Haraldsborg is a historic property located close to

Roskilde Fjord Roskilde Fjord is the fjord north of Roskilde, Denmark. It is a long branch of the Isefjord. Cities The cities Frederiksværk, Frederikssund, Jægerspris, Jyllinge and Roskilde (including Himmelev), (home to the famous Roskilde Festival ...

in northeastern

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), 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 ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

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

History

Harald's fortress

According to

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), 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 Denma ...

, Haraldsborg was built by

Harald Kesja Harald Kesja, ''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 Denmark and ...

. 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 (french: trébuchet) is a type of catapult that uses a long arm to throw a projectile. It was a common powerful siege engine until the advent of gunpowder. The design of a trebuchet allows it to launch projectiles of greater weig ...

. Haraldsborg was part of Queen

Dorothea Dorothea (also spelled Dorothée, Dorotea or other variants) is a female given name from Greek (Dōrothéa) meaning "God's Gift". It may refer to: People * Dorothea Binz (1920–1947), German concentration camp officer executed for war cr ...

's dower lands.

Hendrik Behrmann Hendrik may refer to: * Hendrik (given name) * Hans Hendrik, Greenlandic Arctic traveller and interpreter * Hendrik Island, an island in Greenland * Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, a municipality in the Netherlands * A character from '' Dragon Quest XI'' ...

claims that the last remains of Haraldsborg were destroyed by German soldiers during the

Count's Feud The Count's Feud ( da, Grevens Fejde), also called the Count's War, was a war of succession that raged in Denmark in 1534–36 and brought about the Reformation in Denmark. In the international context, it was part of the European wars of religi ...

in 1534.

The watermill

A watermill is first mentioned at the site in 1295, when

Erik Menved Eric VI Menved (1274 – 13 November 1319) was King of Denmark (1286–1319). A son of King Eric V and Agnes of Brandenburg, he became king in 1286 at age 12, when his father was murdered on 22 November by unknown assailants. On account of his age ...

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 design by Jørgen Hansen Koch. Duebrødre Kloster is also the name of the charitable organisat ...

. 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 Winnie Liljeborg (formerly Winnie Dahl and Winnie Enevoldsen) is a Danish businesswoman, investor and philanthropist. She was one of the founders of Pandora and is now one of the wealthiest women in Denmark with a net worth of DKK 4.9 billion. Car ...

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