Rosenborg tapestries
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The twelve Rosenborg tapestries , woven from 1685 to 1693, show Christian V's victories in the Scandinavian War in the Knights' Hall in Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen .
Emergence
The Danish King Christian V decided to have a series of tapestries made to commemorate the victorious confrontation with Sweden in the Skåne War . Since there was a lack of suitable workshops in Denmark , he turned to Flanders for this . The tapestries were first mentioned in 1684 when the travel expenses of a tapestry manufacturer appeared in the royal test reports, whose journey led from Hanover to Brabant to recruit suitable weavers there . Berent von der Eichen was finally commissioned . Shortly afterwards, the Flemish weavers began working on the carpets in a workshop in Copenhagen. The weavers' invoices were regularly documented in the following years.
The carpets were supposed to adorn the Long Hall of Rosenborg Castle. In order to create a symmetry in the room, some of the carpets were intended for covering windows. In 1917 the carpets were removed from their place of origin and were only hung in the same place again in 1999. In the meantime the tapestries adorned Christiansborg . All but one of the Danish caricatures are by Anton Steenwinckel , descendant of a famous Danish-Dutch family of artists. One of the original drawings and three fragments have been preserved to this day. Some of the battle scenes in the background are from engravings by the Dutchman Romayn de Hooghe . Of the twelve motifs, seven deal with land battles and five sea battles. The land battles all show the conquest of cities or a fortress. The conqueror is usually the king, who either stands in the foreground of the scenery or sits in the middle of his officers on the back of a horse. The battlefield is arranged in the background of the picture. The wide decorative edges show various war-related motifs, the royal coat of arms, the order of the elephants and a cartouche with a German verse. Most of the carpets carry von the Eichens signature and the Copenhagen city symbol. There is no information on who drawn the naval battles, but they were largely inspired by Willem van de Velde's work.
List of tapestries
- The conquest of Marstrand: You can see a scene from the conquest of Marstrand and the fortress Carlsten (north of Gothenburg ) on July 23, 1677. In the foreground Ulrich Friedrich Gyldenlöwe , Christian V's half-brother and the Norwegian governor receive the letter of surrender.
- The landing at Råå: As a result of the victory in the sea battle at Öland , the Allied Danish and Dutch fleets had gained control of the southern Baltic Sea. Christian V took advantage of this favorable situation to land the Danish troops. This happened on June 29, 1676 near Råå , south of Helsingborg , where 14,000 men entered Skåne . This tapestry, woven by Berent van der Eichen, shows this extensive military operation. The transport fleet can be seen in the foreground and behind (closest to the country) the escort of the warships, while the coast of Skåne is in the background.
- The sea battle near Öland: Depicted is the battle of Øland on June 1, 1676, in which the Swedish fleet lost its three largest warships. The flagship Kronan sinks in the middle while it is being shot at by the Christianus Quintus . The Svärdet arises on the right and the Äpplet runs aground on the left .
- The capture of Helsingborg: The 1767 summer campaign got off to a promising start for Christian V and the Danish army. After disembarking in Råå, Helsingborg was captured a few days later on July 3rd. The Scanian War had entered a new phase in which the Danish king saw the possibility of perhaps taking revenge for the humiliations of the Second Northern War . In the foreground of the tapestry is Christian V (with hat) with his brother Prince George of Denmark. The tower of Helsingborg Castle can be seen under the smoke, while Kronborg can be seen on the other side of the Oresund .
- The conquest of Christianstad : The conquest of Christianstad on August 15, 1676. On the right Christian V on horseback, followed by Prince Georg. In the background you can see the city with the Trinity Church, built by Christian IV .
- The landing on Rügen: The landing on Rügen on September 17, 1677. In the middle right you can see Christian V's ship Fridericus Tertius , on the left the trump pennant of the Dutch admiral.
- The capture of Damgarten: This tapestry in the Great Hall shows the conquest of the city of Damgarten. To the left of center is Christian V in a splendid uniform, pointing to Damgarten with his marshal's baton in hand. On the right side of the king is his younger brother, Prince George of Denmark
- The Battle of Køge Bay: You can see the sea battle in the Kø Bay on July 1, 1676, in which Admiral Niels Juel conquered a superior Swedish fleet with a bold maneuver. On the right, the symbolic battle between the Swedish ship Mars and the Danish Tre Løver .
- The conquest of Landskrona: The conquest of Landskrona on July 11, 1676. In the center Christian V, on the right Prince Georg and on the left the Commander-in-Chief of the Army Friedrich von Arenstorff . Landskrona in the background .
- The conquest of Wismar: The city of Wismar played an important role for Sweden. It is not surprising that the Danish troops concentrated on this fortified city in the late autumn 1675 campaign. The city had been under siege since November 1st , and Wismar was captured on December 13th . This tapestry shows Christian V in the foreground on the left, wearing a magnificent hat and a marshal's baton and accepting the city's surrender. Queen Charlotte Amalie can be seen in a carriage to the right below the hill .
- The capture of Landskrona's citadel: The capture of the Landskrona citadel on August 4, 1676. In the middle Christian V and the commander-in-chief Johan Adolf von Plöen . In the background the fortress and on the left the silhouette of Copenhagen, beneath which two gentlemen are enjoying a pinch of snuff.
- The sea battle at Møn: The battle at Møn on June 1st, 1677. In the foreground two small warships, a Danish ship with a sniper approaching the survivors of Calmar Castle , which the Swedes tried to sink against the rules.
literature
- Guy Delmarcel: Flemish Tapestry Weavers Abroad: Emigration and the Founding of Manufactories in Europe, Koninklijke Manufactuur van Wandtapijten Gaspard De Wit (Mechelen, Belgium), Leuven University Press, 2002, ISBN 9058672212