If you plan to enter Rosenborg Castle, then I suggest you allot a few hours on your schedule to fully enjoy the tour of the renaissance castle turned museum of royal artifacts. It holds a collection of articles, some of which belonged to the nobility and the aristocracy, spanning 300 years from King Frederik II in the late 16th century to King Frederik VII in the 19th century.

King Christian VI's room with tapestries displaying the life of Alexander the Great.

A 3D image of a royalty carved from ivory & garbed in hand-woven finery.

This is just one wall of the Porcelain Room.

The castle, when it was built, was intended to be a summerhouse that’s closer to the city, one of the architectural projects of Christian IV. It had the typical Dutch Renaissance style of the period. After it was erected in 1606, it underwent expansions -- first in 1613, doubling the length and size of the summerhouse, and in 1616 when the Long Hall was added as an extra story to the building and a few more additions -- until evolving into its present look by 1624. The changes turned the original little summer residence into a fashionable and comfortable residence for the Royal Family and household.

The Rosenborg Castle underwent renovations, which included the addition of the third level where the Long Hall is.

Until 1710, it was royal residence to the Danish regents. Twice, the Rosenborg castle was used as royal residence after the reign of Frederik IV, and both times during a crisis—in 1794 after Christianborg Palace burned down and in 1801 when the British attacked Copenhagen.

A seat fit for a King. An elaborately embellished saddle for royalty.

Detail of the saddle.

Games of war Kings & Knights "play"

Royalty's rifle. Luxurious.

In 1838, the castle was opened to the public.

The ground floor hall

The regal loo

The Rosenborg collection is opulent -- luxuriously embellished household items displayed in richly festooned rooms. The compact size of the castle made it ideal to admire the collection at a closer distance.

One of the many elaborate crystal chandeliers in the castle

How precious is time?

The table clock in detail. Hand carved ivory statuettes as adornment.

Music must be sweeter with this mother-of-pearl laden stringed instrument.

Decorative art

A story on alabaster

This is one of many. Cameo encrusted bowl.

The most important and most visited room in the castle would be the 1624-completed Long Hall on the third level. It was the ballroom for banquets and the Royal Reception Room in the 1700s and the Knight’s Hall in the later part of the 19th century.

The Long Hall, decorated with fine art depicting significant times in Danish history, is also known as the Royal Reception Room & the Knight’s Hall.

The Long Hall is the most visited chamber in the castle in the past.

Inside this hall are a large collection of (mostly) 17th century silver furniture, 12 tapestries on the wall depicting the King’s victories in the Scanian War, the 18th century stucco ceiling showing the Danish Coat of Arms along with reliefs depicting historical events from the reign of Frederik IV, frescoes representing the Regalia, and its main attraction -- the Throne Chair of Denmark aka the coronation chair of the absolutist kings and the throne of the queens with the three silver lions positioned in front.

The Throne Chair of Denmark, the queen’s throne and the silver lions are the highlights of the Long Hall.

Most interesting is the exhibition of the Crown Jewels and the Danish Crown Regalia. The magnificent royal jewelry collections take the spotlight in this dimly lit room in Rosenborg Castle Treasury, in the castle’s cellar.

Don't miss this area in the castle visit.

You might miss the treasury entrance, but this one you will definitely notice.

These crowns, the highlight of the royal jewelry collection exhibit in the Royal Treasury.

Of course, I have to have a photo with these Danish beauties.

Crowns that distinguish the royalties positions in the monarchy.

The scepter of royalty

Each according to its function.

My choice to wear for Sunday mass. (semi-casual lang)

My personal favorites.

Amazing craftsmanship on this piece.

Rosenborg Slot -- Rosenborg Castle and The Royal Danish Collections (Crown Jewellery & Treasury), is at Øster Voldgade 4, 1350 Copenhagen K. Train/Metro: Nørreport


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Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on May 14, 2015.

Yes, gold, and no, the small street is not paved in gold. But it could have been if the medieval chemists, aka the 16th century alchemists, found the "reaction" that turned ordinary metal to something precious, and this was the area they looked into.

No luck, the "reaction" wasn't there. But what turned to gold in the 16th century was the lane's name (goldsmiths were said to reside here), which sounded better than its predecessor, the Street of Alchemists or Alchemists' Alley, because, believe it or not, none of these "scientists" actually worked or lived in the area.

The Golden Lane came about after the construction of the northern wall of the Castle. This part of the castle was where modest residences for the castle servants-gatekeepers, guards, bell-ringers, and castle marksmen were built. These small colored houses that line the wall are now the last remaining specimens of the small-scale architecture of Prague Castle, which was still used until World War II.

A glimpse into a living quarter of the past

Reels of films. Possibly a home doubled as a cinema during the 20th century.

Among the Golden Lane's famous 20th century residents were Franz Kafka, a Czech-Jewish writer, who lived in house No. 22 from 1916 to 1917 to "write in peace," and Jaroslav Seifart, winner of 1984 Nobel Prize for Literature and a signatory of Charter 77, an informal civic initiative in communist Czechoslovakia, who resided in the area in 1929.

House No. 12 was the temporary residence to dramatist and prose fiction writer Jiri Maranek, who found inspiration in the romantic atmosphere of the lane. And if anybody wanted a glimpse of their future, they head to House No. 14, the home of renowned Prague tarot card reader and clairvoyant Matylda Prusova aka Madame de Thebes.

It was during the period of the First Republic when a move was taken to preserve the Golden Lane. The look and character was to be retained in the course of the castle's modifications.

Today, Golden Lane stands as another showcase of the past in the Prague Castle. While most of the residences exhibit the living quarters of the past, souvenir shops and museums are found in the area as well.

The staircase in house No. 12 leads to Daliborka, the terrace in front of the round cannon tower, a part of the Jagiello fortification system in the 14th century. This passage serves as a museum of armory. 

Father & child armory & weaponry set

Choose your weapon wisely….

The bird man warrior.

A museum is set along the terrace of the fortification

The bottom floor was initially used as a prison. The knight Dalibor of Kozojedy was the first and best-known prisoner in 1498, so was Baron Frantisek Antonin Spork of East Bohemia, who was an admirer and patron of art in the 18th century.

The tour of the Golden Lane ends at the connecting Dalibor Tower. It used to be the castle's dungeon and where an interesting collection of implements can be found, those used for torture. This must be the most dreaded room in the complex's past.

The way down to the dungeon.

Possibly the most dreaded room in the castle – the dungeon below the Dalibor Tower.

To whom the mold fits.

The admission ticket to the Prague Castle complex allows entry to the Golden Lane. Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on February 26, 2015.

From the lower plains of the city, the St. Vitus Cathedral, the biggest and most important cathedral in the country and the excellent example of Gothic architecture, juts out off the Prague Castle’s landscape on the hilltop above Lesser Town. Its magnificence is beautiful by day as it is at night. On a closer look, the cathedral is breathtaking.

St. Vitus Cathedral stands as an perfect example of Gothic architecture

Gargoyles

Dwarfed by the church's magnificence

The east end of the cathedral