Brahetrolleborg is a castle about 10 kilometres north-west of

Fåborg Faaborg or Fåborg () is an old port town located on Faaborg Fjord in Faaborg-Midtfyn municipality on the island of Funen in Denmark. By road, Faaborg is located southwest of Odense, west-northwest of Svendborg, and roughly southeast of Mid ...

on the Danish island of

Fyn 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 ...

. Before 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 ...

it was ( da, Holme Kloster; la, Insula Dei), a

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monastery.

Holme Abbey

The abbey was founded and settled in 1172 from the Cistercian Herrevad Abbey in

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...

, now in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, of which it was a daughter house. It was secularised during the

, probably in 1536. After the abbey was secularised and taken into the possession of the Danish Crown, the Crown released it into private ownership. In 1568 it became the property of

Heinrich Rantzau Heinrich Rantzau or Ranzow (Ranzovius) (11 March 1526 – 31 December 1598) was a German humanist writer and statesman, a prolific astrologer and an associate of Tycho Brahe. He was son of Johan Rantzau. He was Governor of the Danish royal sh ...

(1526–1598), from whom it acquired for a time the name ''Rantzausholm''. After reverting again to the Crown in 1661, it was granted in 1664 by King Frederick III of Denmark to his court favourite, the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

merchant and politician

Christoffer Gabel Christoffer Gabel (6 January 1617 – 13 October 1673) was a Danish statesman. Biography He was born on 6 January 1617 at Glückstadt.Bruun (2008), p.110Bricka (1891), p.512 His father, Wulbern or Waldemar Gabel, originally a cartographer and ...

(1617-1673) who exchanged it three years later for the chalk mountain of

Segeberg Segeberg (; frr, Segebärj) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southwest and clockwise) the districts of Pinneberg, Steinburg and Rendsburg-Eckernförde, the city of Neumünster, the districts of Plön, Osthol ...

with Birgitte Nielsdatter, of the Trolle family and married into the Brahe family, whence the name of the castle and also of her barony, Brahetrolleborg. The Trolles sold it in 1722 to

Christian Detlev von Reventlow Christian Detlev, Count von Reventlow (1671–1738) was a Danish military leader and diplomat. Biography He was the son of Conrad, Count Reventlow, chancellor of Denmark and his first wife Anna Margarethe Gabel (1651-1678). He was a brothe ...

(1671–1738), ''Oberpräsident'' of Altona, and the estate has remained until today in the

Reventlow Reventlow is the name of a Holstein and Mecklenburg Dano-German noble family, which belongs to the Equites Originarii Schleswig-Holstein. Alternate spellings include Revetlo, Reventlo, Reventlau, Reventlou, Reventlow, Refendtlof and Reffentloff ...

family.

Buildings

The former Cistercian church, laid out according to the plan of Saint Bernard, is now the chapel of Brahetrolleborg. It has a tower on the west front, and possesses a crucifix by

Claus Berg Claus Berg (ca. 1470 – ca. 1532) was a German sculptor and painter who is remembered for his workshop in Odense and his decorative work in Danish churches, especially altarpieces and crucifixes. His finest work, the altarpiece which now stands ...

of about 1500. The conventual buildings, located to the right of the church, were converted after secularisation for use as a castle, which was comprehensively overhauled in about 1870.

References

Other sopurces

* Venge, Michael, 1982: ''På sporet af Holme kloster.'' Fynske Arbøger 1982, pp. 27–38

External links

Brahetrolleborg Kirke
Cistercian monasteries in Denmark Castles and manor houses on Funen Listed buildings and structures in Faaborg-Midtfyn Municipality Buildings and structures in Denmark associated with the Trolle family {{Denmark-castle-stub