The stone and brick walls which comprise the ruins, and the articles from the castles stored in an adjoining room, are suфrisingly absorbing, the mood enhanced by the semidarkness and lack of external noise. In and around Christiansborg's courtyard there are a number of other, less captivating museums, to which the information office close to the ruins' entrance can provide directions the confusing array of buildings makes it easy to get lost. That said, you could probably sniff your way to the Royal Stables (MayOct Fri Sun 24pm; NovApril Sat & Sun 24pm; lOkr), though, unsurprisingly, it's among the country's least essential collections. Nearby, the Theatre Museum (Wed 24pm, Sun noonpm; 20kr) is better, housed in what was the eighteenth centuiy Court Tbeatre and displaying original costumes, setmodels and the old wessing rooms and boxes. Exiting the courtyard and walking through lejhusgade takes you past the Armoury Museum (midJune to midSept Tues ЭДП 10am4pm; rest of the year TuesFri l3pm. Sat & Sun noon4pm; 20kr), CO weaponry fiom Christian IVs arsenal and a host of crests and tri.r I™®' strides further on, a small gateway leads into the gorgeous treeV ijuiuca luiuici uii, a siiicul gaLcwaji icaua uiiu uic guigcuuo librae Ч Royal libraiy an excellent venue for a picnic. The Надь 9am6pm, Sat 9am6pm) contains original manuscripts by a staticAndersen, Karen Blixen and Soren Kierkegaard (of whom there's tho gardens), though the manuscripts can be seen only by convincing .yc di recentinr. fUnt ' 1 fj 1 _ J 11 _ scholar (a student card should suffice), or Stock Ei P'®® the low, long form of the seventeenthcentury Borsen, 'stinctivo k M® ~ th its spire of four entwined dragons' tails, one of the most ® Duildmgs in the city. The Thorvaldsens and national museums On the far side of Slotsholmen, the Thorvaldsens Museum (TuesSun 10am5pm; free) is the home of an enormous collection of work and memorabilia (and the body) of Denmark's most famous sculptor. Bertel Thorvaldsen lived from 1770 to 1844 and despite negligible schooling drew his way into the Danish Academy of Fine Arts, from there moving on to Rome where he perfected the heroic, classical figures for which he became known. He's not now a big name outside Denmark, although in his day he enjoyed international renown and won commissions from all over Europe. Other than a selection of early works in the basement, the labels of the great, hulking statues read like a roll call of the famous and infamous: Vulcan, Adonis, John Russell, Gutenberg, Pius VII and Maximilian; and the Christ Hall contains the huge casts of the Christ and Apostles statues which can be seen in Vor Frue Kirke (see "Indre By"). A prolific and gifted sculptor, Thorvaldsen was something of a wit too. Asked by the Swedish artist J.T. Sergei how he managed to make such beautiful figures, he held up the scraper with which he was working and replied, "With this.