Shortly after the death of King Christian IX in 1906 a collection was started for the construction of a monument to him. Four artists were invited to take part in a competition in 1907. There was no discussion about the position of the statue. It would be erected on Christiansborg Riding Ground Complex as a pendant to the statue of King Frederik VII on the Palace Square. The sculptor Anne Marie Carl Nielsen, the wife of the composer Carl Nielsen, won the competition with her proposal for a new equestrian statue.
In the proposal, the statue was shown on a high pedestal, on the sides of which were reliefs depicting a procession of the leading men of the day, including the industrialist C.F. Tietgen, the politician J.B. Estrup and the poets J.P. Jacobsen and Holger Drachmann. The reliefs were later axed, and the architect Andreas Clemmensen designed the pedestal that bears the horse today.
The sculptor sought throughout the country for the right horse to stand as a model, but found it in Hanover in Germany. This gave rise to a good deal of displeasure among Danish horse breeders.
The monument took a long time to complete, but in 1927, 21 years after the king's death, it was unveiled on the Riding Ground Complex.
Last updated:: Monday, March 09, 2009
