A 'once-upon-a-time' combo of turrets, gables and moat, the early-17th-century Rosenborg Slot was built between 1606 and 1633 by King Christian IV in Dutch Renaissance style to serve as his summer home. Today, the castle's 24 upper rooms are chronologically arranged, housing the furnishings and portraits of each monarch from Christian IV to Frederik VII. The pièce de résistance, however, is the basement Treasury, home to the dazzling crown jewels, among them Christian IV's glorious crown and the jewel-studded sword of Christian III.
Feeling cramped at Rosenborg, King Frederik IV built a roomier palace in the 18th century, in the town of Fredensborg, north of the city. In the years that followed, Rosenborg was used mainly for official functions and as a place in which to safeguard the monarchy's heirlooms. In the 1830s the royal family decided to open the castle to visitors as a museum, while still using it as a treasury for royal regalia and jewels.
Although information panels are scarce, smartphone users with a scanner app can download information about collection highlights via the exhibition barcodes. If you don't have a smartphone – or if you simply want more extensive coverage of the collection – catalogues are available at the ticket office, either for hire (Dkr10) or purchase (Dkr25).
