KøbenhanskeMotiver_1587-1807

w hich a provision al w ooden opera house in the gardens of Sophie Am alien b org w as burnt dow n and about 180 people w ere killed, the demand for a more permanent and less inflamm able house arose, in w h ich the touring opera companies could perform . The idea w as realised under the reign of Frederik IV w h o had this hu ge brick house erected for that purpose 17 0 1-0 2 . The O pera, n ow Ø stre Landsret (the eastern H igh Court) standing on the corner of Frede- riciagade and Bredgade, w as then surrounded b y gardens and w ithdraw n from other houses. A lrea d y about 1720 it lost its origin al function and w as converted into a military college. G røn vold, w h o made this etching, began his career as a land cadet and thus received his education in the building. The structure n ow differs from the one he de­ picted, since in 176 9 a m ezzanine w as inserted and the entrance portal dim inished. 39 PRØVESTENEN 1743 In 17 13 tw o batteries w ere built, form ing protruding sea- forts in defense of C openhagen. T h ey w ere called Trekro- ner and Prøvestenen, both nam ed after sunken warships that together w ith other fillin g m aterial formed the foun­ dation for the construction. T rekroner w as situated on the northern point of the R ef peninsula, Prøvestenen more to the south, across from Am ager. T h ey were not used for v ery long, Trekroner w as closed dow n in 17 3 1, Prøve­ stenen, whose canon house can be seen in this etching, in 176 7. A lrea d y at this time - 174 3 - w ind and weather have corroded w o odw ork and stone w alls.

3 6 THE FLEET O N THE OU TER R O A D S W ITH THE C ITX IN THE B A C K G R O U N D 1743 D uring the Sw edish succession crisis 1743 Christian V I considered launching an offen sive against Sweden. W ith tnat in m ind he armed the biggest fleet w ithin the m emory of man. The w atercolour - possibly done b y a n aval o f­ ficer - depicts all the ships drawn up in battle order; be­ neath them he has w ritten the names of the ships and their captains and the number o f canons. The city is seen from the northeast, but w as most lik ely not drawn until a year or tw o after the event, since V o r Frue kirke (the Church o f O u r Lady) is provided w ith the spire w hich w as com ­ pleted in December 174 4 ; likew ise he also included the M ain Guard at N yh olm w ith its flag, although this was not built until 174 4 -4 5 . 3 7 ST 0 RRESTR/EDE 1743 O n the occasion of Frederik (V's) m arriage to the English princess Louise December 1 1 , 174 3, the A dm iralty had a festival decoration put up in Storrestraede (the present Holmens Canal). It consisted of tw o columnae rostratae - columns w ith pierced ships. Such columns were the old Roman sym bol of victory. M arcus Tuscher supplied the draw ing for the decoration w h ich w as later placed on Christiansholm b y the bridge to the A rsen al island (see cat. no. 102). The large bu ilding on the right housed the General Comm issariat and had been built 1706 - probably after a draw ing b y W . F. von Platen. The adjoining struc­ ture w as official residence of the Secretary of W ar. But the facades on the other side o f the street are creations of the im agination — there were here six in significan t private houses. In the background the arsenal pavilion on Gam - melholm . A ll these buildings burnt down in 1795. Reproduced p. 35.

40 CO PENH AG EN FROM THE NO R THW E ST c. 1745

In the foreground the district betw een the lakes and the rampart w ith the tw o approach roads (see cat. no. 9)/ which, how ever, seem to end in the closed-in fortification since the gates are n ot m arked. There are other inac­ curacies: the Opera House (2) w as at this time naval and land cadet college, the Reform ed Church (5) has no tower,

38 THE N A V A L A N D L AN D C AD E T COLLEGE 1743 O rigin ally the building w as not meant as a n aval college, but as an opera house. A fter a disastrous fire in 1689, in

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