House of the Court Officials

The House of the Court Officials is located in the northern part of the palace complex. It was built in 1807, when the former gardener’s house on the site was no longer big enough. The gardener’s house had been a modest half-timbered building inhabited by the court gardener, his family and two gardening apprentices.

The new building on the site was erected for the various court officials, the so-called “cavaliers”, including Court Priest Germar. When the court officials got married and started a family, they were no longer allowed to live in the Palace. Most then moved into a house in the town.

The building has also been used as a guest wing of the Palace. When Hans Christian Andersen visited the ducal family in 1844, he was accommodated in this building. Other guests of the duke, such as the poet Adam Oehlenschläger and Jens Baggesen, probably also had rooms here.

The house was designed by the local master builder Jørgen Christian Bleshøy, who was a student of the well-known architect C. F. Hansen from Altona. The building was commissioned by Duke Frederick Christian II, who probably wanted a presentable and spacious building at the entrance to the Palace.

The building is in neoclassical style. This style, which finds its inspiration in antiquity, is expressed in the triangular door pediment and the four fluted pilasters at the entrance. The three-sided granite staircase underlines the neoclassical style.

The hipped roof with black-glazed tiles, the profiled cornice and the large two-storey building emphasize that it is a stately building in the best C. F. Hansen style. The façade is adorned with white quoins (decorative corner stones) on a plinth with arched windows, which let the light into a vaulted basement.

When the building belonged to the state hospital, it served as the official residence of the hospital director. Today, the building is the administration building of the Danish Agricultural Agency.

The building is not open to the public, but you can walk around the outside of the house.