| Romance
| | (Venter på oversættelse) |
Romance and Patrioticism
| | The early Romanticism in the end of the 18th century takes its starting point in nature sensitivity and patriotism.
The rifle manufacturer Ernst Schimmelmann gathered a circle of intellectuals around him at meetings and visits in Northern Zealand in the summertime. |
Romanticism and Patriotism
Towards the end of the 18th century Hellebæk developed into a centre of the intellectual currents of a new time, Romanticism. The early Romanticism took its starting point in nature sensitivity and patriotism. However it was a patriotism, which didn´t distinguish between Danish, German or Norwegian inside the absolute state of Denmark.
Tribute to Hellebæk
The nature around Hellebæk appealed openly to the early romantic spirit i the second half of the 18th century and the young Ernst Schimmelmann, who took over the rifle factory in Hellebæk after his father, was very interested in the nature sensitive mentality of the time. After his first visit to the place he describes the surroundings to his friend, the jurist August Henning, in a letter:
"I return today from Elsinore, where I have spent two days inspecting the rifle factory, which is half a mile away on the other side of this town. You cannot imagine a more charming place. The most different, the most romantic nature scenes are united there. It is on the bank of the ocean, which is incessantly covered in ships, opposite you see the cliffs of Sweden. If you seek a lonely or quiet spot, you just have to walk into the wood, which hides a wealth of lakes; are you tired of these, various brooks will encourage you with their trickling. Hills with soft slopes, dark and quiet valleys – no, my dear friend, I don´t know how I do this, but I am miserable at describing the most beautiful place on earth. Disregard my depiction and imagine a magnificent landscape. Enchanting in the summer and solemn in the winter.
All this is only preparation, but my head, which is brimming with projects, has conceived an idea, namely that we – if you will come, my dear, very well could bid the world adieu for a month or more and throw ourselves in the arms of this solitude.."
Friedrich Leopold, count of Stolberg, wrote a poem in 1776 to "Hellebeck. Eine Seeländische Gegend". Friedrich Stolberg´s father was chief chamberlain for the widow queen Sofie Amalie in Hørsholm estate, where he contributed to implement the earliest agricultural reforms around 1750.
The son, Friedrich studied in Göttingen, where he came into contact with Klopstock´s romanticism However, he spent his early years in Denmark, and it is the Sound he celebrates in his hymns to the sea. Nature is the centre of his lyric poetry, it is considered holy and man is in harmony with nature. It is early national Romanticism.
Ernst Schimmelmann 1747-1831 |
Rallying Point
Ernst Schimmelmann gathered a circle of the intellectuals of the time around him at meetings and visits to Hellebækgård in the summertime. Among the guests were the romantic poets Friedrich Klopstock, Friedrich Stolberg, Jens Baggesen and Adam Oehlenschläger, the philosopher Heinrich Steffens and the natural scientist H.C.Ørsted.
In this early phase of romanticism, before national romanticism and patriotism set in, they didn´t distinguish between German and Danish, or Norwegian, for that matter. This is why Jens Baggesen´s ode to Ernst Schimmelmann is published with the title "Hellebecks Harpe" in a German edition in 1801.
Jens Baggesen 1764 - 1826 | 
A. Oehlenschläger 1779-1850 | 
H.C. Ørsted 1777-1851 |
People and Homeland
The breakthrough of Romanticism in Denmark is often associated with Adam Oehlenscläger´s Poems 1803, which he writes under the influence of the philosopher Heinrich Steffens, born in Norway, brought up in Denmark and educated in Germany. Oehlenschläger was followed by the Danish-German Schack Staffelt born in Rügen. He published Poems in 1804, but as early as 1793 he had written a romantic tribute to the Sound.
The intense nature worship was one characteristic sign of the early Romanticism, patriotism was another. Patriotism means love of your country, but not in the narrow sense of national romanticism, where a nation is connected with the concept people in the sense a group of people, who has the same language, culture and history. This idea was conceived in the time of the French revolution, but many of Europe´s countries like Denmark-Norway are multi-national societies, which is united by a joint principality
Nevertheless the national community feeling was growing and they began to catch sight of the people.
This was rooted in the Enlightenment period´s interest in characteristic population sections and their way of life. This interest showed itself in connection with King Christian 6.s journey to Norway in 1733 and later with the establishing of the Normandsdalen in Fredensborg Castle Park, where a number of statues were erected, representing more exotic agents of the realm.
Heinrich Steffens |
Johannes Ewald
In the Danish state they were mostly aware of heroic and self-sacrificing deeds of the past and present, which could strengthen society and the sense of community. An example of this is a stranding, which took place on the coast of Northern Zealand in Hornbæk, where local fishermen heroically took part of a salvage operation on November 9th 1774.
The poet Johannes Ewald is encouraged to depict the events and he writes the ballad opera ”The Fishermen”, which is staged in 1779. The royal hymn stems from here. Former kings and sea heros´ patriotic deeds are celebrated and is associated with the self-sacrificing and heroic acts of the common man and thus connect the people and the ruler.
As early as 1776 Ewald had had great success with is Ode to Citizenship. The law on citizenship ruled that certain offices in the administration were reserved for people born in the state. In other words it was to strengthen patriotism and was reaction to the massive German influence in the reign of Struenses (1770-73). Johannes Ewald was closely connected to Nothern Zealand, he sang the praises of Rungsted and his Ode to the Soul is written in Espergærde-Humlebæk.
Johannes Ewald 1743-1781 | 
The royal hymn |
The Romantic Gardens
| | At the end of the 18th century a number of the royal gardens changed from the baroque style into the romantic style. This was the case with Frederiksberg Garden and Morienlyst Castle Garden in Elsinore. The aristocracy was also inspired by the new garden style. Liselund in Møn is an example of this. |
A New Type of Garden
As late as the 1760´s Fredensborg, Frederiksberg and Marienlyst Gardens were changed into baroque gardens in French style with order and symmetry. Just 30 years later the style had changed to a more scenic garden. While the order of the baroque mirrored the time of the continental absolute monarchy, the new English scenic garden is a token of times to come.
As the only on of the royal gardens the baroque garden at Frederiksborg Castle avoided being changed into a romantic scenic garden. It was probably to difficult and costly to cut down the many lime avenues and change the characteristic terraced terrain.
In England a parliamentary rule was introduced early on with rights and autonomy for the individual. You had to be able to orientate yourself in the landscape, the political landscape too, and a greater romantic sensitivity appears on the horizon.
Frederiksberg Garden
A comparison with J.C. Krieger´s drawing of Frederiksberg Have from 1760 with Peter Petersen´s plan design 1795 for a romantic garden shows the difference between the baroque and the romantic garden. While the baroque garden is marked by symmetry and regularity, the opposite is the case with the romantic plan design: The central parts of the garden is turned into a confusion of winding paths and the water system has been reshaped into a casual winding course with three lakes.
However, it is not entirely casual. Everything is organized, but it must look like “real” nature, which should make the visitor want to explore the garden. This is why there are surprises along the way: A waterfall, an antique temple and one island has a Chinese house and a footbridge. These features must stimulate the experience and make the mind sensitive. Frederiksberg Garden has in later years been reconstructed as a romantic garden. Thus the waterfall, which originally was horse drawn, has been recreated.
Frederiksberg Garden Park | 
The romantic garden | 
The king in Frederiksberg Garden. | 
The China House | 
The China Bridge |
The landscape garden | 
The waterfall, Frederiksborg park |
Marienlysts Romantic Garden
Marienlyst in Elsinore had been transformed into a classic mansion in the period 1759-64 and in 1667 it was furnished with a baroque garden in French style. Officially Laord Chamberlain, count A.G. Moltke was the building owner, but in reality it was the king, Frederik 5., who owned it. His successor Christian 7. used the mansion for a few official events, but it soon passed to his step mother the queen dowager Juliane Marie.
A plan design by the German gardener Johan Ludvig Mansas from around 1790 illustrates the plans for a new romantic garden layout. In this case they wanted to build on the outside of the existing garden, so the slope behind will become supplementary layout. It is a distinct romantic experience garden, to which exotic touches are added like the grave of Hamlet and Ophelia´s spring. These features continue far into the 19th century as sights for the increasing flock of tourists. Lately is has been suggested that the parts of the romantic layout should be recreated.
Marienlyst´s romantic garden |
Liselund
Not only royalty, but also wealthy aristocrats became interested in the new garden style. One example is the married couple Antoine and Lisa de la Calmette, who created the romantic garden around Liselund in Møn. Antoine was a Dutch diplomat´s son and the couple undertook several culture journeys to southern Europe, perhaps inspired by the Englishman Laurence Stern´s account of the sensitive journey to Italy and France.
The direct inspiration probably came from Northern Germany and from 1791 there is a plan design by M. Westenholdt. It contains proposals for plantings with oak and beech closely connected to the surroundings and the planned buildings, which apart from the main building also included the Norwegian House, the Swiss Cottage with conifers and a Chinese cottage with a weeping ash. Conifers are relatively new and exotic and overall many rare tree sorts were used.
Liselund 1791 | 
Liselunds romantiske garden. | 
Liselund | 
Interior | 
The romantic garden |
The scenic garden | 
The canyon | 
Liselund´s Garden |
Other Examples
The romantic garden, the scenic garden, the experience garden or the English garden became fashionable at the end of the 18th century. In some cases existing gardens were recreated, like Frederiksberg Garden for example, but in other cases a number of enirely new gardens were laid out by a number of private individuals. The garden no longer just represented the absolute state power
Apart from Liselund Dronninggård, later Næsseslottet, by Furesøen north of Copenhagen is worth a mention. Here many wealthy people bought summer properties in the en of the 18th century, where Denmark earned a great deal of money off international transit trade. |