Christian Longomontanus, King Christian IV’s new astronomer and the first professor of astronomy at the University of Copenhagen.
The Round Tower is a cylindrical tower of masonry. On the upper part of the facade is a gilded rebus inscription, which includes four Hebrew consonants of the Tetragrammaton as well as Christian IV’s monogram.
By the 19th century the tower was considered out of date due to the light pollution from the city and it was closed.
We’ll cover going up the Round Tower in a separate article.
