Buy a bit of Store Kro

The history of  Kongens Kro (The King’s Inn) in Fredensborg

Store Kro dates back to the time when King Frederik IV’s new castle was being built in one North Zealand’s most beautiful spots of nature. It was meant to be a refuge for the king and the love of his life, Anna Sophie Reventlow. He named the castle Fredensborg in memory of the end of the Northern War in 1720. Frederik IV was a man of festivity, and he inaugurated his new summer residence on his birthday in 1722 with more than 300 guests.

It soon became clear that the castle was too small to house many sleeping guests, and the king therefore needed an inn in the vicinity of the royal residence. He entrusted the job of building ”Kongens Kro i Fredensborg” to the castle’s architect, J.C. Krieger.

The inn was opened in 1723, and throughout the rest of the century it played an important part in the festivities at Fredensborg Castle, when the royal family used it as their summer residence. The story of Store Kro in Fredensborg thus also became part of the glamorous story of the Danish Royal House, and with the many royal visitors and other prominent personalities from far and near, the inn gave the small North Zealand town of Fredensborg a cosmopolitan aura.

From the king’s inn to the inn of the middle classes

When in the second half of the 18th century the inn changed it’s name to Store Kro, it was the first step in the direction of becoming a place for the public. Around the year 1800 an era of the inn’s history was over. Not all the later kings used Fredensborg Castle, and the inn’s connection to the Danish court vanished. Fortunately for the inn’s existence, it became popular among the middle classes to retreat to an inn in the countryside. The beautiful surroundings also attracted some of the beaux-esprits of Danish cultural life. One of these was the world famous philosopher and writer Søren Kierkegaard, who during his retreats to the inn spent his daytime in the surrounding woods. When he arrived at the inn in the evening, rumour has it that the words  “the master” were shouted out, so that everybody was ready to welcome the great Copenhagener. Among other prominent guests in the 19th century was the painter Peder Mønsted who used the inn’s premises to throw a party when he had sold some of his paintings to the castle.

A modern hotel is born

Store Kro has always had a chequered career with a large number of different owners. In the summer of 1908 the entire building was destroyed because of a chimney fire. Not until the mid-1930s did the inn experience another rise to glory, when Frantz Christensen took over. He had been trained by the leading cooks of the time, the Nimb sisters, and with previous experience from the Langelinie Pavillionen he was a very experienced restaurateur.

Frantz Christensen gave the architect Sven Risom the task of designing the new Store Kro, as a modern hotel.  It’s special atmosphere and high standards gave the inn a new set of regular customers, and during the 20th century many celebrities have visited Store Kro, which has, among other things, hosted several fashionable weddings. The connection to the Royal Court was even re-established, and when Queen Margrethe II was married in 1967, many of the guests stayed at Store Kro.

Art at the inn

Art has been an integral part of the inn’s history right from the beginning. It was the third innkeeper; the well read Christian Manniche, who in the 1730s embellished the inn with royal portraits and Chinese art-pieces.

The international auction presents a wide variety of art and antiques which over time have played an important part of the decoration of Store Kro. Among these is a collection of 58 paintings, all portraying one of the biggest names of Danish comedy, namely Olaf Poulsen (1849-1923). His son, scene painter Emil Poulsen, portrays him in some of his most distinctive parts. The entire collection was bought by innkeeper Ronald Larsen, the successor of Frantz Christensen, in the 1960s, and has until now been hanging in the Olaf Poulsen hall.

Olaf Poulsen had close ties to Store Kro and he lived in the neighbouring house from 1884 until he died in 1923. He rehearsed many of the 300 parts, which he played with sympathetic insight and virtuosity during his 40 years at the Royal Theatre. He became particularly famous for his acting in the Ludvig Holberg comedies, and among the peaks were his magnificent interpretations of the famous characters: Per Degn in “Erasmus Montanus”, and Chilian in “Ulysses von Ithacia”.

Welcome to the auction on items from Store Kro! Further items from the inn will be sold at online auctions during the next weeks.

View all items from Store Kro

View the Olaf Poulsen Collection

Preview: 31 Maj – 4 June

Auction: 6 – 7 and 13 June