The Kunstkammer at Copenhagen Castle In 1653 a series of rooms in the south wing of Copenhagen Castle - the Drabant wing - were re-decorated to house the Kunstkammer collection. Four apartments were prepared on the ground floor, with four more in the half-timbered storey higher up and in the tower over the Lathe Room, and a ninth under the dome of the Round Tower. The Kunstkammer contained stuffed animals, shells, and other natural history specimens. There were precious items representing the Classical civilizations of the Mediterranean, from Nordic antiquity, from the Roman Catholic period of the Danish Church, as well as an extensive collection of coins and medals. There were examples of contemporary mathematical and mechanical inventions, together with architectural models, and models of ships. . Engraving from Museum Regium 1696 There were works of art in gold, silver and ivory, European and Oriental weapons, a large collection of paintings by contemporary artists, and portraits of royalty. There was also a superb collection from the overseas territories - the Age of Discovery, and the expansion of trade during the following centuries, having presented Europe with a broader picture of the world Engraving from Museum Regium 1696 We can form an impression of part of Frederik III's colourful Kunstkammer from descriptions in the original carpenters' and painters' accounts from 1653. To previous page The Founding of Frederik III's Kunstkammer To next page Purchases for the Kunstkammer