“May you find tranquility in all the little moments…” – Anonymous

The King’s Garden is unique among parks in Copenhagen in its topography, atmosphere, and layout. The other parks are hilly with low-lying lakes due to their past service as part of the city’s defenses, or wild and natural, or wide-open grassy spaces, or crowded with sports fields, or along the ocean melding into the sand. As Denmark’s oldest palace garden, The King’s Garden is flat, organized, and simply regal. All the paths are straight as are the two avenues of stately linden trees that help separate the garden into sections, each with its own ambiance. There is something here for every type of garden lover and in every season.

In 1606, King Christian IV purchased land just outside Copenhagen’s East Rampart to build a country castle. He started by having the garden laid out in the contemporary Renaissance style as a pleasure garden and to provide fruit and vegetables to the royal kitchens at Copenhagen Castle. At that time, a wooden pavilion provided shelter, but it burned down, to be replaced in 1624 by the splendid Dutch Renaissance Rosenborg Castle. In 1770, the garden was opened to the public by King Christian VII’s famous royal doctor J.F. Struensee. Quickly embraced by the citizenry, the garden’s central location in the city makes it a welcome refuge for Copenhageners even today.

Little remains of the original Renaissance garden except for the underlying network of paths. Along with the linden avenues, grandly named the Knight’s Path and the Lady’s Path, a folly garden stems from the Baroque period. Re-created from original 1669 plans, it features an elegant pavilion and trellised, pear trees surrounded by heirloom roses. A Romantic period rose garden near the castle moat is laid out in characteristic English style with roses encased in an orderly geometric boxwood pattern. Other areas of the garden host events such as performances at the Marionette Theater, the annual Copenhagen Jazz Festival, and summer ballet. There are also “garden rooms” containing a fanciful fairytale playground, a circular fountain encircled by park benches, and the Hercules Pavilion café.

In winter, most people are simply passing through to another city section, and the ambiance is muted by shorter days and grayer weather. A statue of Denmark’s favorite, world-renowned poet Hans Christian Andersen sits quietly pondering the season while children play in the snow. When spring arrives, the cold weather bulbs pop up in a riot of blue and yellow under the rows of trees along the fences. In the crocus lawn, the delightfully contrasting patches of purple, white, and lavender draw out hobby photographers who preserve the short-lived sight. Summer lures groups who picnic on the lawns, couples relaxing on the many park benches, and admirers of the impressive mixed perennial borders along the far wall. These, among the longest in Europe, beckon from behind a long beech tree hedge. In autumn, colorful late-blooming varieties populate the perennial borders, and the benches against the brick wall are still warmed by the afternoon sun that beckons passersby to sit for a while.

Don’t miss:

Strolling along the perennial borders and resting on a park bench in the folly garden.

Lunch Tip:

The Hercules Pavilion in the garden in summer. Louise Roe Gallery, one block away in Vognmagergade in winter.

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*All photographs are mine, taken with my Nikon D3100 or iPhone 12 Pro.*