Marselisborg Palace

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Marselisborg Palace
Marselisborg Slot

Marselisborg Palace
Location within Denmark
General information
Type Palace
Town or city Aarhus
Country Denmark
Coordinates 56°7′40″N 10°12′10″E / 56.12778°N 10.20278°E / 56.12778; 10.20278
Construction started 1899
Completed 1902
Cost kr 150.000
Client City of Aarhus
Design and construction
Architect Hack Kampmann
Engineer Charles Ambt
(City engineer of Copenhagen)

Marselisborg Palace, (Danish: Marselisborg Slot, Danish pronunciation: [mɑˈseːlisb̥ɒːˀ]) is a royal residence of the Danish Royal Family in Aarhus. It has been the summer residence of Queen Margrethe II since 1967.

There is a Palace Park in connection to the Palace itself and outside the grounds, stretching to the coast of the Bay of Aarhus is another large park Mindeparken (English: The Memorial Park), popular with the citizens of Aarhus for recreational activities in the warmer months of the year. Just south of Marselisborg Palace is Aarhus Forestry Botanical Garden and a Deer Park, as part of the extensive Marselisborg Forests. Just west and north of the Palace is Aarhus Racecourse and the Atletion Stadium.

History

Designed by architect Hack Kampmann, Marselisborg Palace was built in 1899-1902 on the land of the old Marselisborg Manor and was presented as a gift from the people of Denmark to the Royal family, on the occasion of the wedding of crown prince Christian and Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The couple later became king Christian X and queen Alexandrine and initiated the tradition of using the Palace as a summer residence. The palace is the property of the Kingdom of Denmark, and will remain in possession of all future monarchs of Denmark.

The present Queen, Margrethe II, was given the palace by her father, King Frederick IX in 1967. Margrethe and her consort Henrik also used the palace as their summer residence. To this day the residence is used during the summer, as well as during the Easter and Christmas holidays. It is the usual venue for the royal family's official summer photo shoot.

About the name

The name Marselisborg refers to the old barony manor Marselisborg. Marselisborg means "Marselis Castle" in Danish and it was located where Marselisborg Gymnasium have residence in present times. The manor itself dates back to the 1500s and was originally named Havreballegård, but in the 1600s the German-Dutch merchant Gabriel Marselis, replaced the name with the more grandiose "Marselis Castle". The Municipality of Aarhus took ownership of the Marselisborg estate in 1896, but the houses caught fire several times in the early 1900s and does not exist anymore. The only relation to Marselisborg Palace is the name Marselisborg and the fact that the Palace was erected on the land of the Marselis estate.

A gift from the people

The palace is a gift of the people, in the sense that the project was funded by individual economical contributions and built on land given by the Municipality of Aarhus. Several jutlandic cities and Danish companies became involved in the project, when the palace was equipped and furnished later on and in return their coat of arms are now presented throughout the palace building. Among the contributors are the city of Vejle, Horsens, Randers, Aalborg, Thisted and Nykøbing Mors, to name just a few. The fundraising was initiated in the autumn of 1897 by prefect Dreyer, baron J. Rosenkrantz of Sophiendal and landowner Chr. Neergaard of Aakjær.

The Palace Park

The palace is surrounded by a 32-acre (130,000 m2) park. The park was designed by architect L. Christian Diedrichsen who was commissioned to design the gardens in traditional English landscape style. The gardens feature large sweeping lawns dotted with art sculptures and surrounded by trees, small ponds, shrub-covered slopes, a rose garden and a herb garden. When the Queen and her family are in residence at the palace, a changing of the guard ceremony takes place at noon. The park and gardens are both open to the public while the Queen and royal family are not in residence, whereas the palace itself is never open to the public.

  • Marselisborg Palace (Entrance)

  • At the palace grounds.

  • Sculptures from the palace park. "Three lions and nine hearts".

  • Bronze- and water-sculpture from the palace park.

References

    External links

    Media related to Marselisborg Slot at Wikimedia Commons

    Coordinates: 56°7′40.16″N 10°12′10.00″E / 56.1278222°N 10.2027778°E / 56.1278222; 10.2027778

    Present residences
    Former residences
    (incomplete list)
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