Valdemars Castle

Svendborg, Denmark

Valdemars Castle was built by King Christian IV (1588–1648) between 1639 and 1644. It is designed by Hans van Stenwinkel. The king’s plans for his new castle were that the house should become the home for his son Valdemar Christian, who was born to him by Kirstine Munk. King Christian was renowned for his interest in building. On the island of Tåsinge, belonging to his mother in law Ellen Marsvin, the king decided to build a castle for his young son. However, Valdemar Christian never moved in. He was killed in battle in Poland in 1656.

In 1678 the naval hero, Admiral Niels Juel, was given title to the castle and the land on Tåsinge after his victory over Sweden in the Battle of Køge Bay in 1677. The estate was transferred to him as payment for the Swedish ships captured in the battle.

The present owner, Baron Iuel-Brockdorff, who is 11th generation of the Juel family, took over his childhood home from his father in 1971 and lives in the castle with his wife and family. Valdemars Slot has been open to the public since 1974. The castle is open from May to October and on public holidays. The castle features a large chapel, a toy museum, the Iuel-Brockdorff family's big game trophy collection and a local maritime museum. As the castle lies near the beach, it is popular for visitors to come by ferry on the Helge from Svendborg.

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Address

Slotsalleen 100D, Svendborg, Denmark
See all sites in Svendborg

Details

Founded: 1639-1644
Category: Castles and fortifications in Denmark
Historical period: Early Modern Denmark (Denmark)

More Information

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

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Odense Cathedral (44,7 km)
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Nyborg Castle (33,4 km)
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Nyborg Church (33,4 km)

User Reviews

Ann-Christin Wallisch (7 months ago)
Beautiful place with a stunning garden and a nice little beach. The castle is very interesting and the little shop was friendly.
Flemming Rasmussen (9 months ago)
Rich in Danish history. Great setting. The building is becoming derelict, so get there whilst you can!
Sebastian Jones (10 months ago)
Beautiful castle. Not everything is clearly marked and explained. Shouldn't spoil your visit though.
Tim Van den Berghe (10 months ago)
Great place for everyone. Minigolf, castle tours (it's really worth a visit on the inside), a beautiful park to walk and a wonderful sandy beach. For everyone there's enough choice. Relax and enjoy!
John Terje Bremnes (11 months ago)
Nice castle with a good exhibition of old stuff. Nice area and nice boat trip to the castle.
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Moszna Castle

The Moszna Castle is one of the best known monuments in the western part of Upper Silesia. The history of this building begins in the 17th century, although much older cellars were found in the gardens during excavations carried out at the beginning of the 20th century. Some of the investigators, including H. Barthel, claimed that those cellars could have been remnants of a presumed Templar castle, but their theory has never been proved. After World War II, further excavations discovered a medieval palisade.

The central part of the castle is an old baroque palace which was partially destroyed by fire on the night of April 2, 1896 and was reconstructed in the same year in its original form by Franz Hubert von Tiele-Winckler. The reconstruction works involved an extension of the residence. The eastern Neogothic-styled wing of the building was built by 1900, along with an adjacent orangery. In 1912-1914, the western wing was built in the Neo-Renaissance style. The architectural form of the castle contains a wide variety of styles, thus it can be generally defined as eclectic.

The height of the building, as well as its numerous turrets and spires, give the impression of verticalism. The whole castle has exactly ninety-nine turrets. Inside, it contains 365 rooms. The castle was twice visited by the German Emperor Wilhelm II. His participation in hunting during his stay at the castle was documented in a hand-written chronicle in 1911 as well as in the following year. The castle in Moszna was the residence of a Silesian family Tiele-Winckler who were industrial magnates, from 1866 until the spring of 1945 when they were forced to move to Germany and the castle was occupied by the Red Army. The period of the Soviet control caused significant damage to the castle's internal fittings in comparison to the minor damage caused by WWII.

After World War II the castle did not have a permanent owner and was the home of various institutions until 1972 when it became a convalescent home. Later it became a Public Health Care Centre for Therapies of Neuroses. Nowadays it can be visited by tourists since the health institution has moved to another building in the neighbourhood. The castle also has a chapel which is used as a concert hall. Since 1998 the castle housed a gallery in which works of various artists are presented at regular exhibitions.

Apart from the castle itself, the entire complex includes a park which has no precise boundaries and includes nearby fields, meadows and a forest. Only the main axis of the park can be characterised as geometrical. Starting from the gate, it leads along the oak and then horse-chestnut avenues, towards the castle. Further on, the park passes into an avenue of lime trees with symmetrical canals running along both sides of the path, lined with a few varieties of rhododendrons. The axis of the park terminates at the base of a former monument of Hubert von Tiele-Winckler. On the eastern side of the avenue there is a pond with an islet referred to by the owners as Easter Island. The islet is planted with needle-leaved shrubs and can be reached by a Chinese-styled bridge. The garden, as part of the whole park complex was restored slightly earlier than the castle itself. Preserved documents of 1868 state that the improvement in the garden's aesthetic quality was undertaken by Hubert von Tiele-Winckler.

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