Description:
Koldinhus Castle is one of Denmark's most important medieval royal castles. Building first started in the 13th century with north and west wings being added in the 15th century. In the middle of the 16th century King Christian II rebuilt the castle creating the first purely civilian royal palace in Denmark. Apart from a south and east wing he constructed a chapel, which was replaced in the early 17th century by a magnificent palace church. In 18th century the Renaissance Castel was completely transformed to a Baroque palace, which burnt down in 1808. The aim of the restoration was not to recreate a royal castle but to preserve a ruin that had witnessed more than 700 years of Denmark's history and was itself a major source of information about the changing appearance and function of the castle. The main concept, therefore, was to alter as little as possible and to leave the ruin walls basically untouched. Due to the fire and the following 200 years of exposure to the elements, the ruins were in a miserable state. To support the construction of the roof and the floors a structure of laminated wooden columns to the entire height of the building had to be erected. As a result of the concept chosen, the castle now consists of outstanding architectural spaces, excellent for museum purposes, created by modern architecture whilst still preserving its character as ruin.