Rosenholm Castle () is

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 ...

's oldest family-owned castle. It is located on

Djursland Djursland () is a 1,417 km2 hilly lowland peninsula in Denmark at the entrance to the Baltic Sea, between Denmark and Sweden in Northern Europe. Djursland protrudes into the Kattegat sea, as part of the larger peninsula of Jutland, which its ...

, north of

Hornslet Hornslet is a town located in East Jutland, on the southwestern part of the Djursland peninsula, Denmark. It is a commuter town of the city of Aarhus, which lies approximately 28 kilometers to the southwest, and a railway town at Grenaabanen, th ...

and northeast of

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

. It is one of the best-preserved complexes from the golden age of the manor house – from 1550 to 1630.

History

The manor Holm is known from the 14th century. It was owned by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, but at 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 1536 it came in possession of

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

. King Frederick II exchanged it for some other estates owned by Danish nobleman and diplomat Jørgen Ottesen Rosenkrantz (1523-1596). The

Rosenkrantz Rosenkranz is the Danish and German word for rosary. The literal German meaning is 'wreath of roses'. Rosenkranz, Rosenkrantz, Rosencrance, Rosencrans or Rosencrantz is a Germanic and Ashkenazi Jewish surname and may refer to: People * Rosenkran ...

family is among the oldest and most famous in Danish history.

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

chose to use the surname in the play ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

''. Jørgen Rosenkrantz had two sons: Otto Rosenkrantz (1560-1582) and Holger Rosenkrantz (1574-1642). He built a manor for both of them:

Skaføgård Skaføgård is a manor house in the parish of Hvilsager in Syddjurs Municipality in the eastern Jutland peninsula of Djursland, Denmark. It is not one of Denmark's largest manor-houses, but one of the best preserved. Inside there is an enormou ...

for Otto and Rosenholm for Holger. Unfortunately Otto died early, after which Skaføgård became a dower house for Jørgen's wife, Dorthe Lange (1541-1613) and after her death passed to their surviving son Holger. Rosenholm Castle was founded in 1559. Jørgen Rosenkrantz built three wings, while the fourth and last was first added by his son Holger Ottesen Rosenkrantz (1517-1575). Its

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

was very much different from other

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

s in Denmark. It was mostly inspired from Italy. On the main facade there was an open

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...

. It was later extended, standing complete in 1607 with four wings, clearly influenced by the French and Italian

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 ...

styles. The castle interior was modernised in the 1740s in the

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

, at which time a large baroque garden was laid out, covering an area of 5 ha., with avenues of limetrees and hedgerows of beech.

Sights & attractions

*Manor house milieu over 450 years *

Anthroposophic Anthroposophy is a Spiritualism (movement), spiritual new religious movementSources for 'new religious movement': which was founded in the early 20th century by the Western esotericism, esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of ...

paintings by the painter

Arild Rosenkrantz Arild Rosenkrantz (; 9 April 1870 – 28 September 1964) was a Danish nobleman painter, sculptor, stained glass artist and illustrator.Charles Holme; Guy Eglinton; Peyton Boswell. (1907). The International studio'. Offices of the International St ...

. *Baroque park with symmetrical avenues. *Pirkentavl gazebo from around 1560.

References

External links

Rosenholm Slot website
{{Castles in Denmark Castles in Denmark Listed buildings and structures in Syddjurs Municipality Houses completed in 1607 Castles in the Central Denmark Region Hornslet Tourist attractions in Denmark Tourist attractions in the Central Denmark Region Buildings and structures in Denmark of the Rosenkrantz family

History

Sights & attractions

See also

References

External links