Borgmestergården (Mads Lerches Gård) i Nyborg

Nyborg Slot is a restored medieval

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Nyborg Nyborg is a city in central Denmark, located in Nyborg Municipality on the island of Funen and with a population of 17,525 (2022). It is the easternmost settlement on Funen. By road, it is located 34 km east of Odense, 35 km north of ...

on the Danish 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 ...

. The castle figures prominently in Danish history. It was here that King Eric V Klipping signed Denmark's first constitution in 1282. The castle was also the venue for the

Danehof Danehof ("Danish Court") was the name of the Danish medieval parliament which played a certain role between c. 1250 and 1413. The precondition of the Danehof – like that of the Håndfæstning - was the growing power and opposition among Danish ...

, the country's first parliament. The castle is operated as a part of Østfyns Museum (''Østfyns Museer'') which also includes Borgmestergården in Mads Lerches Gård.

History

Established around 1170, the

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

ed castle was originally square-shaped with corner towers connected by a curtain wall. A residential building (''palatium'') was constructed next to the west wall in the mid-13th century and a strong defensive tower was built on the east wall. It was here that King Eric V signed Denmark's first constitution in 1282. Until 1413, the palatium was the main venue for the

or medieval parliament. King Christian III, who frequently stayed in the building, created a new banqueting hall and a tower in the 1540s. Under

King Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and king of Norway, Norway and List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is t ...

, additional work was performed by the Italian architect Domenicus Badiaz in 1607, when the main tower (''Knudstårnet'') received a spire similar to that of Copenhagen's

Blåtårn Blåtårn (in English: ''Blue Tower'') was a tower in Copenhagen Castle, the Danish royal family's palace in Copenhagen, Denmark. The tower was used as a dungeon and has been known as such in history. It is not known when the tower was built, but ...

. The castle was seriously damaged during the

Dano-Swedish War (1657–58) Dano-Swedish War may refer to one of multiple wars which took place between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Kingdom of Denmark (from 1450 in personal union with the Kingdom of Norway) up to 1814: List of wars Legendary wars between Denmark a ...

. Thereafter, most of the buildings were torn down, the stone being used from 1722 for the construction of

Odense Palace Odense Palace ( da, Odense Slot) in the city of Odense on the Danish island of Funen has its origins in a 15th-century monastery which passed to the Crown after the Reformation, and since then has served as an administrative building: in turn as ...

. The buildings still standing were used to store grain or gunpowder. The castle was restored from 1917 to 1923 by Mogens Clemmensen. It then became a museum.

Restoration

The castle was in a sorry state when the garrison left Nyborg in 1913. Nevertheless, encouraged by local interest in the building, the

National Museum of Denmark The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from Strøget ...

decided to undertake extensive restoration work under the leadership of Mogens Clemmensen. On the basis of carefully conducted archaeological investigations, the work proceeded for some 10 years but in 1925 the funding was exhausted. While most of the building had been restored, work was not completed on much of the north wing or on some of the interior details. In general, Clemmensen based his work on the state of the castle under Christian III but he also added numerous details he discovered in other sources, not always clearly documenting them. After the restoration, the rooms were fitted out with furniture acquired from various historic manor houses. There are three banqueting halls, each representing an important period in Danish history: the Danehof Room (''Danehofsalen'') hosted parliamentary meetings, court representatives of the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union (Danish language, Danish, Norwegian language, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under ...

met in Margrethe's Hall (''Margrethes riddersal'') while in Christian III's Hall (''Christian 3's riddersale'') there is a display depicting the period when Nyborg served as the nation's capital until 1560. Located at Slotsgade 34, the castle is open to visitors from 10 am to 3 pm in April, May, September and October and every day from 10 am to 4 pm in June, July and August.

Østfyns Museum

Østfyns Museum was formed in 2009 by a merger between Kerteminde Museum and Nyborg Museum. The museum had three primary operations: Nyborg Slot including Borgmestergården, Johannes Larsen Museet and the Vikingmuseum Ladby.

References

Literature

External links

Nyborg Slot websiteThe Association of Castles and Museums around the Baltic Sea
{{Commons category, Nyborg Castle Castles and manor houses on Funen Historic house museums in Denmark Listed buildings and structures in Nyborg Municipality Listed castles and manor houses in Denmark Tourist attractions in the Region of Southern Denmark

Slot Slot, the slot or Slots may refer to: People * Arne Slot (born 1978), Dutch footballer * Gerrie Slot (born 1954), Dutch cyclist * Hanke Bruins Slot (born 1977), Dutch politician * Tonny Bruins Slot (born 1947), Dutch association football coach wh ...