Christiansborg Through The Ages
There has been a castle of some sort on the site of today's Christiansborg since 1167, when Bishop Absalon of Roskilde was granted the small village of Havn (on the site of modern Indre By) by his foster brother King Valdemar the Great. Absalon set about constructing a castle to protect herring traders in the village from Wendish pirates, and the castle subsequently ensured Danish domination of Oresund and a large part of the Baltic, until in 1369 a strong Hanseatic fleet finally succeeded in occupying the town and set about methodically dismantling the castle to ensure that it would never be rebuilt. A new castle, known as Københavns Slot , was built by the church to replace Absalon's castle. Completed in 1417, it was promptly confiscated by the Danish king, Erik of Pomerania, who made it the seat of Danish rule and residence of the royal family. Over the years, the Slot was extended and modernized innumerable times. Christian IV completely refurbished it and added a spire to the infamous Blue Tower (in which, after his death, his unfortunate daughter Leonora Christina was wrongly imprisoned for treason for 22 years). Over the years, foreign visitors and dignitaries became increasingly amused by the Slot's mish-mash of architectural styles, until, to avoid further ridicule, the newly crowned Christian VI decided in 1730 to have the castle demolished and a much grander palace, inspired by the Rococo palaces of France's Louis XIV, erected in its place. Architects from all over Europe were called in to furnish Christiansborg , as it became known, with some of the finest art and decoration of the period. Christian VI died long before the palace was completed in 1766, and only 28 years later, in 1794, it burnt down in all its splendour. The Outer Courtyard and its two low, Baroque wings (which now house the Royal Stables, the Riding School and the small Court Theatre) are all that remain of this original palace. The building of a second Christiansborg was delayed by the country's dire position following the war with England and the bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807. The palace square and its ruins were used as emergency housing for homeless Copenhageners, and when construction finally began, the walls of the ruins were incorporated into the new palace to save money. By 1828, a new Romanesque-style palace had arisen, but its lifetime was short: in 1884 it, too, burnt to the ground. The chapel - the present Christiansborgs Slotskirke - is all that remains from this second Christiansborg. Today's Christiansborg Slot, the third Christiansborg , took 32 years to complete, since the three parties it was to house - the royal family, the parliament and the high court - couldn't agree on a suitable style. In the end, the royal family decided to stay at Amalienborg, where they have been ever since. Christiansborg now houses the parliament, the Royal Reception Rooms and Library, the High Court, and the prime minister's office.
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