Voergaard Castle

Dronninglund, Denmark

Voergaard Castle is open to the public and houses a significant art collection. Voergaard's recorded history goes back to 1481. At the outbreak of the Count's Feud it was owned by Stygge Krumpen, Bishop of Børglum, taken by Skipper Clement's army of peasants and then, after the Reformation, confiscated by the Crown in 1536. In 1578, King Frederick II ceded the property to Karen Krabbe in exchange for Nygaard, an estate located between Vejle and Kolding. Krabbe's daughter, Ingeborg Skeel, took over the property from her mother and carried out an expansion which was completed in 1588.

Over the following two centuries, Voergaard changed hands many times. Much of the land was sold. In 1872 it was purchased by Peder Brønnum Scavenius, a politician and land owner, who re-acquired much of the land which had previously been sold. At the time of his death in 1914, the estate covered 1,944.4 ha of land, making it one of the largest in Denmark at the time. The next owner was his son, Erik Scavenius, Danish Prime Minister during World War II, who owned Voergaard from 1914 to 1945.

In 1955 Voergaard was acquired by Ejnar Oberbech-Clausen, a Dane who had lived in France since 1906 where he had become a count through his marriage with Marie Henriette Chenu-Lafitte, the widow of his former employer, and an Imperial Count in the Holy Roman Empire. Chenu-Lafitte was the daughter of Jules-Émile Péan, one of the great French surgeons of the 19th century, and owned an extensive art collection which originated both from her father and deceased husband. The art collection contains works attributed to Francisco Goya, Peter Paul Rubens, Raphael, El Greco, Watteau and Frans Hals.

The couple owned several châteaus in the area around Bordeaux but after his wife's death, in an air raid in 1941, Oberbech-Clausen moved to Paris and later decided to return to his native Denmark. He acquired Voergaard and, with approval from the French state, brought 12 train cars of art with him back to Denmark. He undertook a comprehensive and costly restoration of the castle which went on for several years. After his death in 1963, the castle and collections were passed to a foundation and opened to the public.

Voergaard is a two-winged, L-shaped castle built in red brick in the Renaissance style. The east wing is flanked by two octagonal corner towers and penetrated by a gateway. Its sandstone portal was a gift from King Frederick II and originally created for Frederiksborg Castle.

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Address

Voergård 6, Dronninglund, Denmark
See all sites in Dronninglund

Details

Founded: 1520-1588
Category: Castles and fortifications in Denmark
Historical period: Kalmar Union (Denmark)

More Information

www.visitaalborg.com
en.wikipedia.org
mobil.voergaardslot.dk

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Old City Hall (33 km)
Budolfi Cathedral (33,1 km)
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Aalborghus (32,8 km)
Church of Our Lady (33 km)
Skagen Old Church Ruins (53,9 km)
Skagen Church (55,3 km)
Lindholm Høje (31,5 km)
Dronninglund Castle (10,7 km)

User Reviews

Jonathan Anderberg (21 months ago)
Well worth a visit, especially around Christmas. They really care about the estate and take great pride and care in displaying it, allowing access to all the "cool" areas!
Carolina Vial (21 months ago)
Beautiful castle, nice activities and very interesting guided tour.
Øyvind Sevaldrud (2 years ago)
Very intresting and big collection inside if you are interested in seeing old paintings and things! The outside looks good too but it's not very exciting to go there to just look at the outside, but it can be a good place to have a picnic nearby!
Anders Forum Jensen (2 years ago)
This historic castle is absolutely worth the visit. The tour of the site is great and told with enthusiasm. The history of the place is fascinating and much of the original building and interior has been preserved. We were lucky enough to visit during the yearly "Medieval days" which added an extra four hours of fun to the trip.
Kelsey Baustian (2 years ago)
Beautiful castle and our tour guide Martin was very charismatic. They happened to be having a Renaissance Faire the day we went which was also a nice treat.
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