A Stage for the King

Along with Hamlets Kronborg at Elsinore, Frederiksborg is the most magnificent early seventeenth-century residence in Northern Europe, visited by thousands of people from all over the world each year. Its splendid setting on three interconnected islands and the richness of its sculptural decoration is unparalleled. However, much of the structure and interior was devastated in a fire in 1859 and the large-scale damages necessitated substantial reconstruction. While the reconstruction is reasonably faithful to the original architecture, it was exceedingly lax when it came to the more than sixty freestanding sculptures that originally adorned the castles courtyards, galleries, arches and facades. This volume recreates an idea of how Frederiksborg presented itself to its visitors in the days of Christian IV. The book further unravels the profound inspiration Christian IV drew from his sojourns to Berlin, Dresden and, especially, to England, where in the summer of 1606 he visited his brother-in-law James I at Theobalds House. This visit provided inspiration that, even while construction of his residence in Denmark was in progress, would dramatically change the overall layout and facades of Frederiksborg, thereby turning the castle into the marvel that it remains to this day. In this pioneering study, featuring more than a hundred photos and illustrations, Patrick Kragelund etches out a new and important historical and architectural dimension to this magnificent monument.