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

Address

Gavnø 2, Næstved, Denmark

See all sites in Næstved

Details

Founded: 1737
Category: Castles and fortifications in Denmark
Historical period: Absolutism (Denmark)

More Information

www.gavnoe.dk
en.wikipedia.org
www.visitdenmark.com

Rating

4.1/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

St. Peter's Church (5 km)
St Martin's Church (5,1 km)
Herlufsholm Church (6,5 km)
Rønnebaeksholm (5,6 km)

Roskilde Cathedral (55,2 km)
Roskilde Palace (55,2 km)
St. Lawrence's Church Ruins (55,2 km)
Viking Ship Museum (55,9 km)
St. Nicholas' Church (41,7 km)
St. Bendt's Church (28,8 km)
Vordingborg Castle Ruins (23,4 km)
Maribo Cathedral (48,5 km)
Sorø Abbey (28,9 km)

User Reviews

Matthew Haave (9 months ago)
Went for the Christmas market and had a great time!

Joan Steffensen (9 months ago)
Fantastic day. Beautiful place to hold a bass

Kai Herold (13 months ago)
Nice park and castle. Painting collection huge but mostly uninteresting sadly many in need of repair. Park nice with many flowers. So all in all, worth a visit nice landscape around the castle, easy to locate and even possible to take a trip on the lake. Also several activities for children.

Øystein Væringsaasen (13 months ago)
The park itself is very nice, with huge trees and pretty flowers everywhere, kept in more or less meticulous order. There is also an interesting portrait collection in the manor building, as well a small chapel which is stunning! The entrance fee is a bit steep, 125 Danish crowns for one adult. The gift shop was closed and the ticket booth as well as the cafeteria attended by a young woman which was nice, but couldn't quite cope alone.

habibah yahya (15 months ago)
I have seen many beautiful tulips in this park. Eventhough it was windy and a little bit of rain it didn't stopped me from exploring this beautiful park. There were many flowers which have not come out yet. But it was enough to see the colourful tulips and hyacinths and the castle

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Photo from Flickr, copyright eiljot

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