Egeskov Slot is a moated castle on the island of Funen in Denmark.
The castle is Europe’s best preserved Renaissancewater castle. In the course of its history, the building, which was still influenced by medieval times, changed from an externally late Gothic water castle, which had already been designed in Renaissance style, to a cozy country castle. The building is surrounded by extensive gardens (according to the owners the largest historical garden in Denmark) and there are several museums in the castle grounds.The palace is Renaissance style and is the best preserved in Europe, so it refers to palaces that are surrounded by water. Although the history of Egeskov dates back to the 15th century, the structure of the palace was erected by Frands Brockenhuus in 1554.
Due to the problems and instabilities caused by the Danish Civil War in 1534-1536 (known by the Anglo-Saxon and Danish historiography as War of the count, in Danish Grevens fejde), a civil war that introduced in Denmark the Protestant Reformation, most of the Danish nobility built their residences planning them as authentic fortresses. Thus, the castle is built on an oak piles and located in a small lake with a maximum depth of five meters. At first, the only access from outside the castle was through a drawbridge. According to the legend, it took an entire forest of oaks to build the foundations of the building, and hence derive the name of Egeskov (oak forest).
The property’s total land includes an additional eight square kilometers; 2.5 square kilometers (0 97 sq mi) are forests, with the remainder being reserved for agriculture. The property has belonged to the Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille family since 1784. In 1986, a full-size replica of the castle was built in Hokkaido, Japan, to house an aquarium. It was built with the permission of the owners of Egeskov at the time, Count Claus and Countess Louisa Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille.
Most of the castle is open to the public except for the areas used by Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille and Countess Caroline Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille. The agriculture museum and a collection of wagons for horse transport are located in the Ladegard building
The legend of the woodman :
In the attic of the stair tower is a wooden figure, which once adorned a hall of the castle. According to legend, she must never be removed from her place and must get each prepared for Christmas a new straw, otherwise Egeskov would sink into the ditch on Christmas night.
Access : Coordinates: 55.176389, 10.489444 / By train : Line Odense / Svendborg: Train to Kværndrup. Followed by the 920 bus or a 2.5 km walk. / By bus : From Nyborg and Faaborg: Bus line 920. / By car : From Svendborg: Take the A9 to Odense. At the roundabout in Kværndrup, follow the signs for Faborg on the A8.
Highlights :-site layout :
- The garden : Around the castle is the old park of about 20 hectares,The gardens surrounding the castle have emerged at different times and have been constantly extended in the present and adapted to tourist expectations. A formal garden area opposite the castle was reconstructed in the 1950s.In 2012, the garden received the “European Garden Prize” from the European Garden Heritage Network in the category “Further Development of Historic Plants”.
- Titania’s palace : The most well-known exhibit of the museum is the very large dollhouse “Titanias palace”, named after the elven queen Titania. The English officer Sir Neville Wilkinson has been building this unique piece of art for more than 15 years. The room-sized palace consists of more than 3000 parts in great detail and contains some even valuable art treasures.
- Castle Museum : The most important part of the museum is the renaissance castle itself. It houses about ten sumptuous rooms in two floors and an exhibition area in the attic. A large number of exotic hunting trophies announces the passion for hunting of a former lord of the castle. Furniture, paintings, musical instruments, porcelain and many other art objects document the long history of the house, owned today by Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille
- Other museums : In the outbuildings are several other museums, including exhibitions of automobiles (vintage cars up to the 1970s), aircraft and motorcycles, a museum on the history of the rescue operation in Denmark and an exhibition of dollhouses. Other exhibitions deal with the history of agriculture, trade and craft.In Galleri Ahlefeldt, you can see exhibitions of Michael Ahlefeldt’s art. Bicycles Through The Ages , exhibition traces the development of the bicycle, from the earliest models from the 1860s to the 1900s. Experience one of the finest bicycle collections in Europe, with original bikes from c. 1860–1900.
- Hans Christian Andersen exhibition : In the 1860s, Hans Christian Andersen designed a little paper doll and called her Augusta Snorifass.Egeskov presents the paper doll and her impressive wardrobe in a special exhibition in Jomfru Rigborg Stuen (Maid Rigborg Room) until 19 October 2014.A copy of the doll with selected the pieces from her wardrobe is available in the museum store. The exhibits are kindly lent to Egeskov by a private collector.
- Three modern buildings are occupied by a collection of antique automobiles, a collection of antique motorcycles, a collection of Falck vehicles and a collection of airplanes and helicopters. The Falck Collection is a collection of vehicles from the Danish rescue company, Falck, emergency vehicles such as fire engines, ambulances, rescue boats and other emergency vehicles.
Facilities : Plant shop / playground / 100 metre high tree top trail / Activity Area With Old-fashioned Play Equipment / old-fashioned grocer’s shop next to the Motorcycle exhibition ,Visitors can purchase freshly-ground coffee, aromatic / Restaurant-cafe / Parking: Free parking, 1400 parking spaces.
Kiosks : Fast food, drinks and ice cream, etc / Castle Shop : you can buy postcards, stamps and a variety of souvenirs
Overnight-accommodation : spend the night in a tent at Egeskov’s basic campsite free of charge ,facilities : toilet and bath , cars, caravans, and camper vans are not allowed , max. 2 nights.
Opening hours: 27/4 – 28/6 10 am – 5 pm (Castle 11 am – 5 pm),29/6 – 11/8 10 am – 7 pm (Castle 10 am – 7 pm) 12/8 – 1/9 10 am – 6 pm (Castle 11 am – 6 pm)
2/9 – 20/10 10 am – 5 pm (Castle 11 am – 5 pm) / Admission fees :27/4 – 21/6 and 2/9 – 20/10 : Park, exhibitions & Castle : Adults 195 DKK , Child 115 DKK , Adult grp.175 DKK , Child grp.90 DKK , Assistants to wheelchair users/disabled: free admission.
Activities : visitors can walk along a 100 metre high tree top trail / sightseeing / photo opportunities / playground / LEGO, creativity and robot programming at Egeskov
visit Dracula’s Crypt and find out more about the dark secrets of Egeshov! / Explore the play forest , play area for children / Picnics / Guide service
Events : Heartland Festival 2. – 4. June / Egeskov Open by Night , 17. Jul 2019 10 am 11 pm , 24. Jul 2019 10 am 11 pm , 31.Jul 2019 10 am 11 pm , 03. Aug 2019 10 am – 4 pm,07. Aug 2019 10 am – 11 pm , 10. Aug 2019 11 am – 5 pm , 12. Oct 2019 to 20. Oct 2019 10 am – 5 pm , / Tractor pulling ,12. Oct 2019 11 am – 4 pm
/ Egeskov Christmas Market ,09. Nov 2019 to 10. Nov 2019 10 am – 4.30 pm / Egeskov Christmas Market 15. Nov 2019 to 17. Nov 2019 10 am – 4.30 pm / Egeskov Christmas Market 23. Nov 2019 to 24. Nov 2019 10 am – 4.30 pm
/ LUMINIS , 28. Nov 2019 to 30. Nov 2019 5.30 pm – 9 pm
Go next : Odense / Kerteminde / Ringe / Middelfart / Nyborg / Copenhagen / Fredericia
