In early May I went on an adventure to Stockholm and Copenhagen. Below are a very abbreviated selection of the photos I took in Copenhagen that I thought maybe of interest to my readers.
Copenhagen is a lovely city and very easy to walk around. Lots of wonderful buildings and streets and different from my native Sydney. I stayed in a 100 year old hotel near the main railway with lots if period touches including a rotary hotel phone.
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| So, what do you think this is? I saw it an immediately thought the "best civil war everrrr.... ACW". But no, it is Generallieutenant Krogh in 1850 fighting the Prussians (I think) |
The following photos are from the Danish War Museum located in an old arsenal building.
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| Cannon from the middle ages. From the following photos I think it is apparent that the Danish military are hoarders. Which is great for us 😂 |
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| They would make small models of ships in scale and these would be used by the dockyard builders to make the ships as many could not read. |
In 1658 Denmark-Norway was
once again (their words
)attacked by Swedish king Karl X Gustav who brought an army of 10,000 men and besieged Copenhagen. After six months with supplies running low the Danish sent a fleet of 35 ships to break the blockade and siege and deliver supplies and reinforcements. The Danish broke through and delivered the supplies and four months later, after a failed assault the Swedes withdrew.
The Swedes seemed to get all their anger out during the 17th Century 😂
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| Diorama of the battle |
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| Close up. |
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| A model of the ship "Dronning Julianne Maria" to assist its construction in 1752 but unusually it can be disassembled to show the various decks. |
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After being bombed by the British in 1801 and 1809 (I think) the Danes created these bombard ships that would be able to operate in the calm waters around Copenhagen. Here is one British ship fighting them off. Not sure how it would have worked if there was a fleet of British ships.
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And now for something completely unexpected.
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| The Danes would request example uniforms from different militaries to help them design their own. The above one is from the USA and according to the note is the only existing complete set of USA Infantry and Cavalry uniforms from 1860. |
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| Close up with my usual abysmal photo skills |
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| In addition to the ship models they also kept models of guns and artillery. |
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| Losing your standard is the worst thing that could occur to any Regiment. Losing it on the battlefield was dreadful, your line was crushed, your square was broken. But the most embarrassing way to lose your standard was to leave it behind in the hotel when you leave the country. The Eagle of the Franco-Spanish Auxiliary Corp left behind when they departed Copenhagen in 1806. |
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| How the Vikings kept their shields on the sides of their ships. A thin strip of wood creating a slot to hold the shield. From the Viking ships recovered at Roskilde, the early capital of the Vikings, which is a bugger to get to from the sea, so they were nice and safe from any raiding parties... hypocrites! |
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| Random display of ceramic toy British soldiers in India. |
Copenhagen is generally low rise but has a couple of very high church towers, all requiring lots of walking up.
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| This one is the Rundetaarn.... aka The Round Tower. |
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| View from the top. You can see the bridge to Sweden and also another very tall church tower, no not that one with the clock, the one with the ball on top. |
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| So I went up this one too. 400 steps, about 100 on the outside. It was cold, very narrow staircase, wobbled a little in the wind, but the view was great. |
In the never ending discussion of whether or not unpainted miniatures are allowed I have never heard of what should happen if your opponent is the Prince and his mini's are made out of gold with the occasional gem stone for highlights.
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| Prince Frederik V's mini collection of Africans and Romans. |
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| African camels |
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| Spears? |
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| Archers and Romans |
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| Command group with baby elephants |
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| Just when you thought you had the perfect model ship someone comes along with their model Frigate "Norske Love" that fought for Christian IV in the Torstensson war of 1643-1645 made out of ivory with cannons and details in silver. Pity they didn't paint it though 🤣 |
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| Well a trip to Copenhagen is not done until you visit the little mermaid. Unfortunately the little mermaid is a little disappointing. Fortunately, close by is the Kastellet which is a well preserved Vauban fortress, still a military base but you can wander around the walls. First one I had seen in the flesh. |
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| Another view. Great to walk around, certainly got the step count up. |
Well I hope it was all mildly interesting. I had a great time there and can definitely recommend it as a destination. Expensive to go out for dinner or drinks but otherwise no different to what I would pay in Sydney. Plenty of options if you don't want to pay too much.
