Odense Palace

Between 1721 and 1723,[8] an entirely new main building was erected on the north side, containing a great hall that was used for banqueting, the Rosensal, and also new private chambers for the king and queen and many guest rooms.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the palace was used as a command centre by a succession of generals, including the French Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, who later became King Charles XIV John of Sweden.

After Denmark lost Norway in 1814, the Crown Prince, later Christian VIII, who had been elected king there, was appointed governor of Funen and Langeland.

His wife, Caroline Amalie, was very popular in Odense, where she took an active part in improving people's lives.

[10] Hans Christian Andersen's mother worked at the palace, and the boy was invited there, where according to his own account in his autobiography, he acted out some scenes by Ludvig Holberg and improvised a song.

However, the marriage broke down and an apartment was created on the ground floor for his mistress, Louise Rasmussen,[13] later his morganatic wife as Countess Danner; a secret staircase led from there to the king's chambers.

The exhibits had to be removed quickly in the Second Schleswig War, when the lowest floor of the palace was used as an infirmary, but were back in 1865 and after that constantly increased.

There were also several residential flats, and a strong military influence after the Funen Divisional Officers Library was established there in 1914.