Marselisborg Palace

Aarhus, Denmark

In 1661, a debt-ridden King Frederik III had to hand over to one of his creditors, the Dutch merchant Gabriel Marselis, one of the crown properties in Jutland-an estate called Havreballegaard. Two of the merchant’s sons moved to Denmark and settled in the Aarhus area. One son, Constantin Marselis, later got Havreballegaard raised to the status of a baronetcy called Marselisborg. He died childless and entrusted the baronetcy to Christian V. The king gave the estate to his son, Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve.

In the following centuries, there was a series of different owners. The city of Aarhus bought the Marselisborg estate in 1896, and in 1898, a portion of the park was given to the newly-married crown prince couple, Prince Christian (X) and Princess Alexandrine, as a wedding present from Jutlanders. As a part of the gift, the architect Hack Kampmann built, between 1899 and 1902, the existing Marselisborg Palace, which became the crown prince couple’s summer residence. In 1967, King Frederik IX transferred the palace to the then-throne heir, Princess Margrethe, and Prince Henrik, and today, the Royal Couple still use the palace as a summer residence.

The approximately 13 hectare-large park and was laid out by the landscape architect L. Christian Diedrichsen in traditional English style with large sweeping lawns surrounded by trees, small ponds and shrub-covered slopes. In addition, the park contains a number of artworks, a rose garden and a herb garden. The palace is not open to the public, but the park is open for public use when the Royal Family is not in residence at the palace. There is a changing of the guards ceremony with the Royal Life Guard at noon during periods when The Queen is staying at the palace.

References:

Comments

Your name

Website (optional)


Address

Kongevejen 100, Aarhus, Denmark
See all sites in Aarhus

Details

Founded: 1899-1902
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Denmark

More Information

www.visitdenmark.com
en.wikipedia.org
kongehuset.dk

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Viking Museum (3,2 km)
Aarhus Old Town (3,6 km)
Aarhus Cathedral (3,3 km)
Aarhus Theatre (3,2 km)
Church of Our Lady (3,4 km)
Moesgård Museum (4,8 km)


St. Morten’s Church (38,4 km)
Fyrkat (61,2 km)
Veng Abbey Church (20 km)
Skanderborg Castle Church (20,1 km)
Kalø Castle Ruins (23,1 km)
Gammel Estrup Manor (35,6 km)
Bjørnkaer Castle Ruins (23,5 km)
Poskaer Stenhus (21,1 km)
Øm Abbey Ruins (29,4 km)

User Reviews

Roseann Critchlow (2 years ago)
Very beautiful quiet relaxing place to visit. Lovely garden very simple house for the Danish queen.
Robert McCluskey (2 years ago)
Castle was not open on this particular day, but the surrounding park is excellent for a quiet walk. Lots of art works, flowers, fruit trees and beautiful views to be enjoyed.
Andrew K (2 years ago)
A lovely park with beautiful gardens, playground and picnic areas. Palace gardens are open when the Queen is not in residence. Close to large park and beach also.
Alexandra Debrere (2 years ago)
~15 min away from central Aarhus, located next to a beautiful beach, and animals are really friendly, but they only care about food, so bring some apples and carrots. I also want to warn people that they shouldn't feed deer with spaghetti, because it makes them go crazy.
Oleksii Lynda (2 years ago)
I was walking only in the park. We really like it. Were different kinds of flowers and plantings, interesting sculptures. We had a good time. Beautiful castle, well preserved.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Most beautiful castles in Lithuania
Photo from Flickr, copyright Makser

Historic Site of the week

Derbent Fortress

Derbent is the southernmost city in Russia, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian steppes to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south. Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BCE. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan and Iranian kingdoms.

Derbent has archaeological structures over 5,000 years old. As a result of this geographic peculiarity, the city developed between two walls, stretching from the mountains to the sea. These fortifications were continuously employed for a millennium and a half, longer than any other extant fortress in the world.

A traditionally and historically Iranian city, the first intensive settlement in the Derbent area dates from the 8th century BC. The site was intermittently controlled by the Persian monarchs, starting from the 6th century BC. Until the 4th century AD, it was part of Caucasian Albania which was a satrap of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. In the 5th century Derbent functioned as a border fortress and the seat of Sassanid Persians. Because of its strategic position on the northern branch of the Silk Route, the fortress was contested by the Khazars in the course of the Khazar-Arab Wars. In 654, Derbent was captured by the Arabs.

The Sassanid fortress does not exist any more, as the famous Derbent fortress as it stands today was built from the 12th century onward. Derbent became a strong military outpost and harbour of the Sassanid empire. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Derbent also became an important center for spreading the Christian faith in the Caucasus.

The site continued to be of great strategic importance until the 19th century. Today the fortifications consist of two parallel defence walls and Naryn-Kala Citadel. The walls are 3.6km long, stretching from the sea up to the mountains. They were built from stone and had 73 defence towers. 9 out of the 14 original gates remain.

In Naryn-Kala Citadel most of the old buildings, including a palace and a church, are now in ruins. It also holds baths and one of the oldest mosques in the former USSR.

In 2003, UNESCO included the old part of Derbent with traditional buildings in the World Heritage List.

Map Top Sights Tags Historical Periods City Guides About Us Sign Up Upload new site
© 2020 SpottingHistory.com. All rights reserved.