[5] The project was not completed in his lifetime, and Christian V, who was influenced by the time he had spent at the court of Louis XIV in France, changed the plans for the fencing to include a much larger area in order to facilitate a new style of driven hunt.

This style of hunting involved having hounds run the prey tired and hold it down until a hunter would step off his horse and make the kill at little effort.

The first hunting lodge on the site, the Hubertus chalet (Danish: Hubertushuset), was built by Hans van Steenwinckel III for Christian V, and was completed around 1694.

[4] It was a half-timbered house in two storeys,[2] but the structure was most likely far too weak,[6] and in spite of extensive repairs in 1731, the chalet was in such a poor condition in 1734 that it was deemed necessary to tear it down and Lauritz de Thurah was hired to build a new hunting lodge on the site.

In 1798, the architect Johan Boye Junge Magens initiated yet another round of repairs, and in the process many of the exterior sculptures and decorations were removed.

On 5 June 1849, king Frederik VII signed the fresh Danish constitution at the Hermitage at 11.15, ending absolute monarchy in Denmark.