Gråsten Palace

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Gråsten Palace seen from the courtyard

The palace seen from the gate

Gråsten Palace (Danish: Gråsten Slot) is best-known for being the summer residence of the Danish royal family. It is located in Gråsten in the Jutland region of southern Denmark. It is within ideal proximity to the Legoland amusement park that the royal children enjoy every year. The main house has a modern, all-white facade, with Venetian doors opening onto sweeping, manicured lawns and gravel walkways. The grounds include a huge stables court. It is also a heavenly place for shaking off the dust on one's Vespa [1].

[edit] History

Legend says that here is where Hans Christian Andersen wrote, The Little Match Girl, during his visit in 1845 [2]. The present-day main house is believed to have been the south wing of the second structure that was built in 1603 to replace the hunting lodge which had been destroyed in a fire in the middle of the 16th century [3]. After about three and a half succeeding centuries of ownership by Danish nobles, Gråsten Slot was taken over by the State, extensively restored, and by 1935, it was the summer residence for then-Crown Prince Frederik, later King Frederik IX, and Crown Princess Ingrid, of course the future Queen Ingrid, who adored the palace until her death in November 2000.

[edit] Landscape and additional structures

As mentioned, the property includes a massive stables court, manicured lawns, and gravel walkways. However, it would be a crime to stop there. These descriptions hardly do justice to the magnificent, oft-described-as-Romantic landscape. The landscape, and especially the gardens are said to be Anglo-inspired. The palace chapel, the only part of the estate that is open to the public, it is a copy of the Jesuit Church of Antwerp. Despite a badly-damaged interior from the Schleswig wars, the chapel is beautifully decorated with 80 paintings [4]. The chapel has bilingual congregations, with German and Danish services to accommodate the mix of local culture [5]. The estate area has an area of 6.6 km² (2.5 mile²).