A treasure-house to knock you out

As descriptive words go, where does "Opulence " end and "Flashy" begin ?
Understandably, a pretty wide margin needs to be given when possessions  of Royalty are involved. Still, there are some palace museums that can overwhelm and suffocate a viewer with rich clutter.
Even eyes that appreciate  fine things  need to blink and shakeout excess in places like ......
ROSENBORG SLOT ( or Rosenborg Castle) !
Situated within  the well laid , 12 hectare Kongenshave ( King's Garden) in central Copenhagen , is a this beautiful building in Dutch Renaissance Style . It was reportedly under construction for 28 years and finished in 1633 to be the Royal Residence of King Christian IV.

It is now a museum exhibiting the collections , mostly of that monarch , with subsequent additions by his successors. It was opened for the public in 1838.
Visitors can tour all the floors with an audioguide that gives very detailed commentary about the objects and the period . Kongernes Samling or The Royal Danish Collections is the organisation that collects, researches and preserves the exhibits here.

The garden itself is a wonderful place to spend a quiet day in , watching soldiers from the nearby barracks march around on their daily schedules and birds perching on the many statues dotting the park.  The avenue trees are considerably old .
A quick breakfast in  Kafferiet, a tiny cafe decorated with dolls from all over ( including a plastic Durga Mata made in China) , fuels us enough for a nice stroll  around the castle, before it is admission time at the Museum.
The museum tour follows a pre-set route .

                                                       
The Second Floor( topmost) has The Knight's Hall, The Glass Room, The Porcelain Room and the Regalia Room . The First Floor has 20  exhibit areas , including Bedrooms, Studies and corridors. The Ground Floor has the Winter rooms , more bedrooms and the royal toilet. The Basement, accessed through a separate entrance,  is The Treasury.

The halls are huge and rooms are small, but all are uniformly dark . And fully decorated,  with not an inch to spare ! Floors, walls , ceilings are all covered with  tiles, murals, oil paintings and humongous tapestries . Tables, cabinets and furniture of remarkably fine workmanship are stacked all over, leaving only a cordoned space for the visitors to move. There are portraits and portraits galore of the royal families in every room.  The other desiderata are piled up in every other available space - portraits, chandeliers, vases,  clocks, ornamental knickknacks  etc. etc.
The  personal rooms  of the royals seem too small and too cluttered.

                                             
 

(Aside : The Royal Toilet was known as 'The Secret". It had  a cistern for flushing. The waste was led through pipes to the moat around the castle. It has been recorded  that '"during drier days , the air around the moat became unpleasant" !)

The Knights Hall was where coronations took place. The Ivory Throne is guarded by three silver lions made in 17th Century. They were inspired by the 12 golden lions that, according to The Old Testament,  guarded Solomon's Throne . The walls are covered with 12 huge tapestries showing the King's victories in The Scanian War - 1675 -1679 . The furniture in this hall are all made of silver.

 The Treasury is situated in the Basement. The first hall has weapons and a collection of 250 golden soldier figurines used in a War Game named "Romans and Africans". 

The next is The Amber and Ivory hall where remarkable objects made of these precious materials are exhibited. Amber was expensive and called Gold of The North. This chest made of carved amber with ivory relief work was an Xmas gift for a princess. 1695

Specially interesting , even mesnmerising, are  the Ivory Turning artefacts. Ivory Turning  was a refined art that reached a pinnacle under Dutch Patronage . Master artisans were retained at court to teach royal ladies and children . This artwork has unbelievably intricate details. There are many such wonders here. The hall also includes artwork made of coral. Ivory used came both from elephants and the narwhal.

The grand finale  is  The Crown Jewels Hall. Along with Crowns, Septre, Orb, Sword ,  tiaras, necklaces, earrings, bracelets , belts etc are the regalia of Elefantordenen - The Order of The Elephant - The Danish Order of Chivalry , the country's highest ranked honour . The Order is in existance from 1693. In modern times , the honour is bestowed by the Monarchy on foreign dignitaries of choice. The Motto of the Order is : "The Prize Of Greatness"

 It was surprising to learn that the Crown and the associated paraphernalia  are  worn by a monarch only once in the lifetime - on Coronation day . The next time they are taken out is to be placed on the royal coffin when the dead monarch lies in state ! For the rest of the time, they sit here in the dark basement of the castle.

The entire museum has very controlled lighting, mostly dark, in order to protect the precious objects from light damage.
The present Monarch is Queen Margrethe II, the country's only female monarch since  Margrethe I ruled Scandinavia between 1375 and 1412.
The Danish Monarchy, a constitutional institution,  is descended from the famous Viking , Harald Bluetooth, of the 10th.Century.

Did the Royalty really live everyday lives amidst such clutter, however resplendent and expensive the clutter was !?  Difficul to imagine what havoc it will play on the working of a human mind . 

After the visit to Rosenborg, it took a hearty pizza meal under the bright, open skies in Nyhavn to get the Bling out of our eyes !
Whew ! That sure was a treasurehouse !