Gavnø Castle, Næstved, Denmark

The first historical mention of Gavnø is in King Valdemar's census book from 1231 where a 'house on Gavnø' is mentioned. The house was apparently a castle built to defend Denmark's western coasts. In the 15th century, Queen Margaret I opened St Agnes' Priory there, catering for nuns from aristocratic families. The chapel can still be seen in the castle's southern wing although it has since been extended.

In 1737, Count Otto Thott acquired Gavnø. He renovated and substantially extended the castle, creating today's three-winged, yellow-facaded building in the Rococo style where he was able to house his large collections of paintings, manuscripts and books. At his death, his library collection contained over 120,000 volumes, exceeding that of the Danish National Library. The park surrounding the castle is known for its rare trees, rose garden and, above all, its extensive display of bulbs.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Anna Roitman (2 years ago)
One of the prettiest places in Denmark. I love the tulips festival. Trying local beer is on the plan next time as they got their own breweu

Vijaya Balan (2 years ago)
Bought tickets online to visit during the Tulips festival. Gorgeous flowers in a large park, very picturesque of course! There's a cafe there and it got quite crowded by noon. There's multiple tulip patches and the colours were just so radiant! Recommended to check out

Troels Eskildsen (3 years ago)
It's a nice park to stroll, but the entrance fee is overpriced. Here are some reasons: - Castle is poorly maintained with limited descriptions of what you see, the smell inside is musty and old. - The tamed animals were a shame, there was only one goat - and it wasn't a mountain goat as described on the sign. You can find other places were the entrance fee of 20€ gives you more value for your money.

Jesper Trasborg (3 years ago)
Very nice garden with pleasant casual atmosphere. Choices and freshness of food in cafe could be better. You can bring you own food and drinks though.

Andrey (3 years ago)
Park looks nice. The open part of castle is rather small. The collection of paintings is interesting, but you should be really fan of that specific style. I think the admission fee is a bit high, comparing to size of the castle and park.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Roman Moško

Historic Site of the week

Trencín Castle

Trenčín Castle is relatively large renovated castle, towering on a steep limestone cliff directly above the city of Trenčín. It is a dominant feature not only of Trenčín, but also of the entire Považie region. The castle is a national monument.

History of the castle cliff dates back to the Roman Empire, what is proved by the inscription on the castle cliff proclaiming the victory of Roman legion against Germans in the year 179.

Today’s castle was probably built on the hill-fort. The first proven building on the hill was the Great Moravian rotunda from the 9th century and later there was a stone residential tower, which served to protect the Kingdom of Hungary and the western border. In the late 13th century the castle became a property of Palatine Matúš Csák, who became Mr. of Váh and Tatras.

Matúš Csák of Trenčín built a tower, still known as Matthew’s, which is a dominant determinant of the whole building.

Gavnø Castle

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historical Gems of Costa Verde

Historic Site of the week

Trencín Castle