Rosenborg Castle Gardens

Kongens Have
A view of Rosenborg Castle from Kongens Have
Type	Urban park
Location	Copenhagen, Denmark
Coordinates	55°41′06″N 12°34′44″E / 55.685°N 12.579°E / 55.685; 12.579Coordinates: 55°41′06″N 12°34′44″E / 55.685°N 12.579°E / 55.685; 12.579
Area	12 hectares (30 acres)
Created	1606
Visitors	2.5 million
Status	Open all year

Rosenborg Castle Gardens (Danish: Kongens Have literally The King's Garden) is the oldest and most visited park in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Established in the early 17th century as the private gardens of King Christian IV's Rosenborg Castle, the park also contains several other historical buildings, including Rosenborg Barracks, home to the Royal Guards, as well as a high number of statues and monuments. The park also plays host to temporary art exhibitions and other events such as concerts throughout the summer.

The park traces its history back to 1606 when King Christian IV acquired land outside Copenhagen's East Rampart and established a pleasure garden in Renaissance style which also delivered fruit, vegetables and flowers for the royal household at Copenhagen Castle. The garden had a relatively small pavilion which was later expanded into present day Rosenborg Castle which was completed in 1624.In 1634, Charles Ogier, secretary to the French ambassador to Denmark, compared the gardens to the Tuileries Garden in Paris. A drawing by Otto Heider from 1649, the oldest dated garden plan from Denmark, provides knowledge about the layout of the original garden. The garden contained a pavilion, statues, a fountain and various other features. Its plants included mulberries, wine, apples, pears, and lavender.

Later in the century, as fashions changed, the garden was redesigned. A garden plan from 1669 show a garden maze, a typical feature of the Baroque garden. It had an intricate system of paths which led to a central space with an octagonal summerhouse in its centre. From about 1710, after Frederiksberg Palace had been built, Rosenborg Castle, as well as its gardens, was largely abandoned by the royal family and the gardens were instead opened to the public-