User Reviews
Gytheio was the seaport of Ancient Sparta. It is the site of ancient Cranae, a tiny island where, according to the myth, Paris and Helen spent their first night together before departing for Troy.
In Roman times Gythium remained a major port and it prospered as a member of the Union. As purple dye was popular in Rome, Gythium exported that as well as porphyry and rose antique marble. Evidence of the ancient Gythium prosperity can be found by the fact that the Romans built an ancient theatre which is well preserved today and is still used occasionally. The ancient theatre and the city's Acropolis (west of the theatre) were discovered by the archeologist Dimitris Skias in 1891. Some time in the 4th century AD, the city was destroyed. What happened to Gythium is not recorded but it is thought to have been either sacked by Alaric and the Visigoths, pillaged by the Slavs or destroyed by the massive earthquake that struck the area in 375 AD.
After the earthquake Gythium was abandoned. It remained a small village throughout the Byzantine and Ottoman times. Its importance grew when Tzannetos Grigorakis built his tower at Cranae and more people came and settled at Gytheio. During the Greek War of Independence, refugees flooded into Mani and made Gytheio a major town.
References:Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.
The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.
Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.