Copenhagen continued

Helligandskirken

There are many churches in Copenhagen and we visited many of them. After the Marble Church went to Helligandskirken ( Church of the Holy Spirit) which originally dates back to 1296 when it was part of a Catholic Monastery.. The church is one of the oldest in Copenhagen. It was badly affected by the great fire of 1728 and was largely rebuilt. Then we came across Vor Frue Kirke (Church of Our Lady) which is Copenhagen’s cathedral. It is the third church built on this site and the original 12^th century Gothic church was another victim of the 1728 fire while the new church was bombarded by British troops in 1807. The present building dates from 1820. The church is not overly ornate though it has many artworks and statues  by prominent Danish artists on display. The Danish monarch Queen Margrethe can often be seen among the congregation on Sundays.



Rundetarn



The Rundetarn (The Round Tower) is 33 metres tall and 15 metres in diameter it was erected on the orders of Christian IV and was originally intended as an observatory for the nearby university making it the oldest working observatory in Europe. Access to the top of the tower is via a cobbled ramp, in 1642 during the tower’s opening ceremony Christian IV is said to have ridden his horse up the ramp to the top and in 1716 the Tsar of Russia, Peter the Great was said to repeat the stunt. From the top of the tower there is a wonderful view of the city.

Adjoining the tower is Trinitatis Kirke commissioned by Christian IV for the staff and students of the University. It was inspired by the Gothic style and was completed in 1656 and the roof and interior was destroyed by the 1728 fire it was then rebuilt with Baroque features.



Tivoli Gardens Entrance



We were quite churched out after this and decided to visit the famous Tivoli Gardens that night. It is part amusement park and part cultural venue. Tivoli opened in 1843 and is loved and regarded as one of the Danes national treasures. It is in the heart of the city it has a large garden, many rides of various degrees of scariness and a large number of eateries and restaurants which includes Nimb a Michelin star restaurant.

We wandered around and enjoyed the atmosphere and ate at one of the more humble eateries.

The following day we visited Rosenburg Palace which was built in 1606 and contains many royal objects that include paintings, furniture and amoury. In the underground treasury/ vault the crown jewels and other royal treasures. Two armed soldiers guard the front of the treasury.  The palace itself is very interesting , in the Long Room there is a collection of silver furniture and tapestries.

We don’t give up, after lunch we wandered across the street to the Danish National Gallery (Statens Museum for Kunst) houses a great collection of European art as well as Danish painters which include artists from the ‘Golden Age’ (1800-50). After we took it all in, with our feet aching we  wondered how we managed to survive the Hermitage.

No satisfied with having aching feet from being on them all day we decided to walk to Nyhavn for dinner. I thought I would never be able to walk home but after a glass of wine and a lovely meal my feet were recovered enough to walk back to the hotel.