It is uncertain what this floor of the castle was used for after the edification. It is presumed that it was used for grain storage. However, grain storage facilities were available elsewhere in the park too. It is also disputed whether the ceiling of the hall was originally vaulted. Since 1857 this floor has served as a dining-room, bedroom and living quarters of the princes and princesses as well as their tutors. Guest rooms were also located here.

Old inventories indicate that this hall was very sumptuously furnished with large mirror consoles, chandeliers and open fireplaces at the end of the 19th century. In 1861 it was used as a banqueting hall and was decorated with leather wall coverings. The table can be extended to seat about 70 people. The displayed Goblin collection which was restored in 1984-85 is one of the most important in Northern Europe. These picture tapestries with imaginary scenes of peasant life taken from the drafts of the Flemish painter David Teniers the Younger were crafted about 1740 in the Brussels workshop of van der Borght and van der Hecke.

 

Leather wall covering, often found in the castles and houses of nobles from the 17th century on, have become a rarity today. Brought to Spain in the early Middle Ages by the Moors, this technique (oil colour on silver-leaf and gold varnish, with relief and embossed) came from Venice to the Netherlands in the 16th century. It is presumed that these calf-skin wall coverings, which date from about 1680 and depict amusing hunting scenes, are products of a Mecheln workshop. The missing pieces were completed with monochrome leather during their restoration in 1985.

 

The ducal silver and porcelain (18th and 19th century) originate largely from the possessions of Landgrave Carl von Hessen-Cassel, the governor of the Dukedoms for the Danish Crown until 1836. The silver tureens and centrepiece which was placed in the middle of the table at festive banquets are particularly magnificent. The dinner service of Royal Berlin Porcelain (KPM), decorated with various painted birds, was presented to Landgrave Carl by Frederic II (the Great). The crater-vase (KPM ca 1832) painted with a panoramic view from the Berlin Cathedral – a rare piece and typical of the enthusiasm for the classical period at that time – is a treasure amongst this collection of works of applied arts.

In this room you will see a rotating exhibition from the Glücksburg collection of graphic arts. These include etchings from the works of Logge di Raffaelo nel Vaticano by Savorelli and Camporesi (Rome 1772-77) as well as views of Venice from the 18th century. These prints – like the picture postcards of today – were collected as travel souvenirs. Allegedly, Goethe’s visit to Venice in 1786 was inspired by such prints.

The exceptionally large painting of Glücksburg Castle and surroundings by P Thomsen (1819) depicts the architectural arrangement in the middle of the 18th century. Until 1820, the hunter’s lodge and barn were adjacent to the alley. The drawbridge was replaced with a stone construction in 1859 which bears the monogram of King Frederic VII of Denmark on the keystone. The original bridge to the castle was replaced by an earthen dike. The park was designed in the French manner. In 1827 the Orangery was replaced by the classicistic building which one sees today. The lions which flank the portal were originally located in the park.

Ornamented hunting weapons from the 18th and 19th century as well as travelling pistols and a multi-barrelled rifle are some of the special exhibits of the weapons collection.

The music room serves musicians performing at castle concerts as a lounge. A tapestry, made in 1650 in Amsterdam, shows Orpheus, the mythical hero and founder of music, surrounded by animals. The scene symbolizes paradisiacal peace and the reconciling power of art. Just as popular as the Orpheus motif in the Netherlands of the 17th century was the saga of Meleager. The scene depicted in the goblin which was manufactured in Brussels about 1700, shows the presentation of the Caledonian boar’s head by Meleager to his beloved hunting companion Atalante.

In this room – formally the Prince’s Chamber - one finds Goblins from the Brussels workshop of Reydam the Younger produced around 1700. They bear the coat-of-arms of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottdorf and were brought to Glücksburg under King Friedrich VII of Denmark. They depict scenes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

From 1786 this room was named after Margrave Friedrich Ernst of Brandenburg-Culmbach (1703-1762), the Danish governor of the Dukedom of Schleswig, who resided in Glücksburg temporary. In the 18th century the room was decorated with a baseboard typical of the baroque and wall hangings of specially woven linen painted with tempera, the so-called Lübecker Tüchlein. Unlike the Goblins and leather wall coverings, these were designed and executed especially for this room. Depicted are scenes from the Turkish Wars (1683-97 and 1714-18), which according to the prevailing taste, show dramatic equestrian fighting scenes.

The attic of the castle has been extensively renovated over the last few years.

 

It now contains the servant’s quarters, in order to give an insight of their lives in the olden days as well as a children’s playroom with antique furnishing and historical toys.

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• Conferences at Glücksburg Castle
• Getting married at Glücksburg Castle
• The Castle as a Venue