Basement Entrance (room A)
The Treasury here at Rosenborg Castle is located in the basement, and to get down to the basement, you have to leave the castle and go down the stairs via the gate in the stair tower. The basement stairs lead down to the Rosenborg Castle's basement, which was added during the expansion from 1613-17.
The descent to the Treasury
Originally, the basement consisted of a vaulted hall with four central sandstone pillars. However, it was divided into the current three rooms when Christian V gathered the Secret Archive, the predecessor of the National Archive, here at Rosenborg in 1681. Here, the kingdom's treaties with foreign powers and other secret documents were stored. In 1720, the archive was moved, and after the demolition of Copenhagen Castle in 1731, the royal wine cellar was moved here instead.
When you come down the stairs, you can see the large painting of the four-year-old Christian V on your left. The painting is from 1650, painted by Karel van Mander, and shows the little prince as the newly elected heir to the throne. The prince is dressed as an adult field marshal and is surrounded by military attributes, including salute cannons, some of which are identical to those in front of the painting.
The reason why the four-year-old prince can be referred to as the "newly elected" heir to the throne is that absolute monarchy was only introduced in January 1661. Therefore, the King's son actually had to be elected by the council to be officially proclaimed as the heir to the throne. There are no examples of the King's eldest son not being chosen. However, there are many examples of numerous demands from the nobility. These demands were recorded in the so-called handfastings, which the King had to sign at his coronation.
Behind the iron door at the very back of the same room, with the year 1681 inscribed, Christian V stored the kingdom's supply of ready money. This room is not open to the public, but we can reveal that the kingdom's money supply is no longer found here.
Objects in the room
If you are physically at the museum, you can admire the outstanding objects and read more about them below.
Please note that these descriptions are brief and often without images. They serve as an additional resource for those who wish to gain more knowledge about each object, such as who created them, their origin, and significance.