Common Farmers and Fishermen in the King's Garden?
The Valley of the Norsemen (Nordmandsdalen) in Fredensborg Palace Garden is a rare fusion of sculpture and landscape art. The layout resembles an amphitheatre with three terraces. At the center stands a column topped with a gilded sphere on a grassy mound. Distributed across the terraces are 70 sculptures depicting 60 Norwegian and 10 Faroese fishermen, farmers, wives, and other ordinary people as they looked in the 18th century. At the time, it was highly unusual to depict common people – and certainly not in the king’s garden.
A Daring Commission
The story of Nordmandsdalen begins with a Norwegian postman, Jørgen Christensen Garnaas. He had a keen eye for the people on his route and would carve small wooden figurines of them in his spare time. One day, he received an extraordinary commission: King Frederik V had seen his carvings and ordered a series of ivory and walrus tusk figurines. These were to serve as models for life-size sculptures of ordinary fishermen and farmers from the Nordic region, intended for display in Fredensborg Palace Garden.
A Twenty-Year Undertaking
One by one, the 70 sandstone sculptures were carved between 1764 and 1784. In 1784, they were finally installed in the palace garden in what we now know as Nordmandsdalen.
Rare Historical Documentation
Today, the sculptures offer a unique insight into life outside the royal court in the 18th century – how ordinary people in the Nordic region dressed, and which tools they used for fishing and farming.
Renovated and Reinaugurated
Sandstone sculptures are not eternal – time wears them down. In 1984, the Danish Palaces and Properties Agency decided to recreate all the figures. By 2000, the entire installation had been reconstructed in its original form. On September 9, 2002, Queen Margrethe II officially re-inaugurated Nordmandsdalen following a comprehensive restoration.
Access to Nordmandsdalen
Nordmandsdalen is located in the public section of Fredensborg Palace Garden, which is open all year round.
