Gisselfeld Castle

Haslev, Denmark

Gisselfeld, a former monastery, is Denmark's fifth-largest estate. The three-storeyed Renaissance-style building has stepped gables, loopholes and a projecting tower over the main gate. The grounds include a moat, a well-kept park, lake, waterfall, gardens, greenhouse, and a fountain. The estate measures 3,850 hectares, including Hesede, Edelesminde, Brødebæk and Gødstrupgård, of which 2,400 hectares is forest.

Gisselfeld is first mentioned at the end of the 14th century when the owner was Bo Falk. At that time, there was a small manor situated some 2 km northwest of the site of today's main building. It stood next to an older fort, possibly the now demolished Valgestrup. Today's estate was founded by Peder Oxe til Nielstrup who built the manor from 1547 to 1575. It originally consisted of four interconnected red-brick wings, three storeys high with thick outer walls, a number of loopholes and large stepped gables. A protruding gate tower stands at the centre of the left wing. The fourth wing, now demolished, housed a chapel.

After Peder Oxe's death, his widow Mette Rosenkrantz til Vallø became the owner of the estate. After her death in 1588, her niece Karen Banner inherited Gisselfeld. She married Henrik Lykke til Overgaard whose family ran the estate until Kai Lykke was executed and relieved of all his rights in 1661. After a short period of ownership by the Crown, in 1670 the property was presented to Count Hans Schack as a reward for the part he played in the Swedish wars. In 1688, his son Otto Diderik sold the estate to Adam Levin Knuth whose family maintained ownership until 1699 when Christian V's illegitimate son took it over. As a result of his will, on his death in 1703 the manor should have become a convent but this did not happen until the death of his widow Dorothea Krag in 1754. Since 1755, under the name of Danneskiold-Samsøe his descendants have run the estate as 'Gisselfeld Adelige Jomfrukloster I Sjælland' (Gisselfeld Convent in Zealand for Virgins of Noble Birth). The 11th in line, Hele Danneskiold-Samsøe, has run Gisselfeld since 2010.

Today Gisselfeld houses a hotel, restaurant and provides event services.

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Details

Founded: 1547-1575
Category: Castles and fortifications in Denmark
Historical period: Early Modern Denmark (Denmark)

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Roman Zünd (2 years ago)
The place of our love. Even proposed to my fiance here. ❤️
Pam Louis (3 years ago)
Tranquility, wonderful and just wonderful ❤
Michael Bendixen (4 years ago)
Nice place for a walk around the lake and a visit to the orangeri where the garden is lovely and so is the inside plant house and small shop - that made the visit worth it! The host, food and tea was great. We had the afternoon tea.
Himanshu Sathe (4 years ago)
A wonderful castle with such beautiful garden. Can easily walk around the ground for more than 2-3 hours.
Alida Visser (4 years ago)
Definitely not worth the 60kr entrance to just wander around the gardens ... Can't even go inside the 'castle'. Also, the toilets are incredibly dirty. Don't waste your money!
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