The Legacy of the Kings

The Board for Castles and Cultural Properties is constantly carrying out major restoration works at the Danish royal castles. Over the course of a year and a half, we have been following two of the most extensive projects of recent times: the restoration of the Hermitage Palace in Jægersborg Dyrehaven and of the Chancellery at Fredensborg Castle. Along the way, experienced professionals talk about the special craftsmanship that is needed to restore the buildings' inner and outer splendor.

Fredensborg Palace Garden in North Zealand is a unique baroque garden, but also a garden that has undergone many changes. Therefore, it is a bit of a challenge when you want to rebuild the garden so that it looks like it did in its heyday 250 years ago. In the broadcast, we follow the planning of the large restoration project in Fredensborg and get particularly close to the considerations that the leading landscape architect makes.

When old royal castles fall into disrepair, there is a need for craftsmen of the old-fashioned kind. In the broadcast, we follow some of the plasterers, stonemasons and painters who are called in when, for example, the Audience Hall at Frederiksborg Castle starts to crack. We get an insight into some professions where many of the same techniques and tools are used as centuries ago. But there are also subjects that are so small that important specialist knowledge risks being lost.

When the Hubertus hunt is launched every autumn in Jægersborg Animal Park, it is not just a competition, but also a tribute to an ancient form of hunting. And in the middle of it all stands the Hermitage Palace, where the all-powerful king could partake of his sumptuous lunches once the prey had been slaughtered and prepared. In the broadcast, the story of the so-called parforce hunt is told, and it is demonstrated how the Hermitage Palace's interior emphasizes the hunt as a theme.

Johannes Wiedewelt was the great Danish sculptor of the 18th century, and the kings loved his art. In the broadcast, we follow in Wiedewelt's footsteps and visit, among other things, Italy's capital, Rome, where he lived for a few years and found important sources of inspiration. At home in Denmark, Wiedewelt carried out extensive sculpture projects at e.g. Fredensborg Castle and Jægerspris Castle. Even so, today he is a relatively unknown artist, and this annoys, among others, the sculptor Bjørn Nørgaard.

In the 18th century, many foreign artists were invited to Denmark, including the Frenchman Nicolas-Henri Jardin. He designed the castle garden in Fredensborg and was also the architect of a number of royal castles and other well-known Danish buildings. For a number of years he sparkled as one of the absolute stars within art and architecture in Denmark. But then his plans with the Marble Church went down the drain, and his career ended sadly.