Amalienborg

Amalienborg is a complex of four identical Rococo palace buildings arranged around a large octagonal courtyard in central Copenhagen, designed by the architect Nicolai Eigtved and built between 1750 and 1760 for four noble families as part of a planned aristocratic district. The Danish royal family acquired the palaces after their own Christiansborg Palace burned down in 1794, and Amalienborg has served as the monarchy's principal winter residence ever since, with individual mansions occupied by different members of the royal family. An equestrian statue of King Frederick V, who initiated the district's construction, stands at the center of the courtyard, and a daily changing of the guard ceremony takes place there when the monarch is in residence. The complex remains a working royal residence rather than a museum, though parts of one palace are open to the public as a museum of royal history.