Dragør...
Located on the south-east coast of the little island of Amager, Dragør is a mere 12 kilometers from downtown Copenhagen. The little fishing village of Dragør was established in the 12th century and prospered when the Hanseatic League was given special fishing and trading privileges in 1370. In 1521, King Christian II invited Dutch farmers to settle on Amager and produce food for the Royal Household. They brought new agricultural techniques to Denmark and, among other things, introduced the carrot to the country. In October, 1943, Dragør played an important role in the successful escape of Danish Jews as fishing boats from the village were used to secretly transport them out of the clutches of the Gestapo and across the Øresund to neutral Sweden. One such boat, the Elizabeth K571 (pictured below), can be seen today in the harbor at Dragør. A memorial nearby commemorates the dramatic events on the night of October 1-2, 1943.
Following a short drive back to the center of Copenhagen, the group visited Rosenborg Palace, built as a summer house by King Christian IV in 1606-07. Situated in Kongens Have (the King's Garden), the Dutch Renaissance building today houses the Danish crown jewels, a beautiful tapestry collection, portraits and personal objects of the king and royal family from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The Great Hall with the absolutist throne carved out of ivory is guarded by three silver lions. In the basement, guarded but accessible to the public are the crown jewels, dominated by the golden, bejeweled crown of the absolute monarchy from 1660 to 1849.
Pictured above are the Rosenborg Palace (right), the Ivory Throne (left) and the Absolutist Crown (center)
No comments:
Post a Comment