Borreby Castle ( da, Borreby Slot, ) 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 held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

located near

Skælskør Skælskør () is a town in 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 of Korsør. Skæls ...

Slagelse Municipality Slagelse Municipality is a municipality ( Danish: '' kommune'') in Region Zealand on the west coast of the island of Zealand (Danish: ''Sjælland'') in Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 571 km². The municipality borders Kalundborg ...

, in the south-west corner of the island of

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

, in eastern

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 = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

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 Peder Jensen Lodehat (died 21 October 1416) was the bishop of the Diocese of Aarhus and a significant political figure in Denmark during the reign of queen Margrete I. Lodehat was originally from a minor noble family in Zealand but made a career ...

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 (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

in 1534.

Friis era: The current building

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 Johansdat ...

, 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 Christia ...

on the island of

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

. 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. The estate remained in the possession of the Friis family until the brothers Oluf and Valdemar Daa ran it into economic ruin during their ownership from 1652 to 1681.

Castenschiold era: Hans Christian Andersen connection

In 1783, Borreby was acquired by Major General

Joachim Castenschiold General Joachim Melchior Holten von Castenschiold (29 November 1743 – 6 April 1817) was a Danish Army officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars. Castenschiold purchased Borreby Castle in 1783, the estate of which has been owned by the famil ...

. 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, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

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 Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

. The Castenschiold family still own the property.

Architecture

Built in red brick in the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

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 plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...

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. It 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 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