Søborg Castle Ruins, Gilleleje, Denmark

Søborg Castle, in its heyday, was the strongest castle in Denmark, and was also used as a prison. It was inhabited until the Count's Feud in 1535, when it is speculated that it was destroyed. In 1577, the feudal tenant was granted permission to use the ruins as a quarry.

Søborg Castle is first known from the 12th century, when ownership of the castle passed from the king to the bishop of Roskilde. Traditionally archbishop Eskil of Lund is said to have expanded the previous buildings to a real castle with defensive walls and a moat. As Eskil was in close contact with Esrum Abbey, it is considered likely that he lived nearby at Søborgby.

In 1985, Robert Egevang and Søren Frandsen took the initiative of digging two trenches to make clear the conditions between the octagon tower and the castle proper. A rampart approximately 11 meters wide is the oldest encirclement of the castle. In the rampart, as well as in the octagon tower which was built at the same time, tiles have been found. The excavations show that the castle proper was erected in the late 13th century, which would make it unlikely that Eskil was the builder, as he died in 1181. The tiles are very unevenly made, evidence of their novelty in Denmark, after having only recently arrived from Lombardy.

In the Middle Ages, the castle was on an island in a fjord with an outlet to the Kattegat by Gilleleje. Later, the fjord became Søborg Sø, which was drained 1872-1896 when a canal was dug to Gilleleje.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Thomas Dalvad (2 years ago)
Jeg besøgte stedet som barn, og ruinen gjorde et stærkt indtryk på mig.

Kitta Larsen (2 years ago)
Fed ruin at kravle/gå rundt i. Hyggeligt sted til en madpakke, der er borde udenfor ruinen. Var her fordi jeg havde læst bogen "ridder Hjalmar" af Susanne Clod Pedersen, og fandt ud af, at borgen var virkelig. Men viste ikke, at den har haft så stor betydning i Danmark, eller ar Margrethe d. 1. Var født her. Kan anbefalet til en tur ud i det blå.

Peter Jessen (2 years ago)
Det bliver spændende, når der igen kommer vand i søen og voldgraven og der bliver gjort mere ud af formidlingen. Den enestående borgruin trænger til vedligehold.

Eric Plesner (2 years ago)
Interesting historical site and surrounding

Bjorn B (3 years ago)
Not much left to see here, but a nice spot for a picnic

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Makser

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