Schackenborg Castle is the private residence of Prince Joachim of Denmark, the 2nd son of the present Danish monarch. One of the Northern Europe’s most beautiful village street from the beginning of the 1700s leads to Møgeltønderhus, better known as Schackenborg Palace. Møgeltønderhus was the castle for the bishops of Ribe. It served as protection against the influx of Frisian culture from the south and guarded the waterway from Vidå to Tønder. The building was transferred to the King after the Reformation, and in 1661 the King conveyed the castle to general Hans Schack as a gesture of gratitude for his service in the war against the Swedes.
For 11 generations, the Palace belonged to the Schack family until it came into the Royal Family’s ownership in 1978. In 1993, Schackenborg Palace and its associated farm and lands were taken over by Prince Joachim. The Palace is not open to the public. In summer, there are guided tours to the palace garden.
References:The city walls of Avila were built in the 11th century to protect the citizens from the Moors. They have been well maintained throughout the centuries and are now a major tourist attraction as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visitors can walk around about half of the length of the walls.
The layout of the city is an even quadrilateral with a perimeter of 2,516 m. Its walls, which consist in part of stones already used in earlier constructions, have an average thickness of 3 m. Access to the city is afforded by nine gates of different periods; twin 20 m high towers, linked by a semi-circular arch, flank the oldest ones, Puerta de San Vicente and Puerta del Alcázar.