Absalon's foundations
Curved walls of 1167, the oldest structure in the city.
Bob Collowan — CC BY-SA 4.0 · eimoberg from Changwon, South Korea — CC BY 2.0 · Jebulon — CC0 · Dietmar Rabich — CC BY-SA 4.0
Beneath the floor of the palace that today holds the **Danish parliament** is an excavated cellar containing the foundations of the buildings that stood on the same spot eight hundred years ago. The point is that this small island is **the origin of Copenhagen** itself. In 1167 Bishop **Absalon** built a castle on the shore to protect a small fishing village from Wendish raids, and the city grew around it. Absalon's castle was demolished and **Copenhagen Castle** built in its place; then a first palace that burned in 1794, a second that burned in 1884, and the present one, open since 1928. Four successive buildings on one spot, three of them ended by fire. What you see is stone footings, curved walls, and the remains of a **well** and a **medieval drain**, exposed under a glass floor in low light. The interpretation separates the layers one above another. Note: **the ruins are a separate ticket** from the royal reception rooms, the stables and the palace tower.
Curved walls of 1167, the oldest structure in the city.
You walk over the layers and see them beneath your feet.
Medieval remains exposed under low light.
Christiansborg Palace, Prins Jørgens Gård, Copenhagen
The palace is split into separate tickets, and the best of them is not the dearest. **The tower is free** — sometimes with a timed booking — and is the highest point in central Copenhagen, with a restaurant at the top; start there. **The royal reception rooms** are the grandest, and hold a modern tapestry cycle telling Danish history in an unexpected style. **The ruins** are the deepest historically. **The royal stables** appeal to children. If you want more than one section the combined ticket is clearly better value. Note that **parliament actually sits in the building**, so parts close on session days.
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