Ardenne is the third largest abbey in Caen region. It was founded in 1121 by a small Christian community. During the 1789 Revolution, the religious community was expelled from Ardenne Abbey, the building's original purpose was modified and it was stripped of the furniture and works of art which had been collected.
On 7 June 1944, the second day of Normandy Invasion, the Germans took Canadian soldiers prisoner and escorted them to the abbey where eighteen of them were executed, in contempt of the Geneva Convention and prisoners’ rights. Other summary executions took place during this month of fighting. The abbey was taken back from the Germans on 8 July 1944. Today, a memorial at the site commemorates this tragic event. In 1994, on the initiative of the Regional Council, a first wave of restoration and development works were launched at the farinier, the stables, Bayeux gate and the main building.
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.