The Alexander Hall
In the jumble of mosaics, gold, mirrors and columns, the Alexander Hall echoes with conversations, laughter and jingling coffee cups when the guests in the hall wait to wish the Royal Couple a happy New Year at the New Year’s Levees at Christiansborg Palace.
The hall is named after the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen's marble frieze under the ceiling, which frames the hall.
The Emperor makes his entrance
In Bertel Thorvaldsen's marble frieze, you see Alexander the Great entering Babylon in his chariot, sometime in the fourth centtury. Alexander the Great's chariot is followed by his foot soldiers and horsemen.
The Alexander frieze has a fascinating origin story. The artwork quickly gained admiration, and Thorvaldsen created a marble version for the Italian Count Sommariva, who installed it in his Villa Carlotta on Lake Como.
The Alexander Hall today
A second marble version was made for the second Christiansborg Palace and put in place in between the Great Hall and the Hall of the Giants. Unfortunately, this version was badly damaged in the fire at the palace in 1884. Subsequently, the brewer Carl Jacobsen provided the funds for the frieze to be restored by the sculptor Lauritz Jensen.
Today, the Alexander Hall is used as a waiting area when the guests for the New Year's Levees at Christiansborg Palace wait to greet the Royal Couple.
