Frederiksborg Castle

Frederiksborg Castle (Frederiksborg Slot) in the town of Hillerød, north of Copenhagen, is the largest Renaissance castle in Scandinavia. Built for King Christian IV on three small islands in a lake, it rises in red brick and sandstone with copper spires and richly decorated gables reflected in the water.

The castle was the setting where Denmark's absolute monarchs were anointed, and its chapel with gilded decoration, a historic organ and the coats of arms of the royal orders remains one of its finest rooms. After a fire in the nineteenth century the brewer J. C. Jacobsen helped restore the building, which became the Museum of National History. Its rooms present Danish history through portraits, paintings, furniture and the richly decorated Great Hall. Show more

Outside, the restored Baroque Garden descends in terraces, cascades and clipped hedges towards the lake, and a romantic English garden lies beyond. The small Bath House Castle stands in the forest of Store Dyrehave, part of the North Zealand par force hunting landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage site with straight forest rides laid out for royal hunts. Hillerød's market square and old streets sit right beside the castle lake.

Frederiksborg is reached by train from Copenhagen in under an hour and fits easily into a day with the forests or Elsinore. Allow several hours for the museum and garden. The castle is open all year, and the gardens are at their best from late spring to early autumn.