Public Amusements in Copenhagen. -- Danish Sovereigns. -- The
Fashionable Promenade. -- Danish Women. -- Palace of Rosenborg.
-- A Golconda of Gems. -- A Poet's Monument. -- A Famous
Astronomer. -- Our Lady's Church. -- The King's Square. -- The
Curious Old Round Tower. -- The Peasantry. -- A Famous Deer Park.
-- Roeskilde. -- Elsinore. -- Gypsies. -- Kronborg Castle. -- The
Queen's Prison. -- Hamlet and Ophelia's Grave. -- A Danish
Legend.
Copenhagen is not without its ballets, theatres, Alhambras,
Walhallas, and _cafes chantants_. The principal out-door resort of
this character is the Tivoli Gardens, laid out in the Moorish style,
where the citizens, representing all classes,--the cultured, the
artisan, and the peasant,--assemble and mingle together in a
free-and-easy way. Here they enjoy the long summer evenings, which
indeed at this season of the year do not seem like evenings at all,
since they are nearly as light as the day. Whatever may be said in
advocacy of these public assemblies, enjoyed amid the trees, flowers,
soft air, and artistic surroundings, there seems to a casual visitor
to be too much freedom permitted between the sexes for entire
respectability, and yet nothing actually repulsive was observable. In
Berlin or Vienna these popular resorts would be designated as beer
gardens; here they are called tea-gardens. The Tivoli has a fine
ballet troup among its attractions, and employs two orchestras of
forty instrumental performers each, stationed in different parts of
the spacious gardens. The price of admission to these illuminated
grounds is merely nominal. Some of the wealthiest families as well as
the humbler bring their children with them, as is the custom of those
who frequent the beer gardens of Munich and Dresden. As a popular
place of varied and attractive amusements the Tivoli of Copenhagen
has hardly its equal in Europe.
Just across the harbor is the spacious and fertile island of Amager,
some twenty square miles in extent, which serves as the kitchen or
vegetable garden of the capital. It was first occupied by a colony of
Flemings who were brought hither in 1516 by Charles II., for the
purpose of teaching his subjects how to cultivate vegetables and
flowers. The descendants of these foreigners still retain traces of
their origin, remaining quite distinctive in their costume and
personality. These peasants, or at least those who daily come to
market, must be well off in a pecuniary sense, judging by their gold
and silver ornaments and fanciful dresses.
Tramways render all parts of the city and environs accessible, the
double-decked cars enabling them to carry a large number of
passengers. Broad streets and convenient sidewalks invite the
promenaders along the open squares, which are frequently lined with
umbrageous trees and embellished with monuments. The fashionable
drive and promenade is the Lange Linie (that is, the "Long Line"),
bordering the Sound and forming a complete circle. It reminded one
of the Chiaja of Naples, though there is no semi-tropical vegetation
to carry out the similitude. It was pleasant to meet here the members
of the royal family, including the Queen and Prince Royal. The two
servants upon the box in scarlet livery were the only distinctive
tokens of royalty observable, and there were no other attendants. Her
Majesty and the Prince were both prompt to recognize and salute us as
a stranger. The present king, Christian IX., it will be remembered,
was crowned in 1863, and is now in his sixty-fifth year. Being in
poor health, during our visit he was absent at Wiesbaden, partaking
of its mineral waters. It must be admitted that the past sovereigns
of Denmark have not always been so deserving of popular respect as
have the people of the country generally. The late king was by no
means a shining light of morality. He was married three times,
divorcing his first queen; the second divorced him, and the royal
roue ended by marrying his mistress, who was a fashionable milliner.
He first created her a countess, but he could not make a lady of her,
even in outward appearance, and she remained to the last a social
monstrosity to the court. She was fat, vulgar-looking, snub-nosed,
bourgeoise, and ruled the King in all things. She was totally ignored
by decent society in the capital, and became so obnoxious that she
nearly provoked open rebellion. However, the fortunate death of the
King finally ended this condition of affairs; and as he left no
children by any of his wives, the crown descended to his cousin the
present King, who, it is pleasant to record, has not failed to
dignify the throne.
The ladies walk or drive very generally in the afternoon upon the
Lange Linie, and are certainly attractive with their fair
complexions, light golden hair, and smiling blue eyes. They have both
sunny faces and sunny hearts, emphasized by the merriest tones of
ringing laughter that ever saluted the ear. They are lovable, but not
beautiful, excelling in ordinary accomplishments, such as music and
dancing; "but above all," said a resident American to us, "they are
naturally of domestic habits, and care nothing for politics or
so-called woman's rights, except the right to make home happy." The
well-to-do portion of the community very generally live in "flats,"
after the French and modern American style. Some large and elegant
buildings of this character were observed in course of construction
at the extreme end of the Bredgade. There is no very poor or squalid
district in the town, and one looks in vain for such wretched hovels
as disfigure so many European cities.
The Palace of Rosenborg with its superb gardens, noble avenues of
chestnut trees, and graceful shrubbery is situated near the present
centre of the city. It was once a royal residence, having been built
by Christian IV. as a dwelling-place, whither he might retire at will
from the noise and interruptions of the capital. At the time of its
erection in 1604 it was outside the walls, a radius which the modern
city has long since outgrown. The room in which the King died in
1648 is shown to visitors, and recalled to us the small apartment in
which Philip II. died at the Escurial, near Madrid. Among the few
paintings upon the walls of this apartment is one representing the
King upon his death-bed, as he lay in his last long sleep. The palace
is now devoted to a chronological collection of the belongings of the
Danish kings, spacious apartments being devoted to souvenirs of each,
decorated in the style of the period and containing a portion of the
original furniture from the several royal residences, as well as the
family portraits, gala-costumes, jewelry, plate, and weapons.
Altogether it is a collection of priceless value and of remarkable
historic interest, covering a period of about four hundred and fifty
years. One is forcibly reminded of the Green Vaults of Dresden while
passing through the many sections of Rosenborg Castle. The
extraordinary and valuable collection within its walls has, it is
believed, no superior in point of interest in all Europe. The founder
of this museum was Frederick III., the son and successor of Christian
IV. Some of the cabinets and other articles of furniture in the
various halls and rooms are marvellous works of art, inlaid with
ivory and mother-of-pearl, representing birds, flowers, landscapes,
and domestic scenes with all the finished effect of oil paintings by
a master-hand. In the cabinets and tables secret drawers are exposed
to view by the touching of hidden springs. While some tables are
formed of solid silver, as are also other articles of domestic use,
still others are composed of both gold and silver. Many of the royal
regalias are profusely inlaid with diamonds, sapphires, emeralds,
rubies, and other precious stones,--forming an aggregated value too
large for us to venture an estimate. The toilet sets were numerous,
and had belonged to the several queens, each embracing eight or ten
finely wrought pieces made of solid gold, superbly inlaid with
precious stones. Among these costly sets was observed the jewelled
casket of Queen Sophia Amalie, wife of Frederick III., a relic of
great interest, inlaid with scores of large diamonds. The costly and
very beautiful bridal dresses of several royal personages are here
exhibited, all being carefully and chronologically arranged, so that
the intelligent visitor clearly reads veritable history amid this
array of domestic treasures.
It is difficult to designate the order of architecture to which the
Rosenborg Palace belongs, though it is clearly enough in the showy
renaissance of the seventeenth century. It is attributed to the
famous architect Inigo Jones. In the spacious grounds is a fine
monument erected to the memory of Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish
poet and author, whose popular tales are the delight not only of all
Scandinavian children, but of those of larger growth, being full of
acute observation and profound views under a simple and familiar
guise. At the foot of this statue, as we passed by, there stood a
group of young children, to whom one evidently their teacher was
explaining its purport. A school of gardening is also established
here, with extensive conservatories and hot-houses. These grounds
are called the Kindergarten of the city, being so universally the
resort of infancy and childhood during the long summer days, but are
officially known as Kongen's Have (King's Garden).
Close to the Rosenborg Palace is the Astronomical Observatory, in the
grounds of which is a monument to the astronomer Tycho Brahe, who
died in 1610. This monument was unveiled on the 8th day of August,
1876, just three hundred years after the founding of Brahe's famous
observatory on the Island of Hveen, where he discovered on the 1st of
November, 1572, the Cassiopeia, which is best known as Tycho Brahe's
star. "Only Venus at her brightest surpasses this new star," wrote
the enthusiastic astronomer. Science, however, has since shown that
it was no new star, but one that shines with great lustre for a few
months once in a period of three hundred years. One sunny afternoon
the author took a trip up the Sound to Hveen, familiarly known as
Tycho Brahe's Island, and which was presented to Tycho by the King of
Denmark. The foundation in ruins is all that remains of the famous
castle which the somewhat vain astronomer built here, and to which he
gave the name of Uraniborg ("Castle of the Heavens."). This man was a
strange compound of science and superstition; he was a poet of no
ordinary power, and was courted by many of the eminent men of his
day. James VI. of Scotland was at times his guest at Hveen. He was
well connected, but mortally offended his relatives by marrying an
humble peasant girl of Amager.
The most interesting Christian temple in the capital is that of Our
Lady's Church, being also the oldest and best endowed. It was founded
early in the twelfth century, and is in the Greco-Roman style; but
its greatest attraction is the possession of some of Thorwaldsen's
finest sculpture. The sad-fated Caroline Matilda was married with
great ceremony in this church, in 1766, to her cousin Christian VII.
Outside of the church are two statues in bronze,--one of David by
Jerichau, and one of Moses by Bissen. The King's Square already
spoken of is situated very near the actual centre of the city, whence
radiates a dozen more or less of the principal streets, of which the
Bredgade (Broad Street) is one. In the middle of this area there is a
statue of Christian V. surrounded by grotesque, allegorical figures.
The material of the statue is lead, the whole forming a colossal
caricature upon art, entirely unworthy of its present situation.
There is a friendly collection of tall shrubbery clustered about the
leaden statue, forming a partial screen. The spacious square, or
circus as it would be called in London, or piazza in Rome, is
bordered by several public buildings, mingled with tall narrow
dwellings, characterized by fantastic gables and long sloping roofs
full of little dormer windows. The Royal Theatre, the Academy of
Arts, Count Moltke's picture gallery, and some hotels centre here.
The Round Tower of Copenhagen has been pronounced one of the most
remarkable buildings in the world. It is certainly very peculiar,
designed as a sort of annex to the Church of the Holy Trinity.
Formerly it served as an astronomical observatory; and it is an
observatory still, since it affords one of the best and most
comprehensive views that can be had of the low-lying capital. The
tower consists of two hollow cylinders, and between them a spiral,
gradually-inclined foot-way leads from base to summit, somewhat
similar to the grand Campanile in the piazza of St. Mark, Venice. It
is quite safe for a horse and vehicle to ascend; indeed, this
performance is said to have been achieved by the Empress Catherine,
and it is also recorded that Peter the Great accomplished the same
feat on horseback in 1707. From the top of the Round Tower the
red-tiled roofs of the city lie spread out beneath the eye of the
visitor, mingled with green parks, open squares, tall slim steeples,
broad canals, public buildings, long boulevards, palaces, and
gardens. To this aspect is added the multitude of shipping lying
along the piers and grouped in the harbor, backed by a view of the
open sea. The Swedish coast across the Baltic is represented by a low
range of coast-line losing itself upon the distant horizon. Turning
the eyes inland, there are seen thick groves of dark woods and richly
cultivated fields, sprinkled here and there by the half-awkward but
picturesque and wide-armed wind-mills in lazy motion. The bird's-eye
view obtained of Copenhagen and surroundings from this eyrie is one
to be long and vividly remembered.
The environs within eight or ten miles of the city are rather
sparsely inhabited, though there are many delightful villas to be
seen here and there. Everything is scrupulously neat; human and
animal life appears at its best. The whole of the island, from one
end to the other, is interspersed with thrifty farms, and no
dwellings, barns, or other farm buildings are so humble but that the
walls are kept of snowy brightness with whitewash, while all are
surrounded by well-kept shrubbery, birches, and flower-plats. The
peasant girls seen at work in large numbers in the field are smiling,
ruddy, and stout; the men are of low stature, but hale and hearty. We
were informed that the nominal increase of the population is so small
as to be hardly recognizable, being but about one per cent per annum,
and--singular fact--that suicide is more prevalent in Denmark than in
any other portion of Europe. Emigration from this country is far less
in proportion than from Norway and Sweden, but yet amounts to a
respectable aggregate annually. Some of the birch and linden woods
not far from the city form beautiful and picturesque groves,
particularly in the suburb north of the capital, where the Prince
Imperial has a large chateau, situated amid rich woodland glades.
Though the spruce and pine are so abundant in Norway and Sweden just
across the narrow Sound, no conifer will grow in Denmark. Tea-gardens
abound in these environs, the citizens knowing no greater pleasure
than to resort thither to enjoy their tea or supper in the open air.
The short summer season is more than tropical in the haste it imparts
to vegetation, making up for its brevity by its intensity. Were this
not the case, the crops would hardly reach maturity in Scandinavia.
There is what is called the Dyrehave, or Deer Park, a couple of miles
beyond the Prince's chateau, where the people of Copenhagen annually
enjoy a mid-summer revel lasting some weeks, perhaps a little too
fast and free, if the truth be told, where even Nijnii-Novgorod is
exceeded in lasciviousness. A fair of some days' continuance is held
in the park, which reaches its climax on St. John's Eve, when its
well-arranged precincts, groves, cafes, shooting galleries,
flower-booths and verdant vistas make a rare picture of gayety and
sportive life. A large herd of the picturesque animals after whom the
park is named, roam at will over the more secluded portions. Among
them two noble white stags were observed, the first we had ever
chanced to see. The park is reached by a pleasant drive over an
excellent road, or by steam tramway cars any hour in the day.
Twenty miles northwest of the city are situated the village and the
royal palace of Fredericksborg, one of the noblest of all the royal
residences of the kings of Denmark. It stands about midway between
the capital and Elsinore. The original building was begun under
Frederick II., grandfather of Charles I. of England, and completed in
1608 by his son and successor Christian IV. The palace occupies three
small islands in the middle of Lake Hilleroed, which is also the name
of the neighboring market-town, the islands being connected therewith
by a bridge. The building is four stories in height, composed of red
sandstone, elaborately ornamented with sculpture, the whole
surmounted by tall towers and a steeple containing a chime of bells.
It has been pronounced a dream of architectural beauty, quite
unequalled elsewhere in Denmark.
It is not the author's purpose to take the reader far away from
Copenhagen, or at least from the shores of the Sound, as the plan of
the present volume is so comprehensive in other directions as to
circumscribe the space which can properly be devoted to Denmark.
On the peninsula, as well as in Zeeland, the land is generally
undulating. There being as we have said no mountains or considerable
elevations, consequently no waterfalls or rapids are to be met with;
the rivers are smooth and the lakes mirror-like. The soil is sandy,
often marshy, but produces good crops of grain and affords fine
pasturage. The green fields were sprinkled far and near on the line
of the railroad from Korsoer to Copenhagen with grazing cattle,
sheep, and horses, forming a pleasing rural picture under a clear
azure sky. The produce of the dairy is the great staple of Denmark.
On this route one passes through the village of Leedoye, where there
was once a grand Pagan temple and place of sacrifice, exceeded in
importance in Scandinavia only by that at Upsala. Close at hand is
Roeskilde, so historically interesting,--though save its grand
cathedral, dating from the twelfth or thirteenth century, it has
little left to show that for five hundred years it was the capital
of Denmark, even down to 1448. Here is to be seen the black marble
sarcophagus of the renowned Queen Margaret of Scandinavia, surmounted
by her recumbent effigy; also a mortuary chapel of Christian IV. and
Frederick V. Other queens and monarchs are here interred, from the
time of Harold to Frederick VII. The whole forms an exceedingly
interesting monument of mediaeval days.
Upon this line of road there are occasional districts so well wooded
as to be called forests; but that word does not signify the same in
Zeeland as it does in America. There are still to be seen occasional
groups of gypsy vagrants in the inland districts, but are rarely to
be found in the cities. Not many years ago they were here in great
numbers, but are now gradually disappearing. One group was observed
whose members presented all the peculiar characteristics of their
Asiatic origin. They are dark-skinned, with raven-black hair and
black piercing eyes, presenting a picture of indolence and
sensuousness. The young women were mostly handsome, even in their
dirt, rags, and cheap jewelry.
The ramparts and fortifications generally which formerly surrounded
Copenhagen on the seaside have nearly all been demolished, the ground
being now turned into fine garden-walks planted with umbrageous trees
and bright-hued flowers, adding greatly to the beauty of the Danish
capital. The last unimproved portion of these now defunct
fortifications is being levelled and brought into ornamental
condition. The former moats have assumed the shape of tiny lakes,
upon which swans are seen at all hours; and where death-dealing
cannon were planted, lindens, rose-bushes, peonies, heliotrope, and
tall white lilies now bloom and flourish. The outer-island defences
have in the mean time been greatly strengthened and the more modern
weapons of warfare adopted, so that Copenhagen is even better
prepared for self-defence than ever before.
No finer scenery is to be found in Europe than is presented by the
country lying between Copenhagen and Elsinore, composed of a
succession of forests, lawns, villas, cottages, and gardens for a
distance of twenty-five miles. Elsinore is a small seaport, looking
rather deserted, bleak, and silent, with less than ten thousand
inhabitants. From out of the uniformity of its red brick buildings
there looms up but one noticeable public edifice; namely, the Town
Hall, with a square, flanked by an octagonal tower built of brick and
red granite. The charm of the place is its remarkable situation,
commanding an admirable view of the Baltic with Sweden in the
distance, while the Sound which divides the two shores is always
dotted in summer with myriads of steamers and sailing vessels. The
author counted over eighty marine craft at one view, glancing between
"the blue above and the blue below." The position of Elsinore recalls
that of Gibraltar and the Dardanelles as surely as its name recalls
Hamlet and Shakspeare. North of the town, on the extreme point of the
land, stands the famous castle of Kronborg, with its three tall
towers, the central one overtopping the others by forty or fifty
feet. The tower upon the most seaward corner is now devoted to the
purpose of a lighthouse. The castle is about three centuries old,
having been built by Frederick II. for the purpose of commanding the
entrance to the Sound, and of enforcing the marine tolls which were
exacted from all foreign nations for a period of two or three
centuries. Kronborg contains a small collection of oil paintings,
nearly all of which are by Danish artists. A portrait of Rubens's
daughter by the hand of the great master himself was observed. There
is also an ideal portrait of considerable merit entitled Hamlet, by
Abildgaard. But to the author, as he strolled from one spacious
apartment to another, there came forcibly the sad memory of the young
and lovely Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark and sister of George
III. It was here that she was confined, upon a preposterous charge of
infidelity to her husband,--that royal lunatic!--instituted by the
malignity of the Queen Dowager, who wished to secure the succession
to her son. After a trying period of imprisonment in this castle, the
ill-fated Matilda was permitted, through the influence of her royal
brother to retire to Zell, in Hanover, where she died of a broken
heart at the age of twenty-three. During her misfortune she wrote
that memorable line on the window of Fredericksborg Castle, with a
diamond ring,--
"Lord keep me innocent: make others great."
One has only to study for a moment the serene and beautiful face of
the Queen, as exhibited in Rosenborg Palace, to feel entire
confidence in her innocence.
If you come to Elsinore the guide will show you what is called
Hamlet's grave, located in a small grove of trees, where some cunning
hands long ago erected a rude mound of stones. Shakspeare, who had a
royal way of committing anachronisms, made Hamlet live in this place
after the introduction of gunpowder, whereas, if any such person ever
did exist, it was centuries earlier and hundreds of miles farther
north upon the mainland, in what is now Jutland. However, that is
unimportant. Do not leave Elsinore without visiting Ophelia's fatal
brook! To be sure it is not large enough for a duck to swim in, but a
little stretch of the imagination will overcome all local
discrepancies.
Far back in Danish legendary story, a time when history fades into
fable, it is said there was a Hamlet in northern Denmark, but it was
long before the birth of Christ. His father was not a king, but a
famous pirate chief who governed Jutland in conjunction with his
brother. Hamlet's father married the daughter of a Danish king, the
issue being Hamlet. His uncle, according to the ancient story, did
murder Hamlet's father and afterwards married his mother; and this
was the basis of Shakspeare's grand production.
The great, gloomy-looking castle of Kronborg, which has stood
sentinel here for three centuries, would require two thousand men and
more to defend it in time of war, but modern gunnery has rendered
it, for all offensive purposes, of no account. The Sound, which at
Copenhagen is about twenty miles wide, here narrows to two, the old
fort of Helsingborg on the Swedish coast being in full view. Thus the
passage here forms the natural gate to the Baltic. There are
delightful drives in the environs of Elsinore presenting land and sea
views of exquisite loveliness, the water-side bristling with reefs,
rocks, and lighthouses, while that of the land is picturesque with
villas, groves, and cultivated meads.