Møgeltønder () is a small town in Denmark, located in Møgeltønder Parish and

Tønder Municipality Tønder (German: ''Tondern'', North Frisian: ''Tuner'') is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in Region of Southern Denmark on the Jutland peninsula in south Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 1,278 km2, and has a total populatio ...

in the southwestern corner of the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

peninsula of

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

5 kilometres north of the Danish-German border and 4 kilometres west of

Tønder Tønder (; german: Tondern ) is a town in the Region of Southern Denmark. With a population of 7,505 (as of 1 January 2022), it is the main town and the administrative seat of the Tønder Municipality. History The first mention of Tønder might ...

. Møgeltønder is known for its picturesque main street, the large 12th-century church, and

Schackenborg Castle Schackenborg Castle ( da, Schackenborg Slot, ) is a château located in Møgeltønder, Southern Jutland. From 1993 until 2014, it was the private residence of Prince Joachim of Denmark, the second son of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. History Ori ...

. As of 2022, it has a population of 799.

Møgeltønder Church

Møgeltønder Church is one of the largest village churches in southern Jutland. The church was built in c. 1180 but had the nave extended and a larger choir added c1275. The tower with the tall spire was added in the 15th century. The church was owned by the counts Schack of Schackenborg castle from 1661 to 1970, and has a rich interior e.g. a gothic altarpiece from c.1 450, 17th pulpit and pews, and the oldest church organ in Denmark. As a manor church, it shows many references to the Schack family. Apart from the large burial chapel of the Schack family, the medieval murals in the choir were restored and repainted in 1890 to show the faces of the current count and his son.

Schackenborg Castle

was the home to the counts of Schackenborg from 1661 to 1979, who rebuilt and extended the castle. It was subsequently the home of the Danish

Queen Margrethe II Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent femal ...

and Prince Henrik's younger son Prince Joachim until 2014. Prince Joachim and his second wife Princess Marie married at Møgeltønder church on May 24th 2008. Since 2014 the castle has been owned by the Schackenborg fund and has been partially opened to the public. The castle connects with the old part of Møgeltønder (the houses around the medieval church) through the picturesque newer main street "''Slotsgaden''" with 18th-century houses, flanked with lime trees. South of the church, the town is a good example of a rural Danish town consisting of farmhouses, dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, where the farms have not been moved out to their fields as was customary all over Denmark in the period 1784-c1830 due to agricultural reforms.

Notable people

Hans Schack, 2nd Count of Schackenborg Hans Schack, Count of Schackenborg (4 March 1676 – 22 September 1719) was a Danish nobleman and enfeoffed count ( da, lensgreve). He was the second holder of the County of Schackenborg from 1683 to 1719. Biography Hans Schack was born on 4 M ...

(1676–1719) a Danish nobleman and ''enfeoffed count'', the second holder of the

County of Schackenborg The County of Schackenborg was a Danish and for a period German majorat in the southern part of Jutland, which existed from 1676 to 1924. History The County of Schackenborg was established on 23 June 1676 by King Christian V of Denmark for Ot ...

from 1683 to 1719; buried in Møgeltønder church * Otto Didrik Schack, 3rd Count of Schackenborg (1710–1741) a Danish nobleman and ''enfeoffed count'', the third holder of the

from 1719 to 1741; buried in Møgeltønder church * Hans Schack, 4th Count of Schackenborg (1734–1796) a Danish nobleman and ''enfeoffed count'', the fourth holder of the

from 1741 to 1796; buried in Møgeltønder church * Svend Wiig Hansen (1922 in Møgeltønder – 1997) a Danish sculptor and painter. *

Freya Clausen Freya Christine Clausen also known as Freya (born 17 November 1978) is a Danish singer/songwriter and television personality, based in Copenhagen. She worked as an MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable ...

(born 1978 in Møgeltønder) a Danish singer/songwriter and TV personality, also known by her mononym ''Freya''

References

Cities and towns in the Region of Southern Denmark Tønder Municipality E {{SouthernDK-stub

External references

Møgeltønder church's home page