Ahrensburg Castle, Ahrensburg, Germany

The Ahrensburg village came into the possession of the Cistercian Reinfeld Abbey in 1327. After the dissolution of the monasteries due to the Reformation, the whole area came into the possession of the king of Denmark. He rewarded his general Daniel Rantzau 1567 with lordship over these villages. His brother and heir Peter Rantzau built a Renaissance residence in the form of a water castle, now the symbol of the town, and the castle church around 1595. The new schloss buildings were made with parts of the torn-down mansion, on a rectangular island surrounded by a defensive moat. The following year, the chapel was completed. It was modelled on Schloss Glücksburg, built a few years earlier. Four octagonal towers were added later with copper-covered torn heads and lanterns.

The Rantzaus' estate was heavily indebted by the middle of the 18th century and, in 1759, was acquired by the businessman Heinrich Carl von Schimmelmann. Schimmelmann remodelled the castle and village in the baroque style and the current layout of the town reflects these plans.

Historians in Germany consider the building one of Schleswig-Holstein's best-known Renaissance buildings and attractions. Open to the public, it is surrounded by an English park, a chapel, a watermill and a museum.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

hansi hinteseer hande Zuma himmel (13 months ago)
Right after the War my family lived in the Schloss around 1948 or maybe 1950,we were originally from Pommern-DeepI have found memories from the Schloss,of course those were different times am the middle child and got very ill so while the rest of my family stayed there I was in a Hospital a long way from the schloss when I finally got home we has moved to Ahrensburg.After leaving there we made our home in Delingsdorf.we came to the U.S.A. IN 1952 I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THAT IS THE SAME TOWN that we lived in,from what I see on the internet it has really grown,I have never been back,but I miss it terribly if someone want to write me and tell me what life is like therenow,there now, would love it.I still speak and read and write in German. thank you. Gisela Schmidt Gaeke

Maksym Karazieiev (13 months ago)
Beautiful palace BUT impossible to pay with a non-german card. Prepare some cash. As we didn’t have it we were not able to enter :(

Lisa M Kaehler (18 months ago)
The area is spectacular and the building is majestic! Didn’t go inside though. We cycled from Ohlstedt and enjoyed every second of the trip. Worth the effort!

Mihaela S (2 years ago)
Beautiful place to go for a walk. Would be great for something more, to attract the people and children.

Nancy Karin (2 years ago)
I am not usually into castles but this one was really worthwhile seeing, especially from inside. The parquet floors and furniture as well as the interior decoration is something special. It's only €8 to go inside, well worth the money!!

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Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.

The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.

The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.

Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.

In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

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