Spøttrup Castle, Spøttrup, Denmark

Spøttrup Castle is the best preserved medieval castles in Denmark. The first record of the castle dates from 1404 when it was moved to the possession of Viborg bishop. Bishops built the castle in the 1400s and it was restored in 1525. It consisted of square form castle and two surrounding moats with a drawbridge.

Skipper Clement, leader of the peasant rebellion, attacked to the castle during the so-called Count's Feud (civil war 1534-36). After Reformation the Spøttrup was reduced to the Crown until sold to Henrik Below in 1577. Since the 18th century Spøttrup moved to the hands of several families and it slowly decayed. The restoration started in the early 20th century and in 1941 the castle was opened to the public as a museum.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Giuseppe Mennella (2 years ago)
Small castle, but suggestive for the construction and for the proximity to places of water.

Daniel Roskam (3 years ago)
Nice to see. Not too expensive. Cool activities.

Mathias S (3 years ago)
A beautiful historical place with an eventful history. The tickets for entry are a little bit expensive in my eyes, but maybe this is necessary to retain the castle. For kids it's definitely exciting and who ever is interested in history will also have good time.

Inna Joy (3 years ago)
Love it there. Beautiful scenary and nature. And lots of history within those walls

Anna Travesset (3 years ago)
Lovely old castle. Has a very cute apaotecary garden very nicely plotted, a jousting ring where championships have been held, the building itself is fun to discover. The kitchen has a drain and a well, so basically very convenient for the servants there. Lovely views, nice green space around to take a walk, and the reception building is modern and welcoming. Kids loved it to for them it was mostly about running around the place and finding small staircases and corridors, and outside finding a geocache that is stowed in the garden. Entrance ticket is only needed for going into the castle itself, entering the grounds and gardens is feee.

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The first historical record of Lednice locality dates from 1222. At that time there stood a Gothic fort with courtyard, which was lent by Czech King Václav I to Austrian nobleman Sigfried Sirotek in 1249.

At the end of the 13th century the Liechtensteins, originally from Styria, became holders of all of Lednice and of nearby Mikulov. They gradually acquired land on both sides of the Moravian-Austrian border. Members of the family most often found fame in military service, during the Renaissance they expanded their estates through economic activity. From the middle of the 15th century members of the family occupied the highest offices in the land. However, the family’s position in Moravia really changed under the brothers Karel, Maximilian, and Gundakar of Liechtenstein. Through marriage Karel and Maximilian acquired the great wealth of the old Moravian dynasty of the Černohorskýs of Boskovice. At that time the brothers, like their father and grandfather, were Lutheran, but they soon converted to Catholicism, thus preparing the ground for their rise in politics. Particularly Karel, who served at the court of Emperor Rudolf II, became hetman of Moravia in 1608, and was later raised to princely status by King Matyas II and awarded the Duchy of Opava.

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In the 16th century it was probably Hartmann II of Liechtenstein who had the old medieval water castle torn down and replaced with a Renaissance chateau. At the end of the 17th century the chateau was torn down and a Baroque palace was built, with an extensive formal garden, and a massive riding hall designed by Johann Bernard Fischer von Erlach that still stands in almost unaltered form.

In the mid-18th century the chateau was again renovated, and in 1815 its front tracts that had been part of the Baroque chateau were removed.

The chateau as it looks today dates from 1846-1858, when Prince Alois II decided that Vienna was not suitable for entertaining in the summer, and had Lednice rebuilt into a summer palace in the spirit of English Gothic. The hall on the ground floor would serve to entertain the European aristocracy at sumptuous banquets, and was furnished with carved wood ceilings, wooden panelling, and select furniture, surpassing anything of its kind in Europe.

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