Supposedly the Queen of Denmark's favorite abode, the 18th-century Fredensborg Slot is a grand palace in Italian baroque style. The name Fredensborg – meaning "Peace Palace" – commemorates the truce that Denmark had just achieved with its Scandinavian neighbors when the palace was commissioned. Indeed, the building's unfortified architectural elegance reflects the more tranquil mood of that era, an abrupt contrast with the far more formidable moat-encircled fortresses of Kronborg and Frederiksborg that preceded it.
It has beautiful baroque gardens, with riding avenues radiating like sun rays from the palace. Beyond continue around 120 hectares of parklands, which stretch along Denmark’s second-largest lake.
The palace only opens to the public in July and early August, but it’s still worth a visit at other times for peaceful greenery, swimming, boating and fishing opportunities. When the palace is closed, you can admire the gracious facade from the octagonal forecourt or from the back if you walk anti-clockwise through the park. When the royals are in residence, guards in white-striped uniforms and bearskin hats perform a changing-of-the-guard ceremony at noon.
Year-round, the parklands are open free of charge, apart from private gardens immediately west of the palace, which are only accessible through palace tours in July (tours in English at 1.45pm and 2.45pm). The park is dotted with commemorative rocks, obelisks and statues, notably in a double circle called Normandsdalen featuring 70 life-sized statues of Norwegian and Faroese folk characters. These are based upon small wooden dolls of fishermen, farmers, soldiers and servants that were carved by an 18th-century postman. He sent them to King Frederik V, who liked them so much that he had them remade full-size in sandstone.
The palace is well signposted, about 1km north of Fredensborg train station.
