Haraldsborg is a historic property located close to Roskilde Fjord in northeastern

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

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 ...

. , it is being converted into a Christmas seal home for socially challenged children.

History

Harald's fortress

According to

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author ...

, Haraldsborg was built by

Harald Kesja Harald Kesja (lit. ''Harald the Spear''A ''kesja'' is in fact an unidentified weapon, probably a polearm which may have included some kind of hook in addition to the spear blade. See '' Viking halberd''.) (1080–1135) was the son of Eric I of Den ...

. It was most likely a ring fortification with palisades. Saxo mentions a revolving wooden tower, but such structures are not known from archeological excavations. Harald Kesja plundered far and wide, which greatly contributed to his not being elected king after his father died in 1103. Instead, his uncle Niels of Denmark was elected king in 1104. In 1133, Haraldsborg came under siege by Harald's half-brother Eric Emune and fell after local German craftsmen from Roskilde had assisted Eric in the construction of a

trebuchet A trebuchet () is a type of catapult that uses a hinged arm with a sling attached to the tip to launch a projectile. It was a common powerful siege engine until the advent of gunpowder. The design of a trebuchet allows it to launch projectiles ...

. Haraldsborg was part of Queen Dorothea's dower lands. Hendrik Behrmann claims that the last remains of Haraldsborg were destroyed by German soldiers during the

Count's Feud The Count's Feud (), sometimes referred to as the Count's War, was a Danish war of succession occurring from 1534 to 1536, which gave rise to the Reformation in Denmark. In the broader international context, it was a part of the European wars of ...

in 1534.

The watermill

A watermill is first mentioned at the site in 1295, when Erik Menved granted it to St. Agnes' Priory in Roskilde. It later came into the procession of

Duebrødre Kloster Duebrødre Kloster is a historical building located at the corner of Bredegade and Allehelgensgade in central Roskilde, Denmark. It was built in 1841 to a design by Jørgen Hansen Koch. Duebrødre Kloster is also the name of the charitable organi ...

. The watermill is also seen on the oldest maps of Roskilde. In 1677, Rosen refers to it as Den Haralds Mølle ("The Harald's Mill"), while it is referred to as Haraldsborg Mølle in 1753. The watermill and the associated four-winged farm building were destroyed in a fire in 1909.

Haraldsborg Husholdningsskole

In 1910, Haraldsborg was converted into a training facility for aspiring housewives (''husholdningsskole''). Haraldsborg Husholdningsskole was led by Anna Bransager Nielsen and had after a few years grown to be one of the largest of its kind in Denmark. It closed in 1954. Roskilde Municipality purchased the building in 1957 and converted it into a senior citizens' home. It was later converted into a home for psychiatric patients and has more recently housed asylum seekers. Haraldsborg was purchased by Winnie Liljeborg in 2014 and is now under conversion into the fifth Danish Christmas seal home.

Haraldsborg Hoard

The so-called Haraldsborg Hoard was found on the site in the 19th century. The artefacts comprise the oldest known altar set in Denmark, consisting of a gilded bronze

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...

and am altar disc as well as the lit of an oriental bowl. It also comprises more than 600 coins dating from Erik Emune's reign.

References

External links

Source

Shooting Society

{{coord, 55.65405, 12.08859, format=dms, type:landmark_region:DK, display=title Buildings and structures in Roskilde Municipality Houses in Roskilde Municipality