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Visitors' Guide
Important!
A museum is a living organism. Even permanent collections are constantly undergoing change as a result of the acquisition of new objects and new knowledge. It is therefore possible that the information contained in this web site has not yet taken into account changes that have been made at the museum itself.
The numbers refer to the floor plan. |
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Lower Basement
36 The Dungeon
Used as a prison during the Kalmar War of 1611-13. Probably used later as a storeroom.
Basement |
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 3 The Ruin Hall
The south wing of the castle was constructed in 1550-52, primarily as a residence for King Christian III and Queen Dorothea.
In restoring the castle, no attempt was made to reconstruct the storeys of this wing; the ruin is intended to express a dramatic episode in the history of the castle and, indeed, of the Kingdom of Denmark. The tall wooden pillars now rest on new foundations, embedded in the basement of the wing. These extend upward, passing through each floor, and support the roof up above. The storey divisions that the restorers chose to add to the wing are supported by the pillars, and the shingled south wall is suspended from the roof. The three steel walkways are also suspended from the roof and serve as a counterbalance to the south wall.
The south wing houses the major international special exhibitions that, in recent years, have made Koldinghus widely renowned. |
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The Courtyard
The fountain in the centre
. Jette Vohlert: Fortuna. 1994 |
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35 Café Koldinghus
The basement and the two lower storeys of the north wing are a product of the building projects carried out by Christoffer of Bavaria in the mid-fifteenth century. During the eighteenth century, a confectioner's shop was located where the café is today. |
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Ground floor
1 Ticket sales, museum shop, cloakroom
The ticket office is located in the old castle guardroom. The fireplace where the catastrophic fire of 1808 began can be seen on the north wall. Remains of sixteenth-century half-timbered houses can be seen in the south and east walls. |
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4 The Ruin Hall |
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 5 Christian III's Chapel/auditorium
In around 1550, King Christian III had the first Protestant royal chapel in Scandinavia built at Koldinghus. The chapel encompassed two storeys and featured four tall, round-arched windows, two facing south and two facing west, as well as a gallery with seats for the king and queen, which could be accessed directly from the royal chambers in the south wing.
After King Christian IV's new castle chapel had been completed at the beginning of the seventeenth century, the old chapel was divided into two storeys. The upper storey was attached to the royal chambers, while a bakery was installed on the lower storey. The bakery ovens were later moved to the basement of the north wing.
In the restoration, the "chapel" was re-created as a two storey auditorium. The gallery was restored without reference to the original gallery built by King Christian III.
Selected artefacts.
Jacob Binck: Dronning Dorothea |
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 30 The Castle Chapel
King Christian IV based his new castle chapel on northern German models: a broad nave featuring three star vaults, surrounded on three sides by a narrow gallery, two storeys of which opened out on to the nave with arcades. The fourth side, facing north, featured a tall, round-arched window, and in front of this was the altar. The floor was tiled with black and white marble tiles, while the altarpiece and pulpit were of marble and alabaster. The pulpit in the north-east corner of the church rested on a lion holding the king's coat of arms, and along the arcade were seven statues of Mark, Christ, Luke, Paul, John, Peter and Matthew. The castle fire of 1808 thus destroyed a chapel that was indeed well-furnished.
No attempt has been made to reconstruct this former chapel. Four walls are all that remain of its former splendour. The restorers attempted instead to provide a suggestion of the original architectural features of the chapel interior. The former location of the nave is indicated by the stone floor and the three star-shaped chandeliers, while the location of the gallery and arcades is marked by the wooden floor along the three walls. Street lamps indicate the position of the wall pillars that supported the arches and gallery. |
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31 Ecclesiastical artwork from the Middle Ages
Medieval wooden sculptures from village churches in the large geographical area that was administered from Koldinghus.
Selected artefacts
. Virgin Mary from Løsning
. Virgin Mary from Lindknud |
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34 Special exhibitions |
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1st Floor
6 The Ruin Hall |
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24 Applied art: The Period of Eclecticism (c. 1830-1890)
The living-room suite in front of the north wall, including the bookcase to the west, was designed by the painter Heinrich Hansen in the style of King Christian IV for the so-called Frederiksborglotteri, a lottery held to benefit Frederiksborg castle after the fire of 1859. The suite was one of the main prizes and was won by Peter Brandorff, the owner of a club in Kolding. The large writing desk in front of the south wall was made for Jens Hansen Thislund, a Kolding wholesaler. The portrait above the fireplace depicts King Frederik VII, during whose reign Frederiksborg castle burned down.
The other group of furniture dates from 1856 and was produced at the Kolding workshop of A. L. Johansen for the Hesselballegård estate in Øster Starup parish.
Selected artefacts:
. Constantin Hansen: Ms. Charlotte Køpke
. Neo-Renaissance furniture |
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25 Applied art: Rococo (c. 1730-70), Louis XVI (c. 1760-1800) and Empire (c. 1800-50)
Furniture, paintings, prints, etc.
Selected artefacts:
. English Grandfather Clock
. Wilhelm Bendz: King Frederik VI in annointing Robes
. J.F. Clemens: The Battle of Copenhagen (Rheden) 2 April 1801 |
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26 Applied art: Renaissance (c.1550-c.1630)
Furniture, paintings, prints, etc.
Selected artefacts:
. Unknown: King Christian III and Queen Dorothea |
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27 Applied art: Baroque (ca.1630-1740)
Furniture, paintings, prints, etc.
Selected artefacts
. Jürgen Ovens: The Apotheosis of Christian I
. 3 chairs from Koldinghus
. Clavichord 1746 from Hamburg |
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28 Applied art: Neo-Classicism (ca.1770-1800)
Furniture, paintings, prints, etc. |
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 29 The Library Reading Room, porcelain and faience
The Library at Koldinghus was built in 1915-17 of materials taken from the old building belonging to the National Library in Copenhagen. The materials - pillars, gallery and bookcases - were leftovers from the building's conversion in 1909 to the Danish National Archives.
The library contains the museum's collections of porcelain and faience from the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The library is sometimes used to house special exhibitions.
Selected artefacts:
. Meissen, Summer Allegory
. Meissen, Tankard |
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2d Floor
7 The Ruin Hall |
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8 Special exhibitions |
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9 Danish Portraits
An interim exhibition of faces from Danish and Kolding history. |
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 10 The Great Hall
A Great Hall was the noble ceremonial hall in castles built during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and provided the physical context within which public life took place. The Great Hall at Koldinghus can be traced back to around 1475, when it was located in the medieval west wing of the castle - probably on the uppermost of the two regular storeys. It was in this hall where the king would gather with his counsellors from the Kingdom and the duchies.
The Great Hall was remodelled in c. 1720 and divided into several different rooms. When the castle caught fire in 1808, the tower - which was supported on its south side by a wooden construction running right across the Great Hall - partially collapsed and destroyed the remains of the Great Hall along with the castle chapel beneath it. When the tower was rebuilt in the 1930s, the castle chapel and the Great Hall were both given concrete ceilings, and the castle's present Great Hall was created. Today, the Great Hall serves as one of the castle's ceremonial rooms and is used by the state, county and municipality for official events.
The Great Hall contains a collection of portraits of Danish kings from Christian IV to Frederik VI, all of whom made use of the castle during their reigns.
Selected artefacts
. Hendrick Goltzius: Cadmus dræber dragen
. Peder Als: Kong Frederik 5. |
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 16 Danish silver 1550-1900
Danish silverware 1550-1900.
Selected artefacts:
. Chalice c. 1580 |
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 17 The Erik Fjeldsøe Fonden Collection
A private collection of Danish Silverware c. 1550-1800. |
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18 Temporarily closed |
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 19 Danish art nouveau
Silver produced by Holger Kyster and based on designs by Thorvald Bindesbøll. Paintings and drawings by Svend Hammershøi (1873-1948) and Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916). Display cases from Holger Kyster's shop on the Adelgade in Kolding.
Selected artefacts
. Thorvald Bindesbøll: The Artichoke Bowl
. Thorvald Bindesbøll: Tobacco Tin / Tea Caddy
. Thorvald Bindesbøll: Paperweight
. Thorvald Bindesbøll: Vase 1906
. Svend Hammershøi: Vase 1920
. Svend Hammershøi: Coffee pot, 'The Dragoon' |
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 20 The drawing-room of Kyster the goldsmith
A reconstruction of the drawing-room in the home of goldsmith Holger Kyster and his wife Emma at Adelgade 8 in Kolding. The home was distinguished by the couple's many artist friends, first and foremost Thorvald Bindesbøll (1846-1908) and Svend Hammershøi (1873-1948). Most of the furniture was designed by Bindesbøll, as were the ceramic works, the lamps and the sofa cushions. Most of the paintings and a large portion of the remaining ceramic works are by Svend Hammershøi. Works by the sculptor Kay Nielsen (1882-1924) and the painters Sigurd Wandel (1875-1947) and Joakim Skovgaard (1856-1933) are also on display. |
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 21 Danish Silverware, 20th century
This room offers a wide selection of Danish silver of the 20th century from Mogens Ballin and Georg Jensen to Lasse Bæhring and Anette Dreyer. |
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 Selected artefacts:
. Svend Weihrauch: Covered dish 1932
. Three generations of apprenticeship presentation pieces (Hans Hansen)
. Georg Jensen: Covered dish 1921
. Mogens Bjørn-Andersen: Cup with moonstones 1999 |
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4th Floor
11 Toys |
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5th Floor
12 Temporarily closed |
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6th Floor
13 Temporarily closed |
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7th Floor
14 Temporarily closed |
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8th Floor
15 Observation platform on top of the Great Tower
King Christian IV's Great Tower was a political manifestation. This is where the young king desired to draw attention to his position in the world. Statues of ancient heroes or giants were erected in its four corners, which is how the tower originally came to be known as the "Giants' Tower". Each of these giants supported a shield bearing the coats of arms of the hereditary lands of the Danish king: Hannibal with Denmark's coat of arms, Hector with Schleswig's, Scipio with Norway's and Hercules (the strongest of all) with Sweden's. In this way King Christian IV meant to signal that he considered himself to be the rightful lord of the Kalmar union and the dominant king in Scandinavia.
Of these "giant" figures, only Hercules managed to survive the fire, but bronze plates at the top of the tower display the four coats of arms.
The tower provides a magnificent view of the town of Kolding and the Kolding fjord.
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