The Winter Riding-school, in which concerts are frequently given, is
large and symmetrical. I admired the stalls, and yet more the grey
horses which occupied them - descendants of the pure Arabian and wild
Norwegian breeds - creatures with long manes and tails of fine silky
hair. Every one who sees these horses, whether he be a connoisseur
or one of the uninitiated, must admire them.
Adjoining the "Christianensburg" is Thorwaldsen's Museum, a square
building with fine saloons, lighted from above. When I saw it, it
was not completed; the walls were being painted in fresco by some of
the first native artists. The sculptured treasures were there, but
unfortunately yet unpacked.
In the midst of the courtyard Thorwaldsen's mausoleum is being
erected. There his ashes will rest, with his exquisitely finished
lion as a gravestone above them. {15}
The largest among the churches is the "Woman's Church." The
building has no architectural beauty; the pillars, galleries, and
cupola are all of wood, covered with a mixture of sand and plaster.
But whatever may be wanting in outward splendour is compensated by
its contents, for this church contains the masterpieces of
Thorwaldsen. At the high altar stands his glorious figure of our
Saviour, in the niches of the wall his colossal twelve apostles.
In the contemplation of these works we forget the plainness of the
building which contains them. May the fates be prosperous, and no
conflagration reach this church, built as it is half of wood!
The Catholic Church is small, but tasteful beyond expression. The
late emperor of Austria presented to it a good full-toned organ, and
two oil-paintings, one by Kuppelweiser, the other by a pupil of this
master.
In the "Museum of Arts" I was most interested in the ancient chair,
used in days of yore by Tycho de Brahe. {16}
The Exchange is a curious ancient building. It is very long and
narrow, and surmounted by nine peaks, from the centre of which
protrudes a remarkable pointed tower, formed of four crocodiles'
tails intertwined.
The hall itself is small, low, and dark; it contains a full-length
portrait in oil of Tycho de Brahe. Nearly all the upper part of the
building is converted into a kind of bazaar, and the lower portion
contains a number of small and dingy booths.
Several canals, having an outlet into the sea, give a peculiar charm
to the town. They are, in fact, so many markets; for the craft
lying in them are laden with provisions of all kinds, which are here
offered for sale.
The Sailors' Town, adjoining Copenhagen, and situated near the
harbour, is singularly neat and pretty. It consists of three long,
broad, straight streets, built of houses looking so exactly alike,
that on a foggy night an accurate knowledge of the locality is
requisite to know one from the other.
