Gråsten Palace

The first Gråsten Palace was a small hunting lodge built in the middle of the 1500s. After it burned down in 1603, a new palace was built approximately where the south wing of the current palace is located. Chancellor Count Frederik Ahlefeldt, who was the owner of Gråsten Palace from 1662-1682, and his son built a huge baroque palace shortly before the beginning of the 1700’s. It, too, burned down in 1757. Only the palace chapel and a few pavilions remained. The current palace thus dates back to 1759, when a new south wing was built, and to 1842, when the central building was added. At the beginning of the last century, considerable renovations were made.

The Augustenborg family owned Gråsten Palace from 1725 to 1852, when it was acquired by Frederik VII. After 1864, the palace was again occupied by the Augustenborg family. In 1920, the Danish state acquired Gråsten Palace, and for a period it was used as a court house, housing for judges and police chiefs, and a library. In 1935, after an extensive restoration, Gråsten Palace was handed over to be the summer residence for the then-Crown Prince Couple (later King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid).

King Frederik and Queen Ingrid spent the summers at Gråsten Palace. After Queen Ingrid’s death, the palace passed to HM The Queen, who continues the tradition of using it during the summer.

References:

• Kongehuset.dk

Address

Graasten Slot 1A, Gråsten, Denmark

Details

Founded: 1759
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Denmark
Historical period: Absolutism (Denmark)