Borreby Castle (, ) is a fortified

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

located near

Skælskør Skælskør () is a town in Zealand (Denmark), Zealand, Denmark. It is located in Slagelse Municipality. Until 2007 Skælskør was the seat of Skælskør Municipality. The town is located 17 km southwest of Slagelse and 12 km southeast o ...

, Slagelse Municipality, in the south-west corner of the island of

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

, in eastern

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

History

Early history

First mentioned in 1345, by the end of the century Borreby had come into the possession of the Urne family, an important house of high nobility in Denmark at that time. In 1410 the estate was acquired by Bishop Peder Jensen Lodehat and it was then held by the Bishops of Roskilde until its confiscation by the Crown in 1536 in connection with the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

in 1534.

Friis and Daa families

In 1553, possibly somewhat earlier, King Frederick II ceded the property to Chancellor

Johan Friis Johan Friis (20 February 1494 – 5 December 1570) was a Danish statesman. He served as Chancellor under King Christian III of Denmark. Biography He was born at Lundbygård manor as the son of Jesper Friis til Lundbygård and Anne Johansda ...

, one of the most powerful men in the country at the time, who also owned

Hesselagergård Hesselagergård (or Hesselager Manor), located near Gudme in the southeast of the Danish island Funen, is the oldest Renaissance building in Denmark. It was built by Johan Friis, one of the most powerful men in Denmark during the reigns of Christ ...

on the island of

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

. In 1456 he built the current castle at a site north of the old building. After Johan Friis' death in 1570, Borreby was passed to his nephew, Christian Friis, who later followed in his uncle's footsteps as Chancellor from 1594 to 1616. Christian Friis expanded the complex with an extra moat and several new buildings, including two castle yard wings to the east and west, a gatehouse and several large farm buildings west of the castle. Christian Friis' daughter Dorthe Friis brought Borreby into her marriage to Claus Daa. The estate was later passed down to his son Jørgen Daa and grandson Claus Daa. The latter's brothers Oluf and Valdemar Daa ran it into economic ruin during their ownership from 1652 to 1681. Valdemar Daa spent large sums on experiments with alkymism.

Changing owners, 15711783

The next owner was Ove Ramel. His daughter Else sold Borreby in 1732 to Christian Berregaard. On his death, Borreby was passed first to his son Willum and then to his grandson Frederik. In 1776, Borreby changed hands again when it was sold to Hans Georg Faith.

Castenschiold family

In 1783, Borreby was acquired by Major General

Joachim Castenschiold Lieutenant-General Joachim Melchior Holten von Castenschiold (29 November 1743 – 6 April 1817) was a Danish army officer and landowner who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Castenschiold purchased Borreby Castle in 17 ...

. Together with nearby Holsteinborg and Basnæs, Borreby later in the century formed a small cluster of manor houses where

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

was a frequent guest. In 1859 Andersen published his story "The Wind Tells about Valdemar Daae and His Daughters", a tragic tale of how the last descendant of Johan Friss to own Borreby lost the estate through his own foolish and quite unsuccessful experiments with

alchemy Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

. The Castenschiold family still own the property.

Architecture

Built in red brick in the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

style, Borreby consists of two and a half floors resting on stone plinth and topped by a pitched roof. There are four towers, three on the north side and a staircase tower on the south side. The masonry is decorated with arched friezes above each storey and the windows are topped by depressed arches. The defensive character of the building is witnessed by machicolation holes which are found on all sides. Behind these there used to be a walkway which has now been removed, but machicolation holes can still be seen all round the building. The interior is dominated by Joachim Lorentz Holten Castenschiold's modernizations carried out in the 1750s and restorations from 1883 to 1884 and 1923–24. The east and west wings of the outer courtyard date from Christian Friis' expansion, as does the gatehouse from 1600 and the large farm buildings located west of the castle. A chapel in the west wing was in its current form designed in 1754.

In the 21st century

Borreby Castle is owned by and managed as a modern agricultural estate with a large production of

biomass Biomass is a term used in several contexts: in the context of ecology it means living organisms, and in the context of bioenergy it means matter from recently living (but now dead) organisms. In the latter context, there are variations in how ...

for power stations on Zealand. There is public access free of charge to the outer courtyard and park with views of the historical buildings. The castle is also open for tours on prior notification. The castle is also used as a cultural venue. Borreby Art Gallery is based in the former courthouse as well as some former stables. Borreby Theatre with a capacity of 450 spectators is currently under construction in a former barn, and other buildings will house a restaurant and café.

List of owners

* (1345) Niels Jensen * (-1392) Lave Nielsen Urne * (1392–) Zabel Kerkendorp * (-1410) Fikke Kerkendorp * (-1410) Radike Kerkendorp * (1410–) Roskilde Bispestol * (-1536) Grev Christoffer * (1536–1553) Kronen * (1553–1570)

* (1570–1616) Christian Friis * (1616–1617) Mette Hardenberg, gift Friis * (1617–1618) Dorthe Friis, gift Daa * (1618–1641) Claus Daa * (1641–1652) Jørgen Daa * (1652–1666) Oluf Daa * (1652–1681) Valdemar Daa * (1681–1685) Ove Ramel * (1685–1730) Mette Rosenkrantz, gift Ramel * (1730–1732) Else Ovesdatter Ramel * (1732–1750) Christian Berregaard * (1750–1769) Villum Berregaard * (1769–) Beata Antonia Augusta Reuss-Lobenstein, gift Berregaard * (-1776) Frederik Berregaard * (1776–1783) Hans Georg Faith * (1783–1817) Joachim Melchior Holten Castenschiold * (1817–1832) Henrik Gisbert Castenschiold * (1832–1865) Adolph Frederik Holten Castenschiold * (1865–1919) Carl Vilhelm Behagen Castenschiold * (1919–1945) Adolf Frederik Holten Castenschiold * (1945–1961) Carl Christian Henrik Castenschiold * (-present) Joachim Lorentz Castenschiold

References

External links

Official website
(in Danish)

(in Danish)

by

(in English) {{Slagelse Municipality Houses completed in 1556 Castles in Denmark Listed buildings and structures in Slagelse Municipality Buildings and structures in Skælskør Listed castles and manor houses in Denmark Manor houses in Slagelse Municipality Castles in Region Zealand 1556 establishments in Denmark Buildings and structures of the Friis family Buildings and structures of the Daa family Buildings and structures of the Castenschiold family