The fourth instalment of the Copenhagen photos is a little late, but it is finally here. So this week I'm focusing on the area around the Rosenborg Castle, which includes the Statens Museum for Kunst, also known as the Danish National Gallery or SMK for short, and the Botanical Garden (Botanisk Have), picture above.

You can spend a whole day just wandering around the gardens in this area, and also visting the various museums and of course the idilic Rosenborg Slot. Starting at the Botanisk Have, with it's sumptuous gardens and a myriad of flowers and plants, surrounding the great pond, as it is befitting of a botanical garden worthy of its name. The Botanical Garden is a unique green space in the heart of Copenhagen, which invites engagement in the world of nature. The garden is part of the Natural History Museum of Denmark and differs significantly from other parks in the city by being a living museum with research, public outreach, teaching and nature conservation as its main tasks. 

Here, you will find Denmark’s largest scientific collection of plants – including species that are either threatened or extinct in nature. 
The garden covers an area of 10 hectares and is particularly noted for its extensive complex of historical glasshouses dating from 1874.
The Botanical Garden was first established in 1600 but it was moved twice before it was ultimately given its current location in 1870.
The garden contains more than 13,000 species and is arranged in different sections including: Danish plants (600 species), perennial plants (1,100 species), annual plants (1,100 species), rock gardens with plants from mountaineous areas in Central and Southern Europe and Conifer Hill which is planted with coniferous trees.

One of the newest inclusions is a rhododendron garden
The garden has 27 glasshouses. The most notable is the old Palm House from 1874 that is 16 metres tall and has narrow, cast-iron spiral stairs leading to a passageway at the top.
The garden also has a special air-conditioned greenhouse that can re-create environments suitable for Arctic plants.
The pond contains lots of examples of water plants, from which the waterlilies are probably the most exuberant photogenic example. Even in the harsh light of the mid-morning they still inspired me to make at leas one good image.

Still inside the walls of the Botanisk Have, you can find the Geologisk Museum, the Geological museum that is part of the Natural History Museum of Denmark. The exhibitions at the museum cover the Solar system, the evolution of life on Earth, volcanoes, minerals, and the geological evolution of Denmark and Greenland.The collections at the Geological Museum have been built up through centuries and include large collections of minerals, fossils, petrology, and meteorites.The Geological Museum is also part of the University of Copenhagen and the scientific staff is active in research, teaching and public outreach of Geology. If you have found a strange rock you are always welcome to bring it in for a good explanation.

Just to the east of the Botanisk Have, you will find the grand facade of the Statens Museum for Kunst, SMK for short. On hot sunny days this seems to be an attractive place for the locals to relax and get some sun, taking full advantage of the great shallow pool built just in front of the main entrance.

The objective of the SMK is to present Danish art to the world and the world's art to Denmark.
The history of the museum is inextricably bound up with the history of the art collections amassed by Danish monarchs. That is why the story of the museum starts with the diary of the German painter Albrecht Dürer. In 1521 this eminent artist made an entry stating that the king of Denmark, Christian II, had received “the best copies of all my prints.” With this gift the cornerstone of the National Gallery of Denmark was laid down.For a few years the artworks from Christiansborg Palace were essentially homeless, but in 1896 they were housed at the newly built Statens Museum for Kunst in Sølvgade, Copenhagen. The architect Vilhelm Dahlerup was the man behind the monumental and distinctive museum buildings. He was one of the leading architects of his age and left a substantial imprint on Copenhagen. His other buildings include the Royal Theatre and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. 

In 1960s the architect Nils Koppel embarked on a major refurbishment of the museum interior in order to expand the space available. The huge staircase that originally took up the entire lobby had to go. In its place came the large lobby still found at the museum today. Two atriums in the middle of the museum were covered. These spaces, which are entered from the lobby, are now mainly used for large-scale special exhibitions. By refurbishing the museum and putting the Royal Cast Collection into storage the space available for exhibiting the collections was almost doubled.
The year 1998 saw the official opening of the new museum wing designed by Anna Maria Indrio from the architect’s firm C.F. Møllers Tegnestue. The new, modernist building runs parallel to Dahlerup’s original building, opening up the museum towards the Østre Anlæg park in which it is set.Widely different in terms of architecture, the two buildings are separate and distinct, yet linked by the glass-roofed Sculpture Street. On the first floor they are connected by gangways.

This new wing also houses a great cafeteria which presented the perfect spot to rest and refill for the next part of the day. The Rosenborg Slot and adjacent gardens.

Because the old medieval castle, Copenhagen Castle, was hopelessly old-fashioned, Christian IV was in need, as a young, ambitious Renaissance ruler, of a fitting residence in Copenhagen. In 1606 he therefore bought up 40 lots outside the Nørrevold wall, which apart from providing the space for his pleasure palace also had space for a magnificent park and a kitchen garden for supplying the court. 

The castle began humbly as a small summer palace, but over the course of 28 years it went through four stages of development, and the castle we know today was finished in 1633. Christian IV loved to stay at the castle, which became his favourite. So great was his love for the castle that on his deathbed at Frederiksborg he commanded that he be transported by sleigh to Rosenborg in order to end his days there. He passed on in his bed chamber.

With its high towers and red brick walls ornamented with sandstone, Rosenborg stands today as a prime example of Christian IV’s many building works, fully formed despite many changes along the way. It was built in the particular Dutch Renaissance style, which became typical of Danish buildings of the period. The names of two architects are linked to the castle, Bertel Lange and Hans van Steenwinckel.

Christian IV had a great knowledge of architecture and dedicated himself to his building works with life and soul. The king’s personal contribution to Rosenborg is often discussed, but he undoubtedly provided many of the ideas. The 400-year-old Renaissance castle was built by Christian IV whose colourful personality left a strong mark on Danish history. Christian IV loved being in residence at Rosenborg and it quickly became his favourite castle and venue for many important events. 

Today visitors can travel back in time and through the possessions of Christian IV and his heirs get a sense of both everyday life and the festive aspects of royal life through 400 years. The rooms and halls testify to pomp and pageantry, but also to peculiarities, secrets, and a view of the world which was in some ways like ours, and in others very different.The Rosenborg is an expression of its time, but the experience of Rosenborg moves with the times. Constantly developing new material about the palace, and often focus on various themes, so that there is always a good reason for (re)visiting Rosenborg.

Rosenborg was used as a royal residence until around 1710, when Christian IV’s great-grandchild Frederik IV gave it up in favour of other, more up-to-date summer residences. Instead he had the palace made into the home of the royal collections. This is the reason why there are so many well-preserved interiors, which are quite unique to Rosenborg.

That is it for this week, hope to have inspired someone to go and visit this area of Copenhagen, it is specially beautiful in the Spring and Summer times. 
Next week I'll be focusing on the 'Kongelige Bibliotek' and exploring it's unconventional architecture and stunning interiors.
Until then,
Keep wandering this rock of ours.

sources:
University of Copenhagen, VisitCopenhagen , University of Copenhagen, SMK.dk, KongernesSamling.dk