The Rosenborg Tapestries

The conquest of Marstrand and the fortress Karlsten (north of Gothenburg) on 23 July 1677. I the foreground Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve, Christian V’s half-brother and Norway’s governor receiving the letter of surrender.

As a consequence of the victory in the Battle of Öland, the allied Danish and Dutch fleets had won control of the southern Baltic. Christian V utilised this favourable situation to disembark the Danish troops. This occurred on 29 June 1676 in Raa, south of Helsingborg, where 14,000 men stepped onto Scanian soil.

This tapestry, which was woven by Berent van der Eichen, depicts this extensive military operation. In the foreground the transport fleet is seen, and behind it (closest to land) the escort of warships, while the cost of Scania lies in the background.

The tapestries on the walls of the hall depict the Danish victories during the Scanian War of 1675-79, which was Christian V’s failed attempt to reconquer the areas east of the Øresund Sound which had been lost at the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. They were made to measure for the hall at Rosenborg.

The battle at Øland on 1 June 1676, where the Swedish fleet lost its three largest men-of-war. In the centre the flagship “Kronan” is sinking, while being shelled by the “Christianus Quintus”. To the right the “Svärdet” surrenders and to the left “Äpplet” runs aground.

The summer campaign of 1767 began promisingly for Christian V and the Danish army. Following the disembarkation at Raa, Helsingborg was captured just a few days later on 3 July. The Scanian War had thus entered a new phase, in which the Danish king saw the chance to perhaps take revenge for the humiliations of the Second Northern War.

In the foreground of the tapestry Christian V (with hat) is seen with his brother Prince George of Denmark. Beneath the smoke the tower of Helsingborg Castle can be seen, while Kronborg can be glimpsed on the other side of the Øresund Sound.

The tapestries on the walls of the hall depict the Danish victories during the Scanian War of 1675-79, which was Christian V’s failed attempt to reconquer the areas east of the Øresund Sound which had been lost at the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. They were made to measure for the hall at Rosenborg. Later they were moved to Christiansborg Palace, but found their way ‘home’ in 1999.

The conquest of Christianstad in 15 August 1676. To the right Christian V on horseback followed by Prince Jørgen. In the background the city with the Trinity Church, built by Christian IV.

The descent on Rügen on 17 September 1677. In the centre to the right Christian V’s “Fridericus Tertius”, to the left the Dutch admiral general Tromp’s pennant.

In October 1675 the Danish troops reached Swedish Western Pomerania, and began an attack on the town of Damgarten, which was captured on 6 October 1675.

This tapestry in the Great Hall depicts the capture of the town. To the left of the middle Christian V is seen in a magnificent uniform, pointing towards Damgarten with his marshal’s baton in his hand. To the right of the king is his younger brother Prince George of Denmark.

The tapestries on the walls of the hall depict the Danish victories during the Scanian War of 1675-79, which was Christian V’s failed attempt to reconquer the areas east of the Øresund Sound which had been lost at the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. They were made to measure for the hall at Rosenborg. Later they were moved to Christiansborg Palace, but found their way ‘home’ in 1999.

The battle in Køge Bay on 1 July 1676 where admiral Niels Juel conquered a superior Swedish fleet through a bold manoeuvre. To the right the symbolic fight between the Swedish ship “Mars” and the Danish “Tre Løver”.

The conquest of Landskrona on 11 July 1676. In the centre Christian V, to the right Prince Jørgen and to the left commander-in-chief of the army Frederik Arenstorff. In the background Landskrona.

The town of Wismar took on an important role in Swedish Western Pomerania, as it possessed the only harbour in the area. Not surprisingly, the Danish forces concentrated their efforts on this fortified town in the campaign of the late autumn of 1675. A close siege had been laid around the town from 1 November, and on 3 December Wismar was taken.

This tapestry depicts Christian V in the foreground to the left, wearing a magnificent hat and with a marshal’s baton in his hand, accepting the town’s capitulation. On the right, below the hill, Queen Charlotte Amalie is seen in a carriage.

The tapestries on the walls of the hall depict the Danish victories during the Scanian War of 1675-79, which was Christian V’s failed attempt to reconquer the areas east of the Øresund Sound which had been lost at the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. They were made to measure for the hall at Rosenborg. Later they were moved to Christiansborg Palace, but found their way ‘home’ in 1999.

The capture of Landskrona’s citadel on 4 August 1676. In the centre Christian V and the commander-in-chief Johan Adolf of Plöen. In the background the fortress and to the left the silhouette of Copenhagen under which two gentlemen enjoy a pinch of snuff.

The battle at Møen on 1 June 1677. In the foreground two small warships, a Danish ship with a sharpshooter approaching the survivors of the “Calmar Castel” which the Swedes, contrary to the rules of law, had tried to sink.