Nordborg Castle ( da, Nordborg Slot) is a small castle which lies on the southern side of Nordborg Lake (''Nordborg Sø'') in

Nordborg Nordborg (german: Norburg), is a town with a population of 5,709 (1 January 2022),Als in

Sønderborg Municipality Sønderborg Municipality (german: Sonderburg), is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in Region of Southern Denmark partially on the Jutland peninsula and partially on the island of Als in south Denmark, at the border with Germany. The municipal ...

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. The castle premises are currently used by Nordborg Slots Efterskole as a boarding school. Nordborg Castle has also been the backdrop for a number of years for Nord-Als Musikfestival.

Founding and early history

According to Saxo, Nordborg Castle was founded by King Svend Grathe (c. 1125–1157) under the name Alsborg. Hence, it can be dated to around 1150. Alsborg was built while the

Wends Wends ( ang, Winedas ; non, Vindar; german: Wenden , ; da, vendere; sv, vender; pl, Wendowie, cz, Wendové) is a historical name for Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various people ...

still dominated the Danish coast; its location a few kilometers inland meant that the castle could not be attacked without warning, and the local population had a better chance of taking refuge there. The first written evidence of Alsborg is from the end of the 12th century. From this, it is known that Bishop Valdemar of Slesvig (1158-1236) was held prisoner at Alsborg between 1192 and 1197. After

Sønderborg Castle (; german: Sonderburg ) is a Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 27,766 (1 January 2022),Norbury Norbury is an area of south London. It shares the postcode London SW16 with neighbouring Streatham. Norbury is south of Charing Cross. Etymology The name Norbury derives from ''North Burh'', (North Borough). Some local histories note that ...

"). Nordborg was for a large part of the

middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

the property of the king, and was on several occasions a source of income for the king's widow. In 1571, King Frederick II’s brother Hans the Younger (1545–1622) inherited his mother Queen Dorothea's possessions of Als and

Sundeved Sundeved is a peninsula on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in south Denmark. It lies between Åbenrå Fjord and Als Fjord to the north, Alssund to the east and Flensborg Fjord to the south. The westernmost part of the city of Sønderborg ...

including Nordborg. Hans was an enterprising man, who in the next 50 years constantly expanded and improved his properties. There was a series of building projects in and around Nordborg Slot. Upon Hans' death in 1622, his possessions were divided into separate dukedoms, including Nordborg, which went to his son Hans Adolf (1576-1624). Hans Adolf died only two years later and so the dukedom then went to Hans the Younger's other son Frederik (1581-1658).

Occupation and Fire

Nordborg was occupied several times during the Swedish wars, first by the Swedes, then by the Brandenburgian and

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

troops and finally by Swedish troops until peace came in 1660. In 1665 fire broke out in the castle, and it burnt down. Duke Hans Bugislav (1629-1679) went bankrupt and forfeited his estate, which reverted next to August, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (1635-1699). In 1678 rebuilding of the castle began, and at this time the ducal

coat-of-arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its w ...

was placed over the castle entrance. In 1730, Nordborg was taken back into crown possession. Nordborg had an estate of around 400 hectares, but in the following decades the land was turned into farms and in 1766 the castle was sold to a private owner and some of the buildings were demolished and sold for building materials.

High School and Boarding School

In 1909 the castle was purchased by Nordborg town. It was the pro-German Mayor Klinkers' dream to build a high school, which would be a counterweight for the Danish high schools north of the border. The castle was thereafter restored by the architect Eugen Fink, and in 1910 the castle was leased out to the German high school association in

Northern Schleswig South Jutland County ( Danish: ''Sønderjyllands Amt'') is a former county ( Danish: ''amt'') on the south-central portion of the Jutland Peninsula in southern Denmark. The county was formed on 1 April 1970, comprising the former counties of A ...

. After the reunification in 1920 the castle was bought by the merchant Johan Hansen (1845-1928). He established at foundation (''Stiftelsen Nordborg Slot'') which since 1922 has run the boarding school, Nordborg Slots Efterskole, at the castle.

Owners of Nordborg Castle

*(ca. 1150-1490) Between the Crown and the Sønderjyske dukes *(1490-1564) the Crown *(1564-1622) Duke Hans den Yngre *(1622-1624) Duke Hans Adolf *(1624-1658) Duke Frederik *(1658-1669) Duke Hans Bugislav *(1669-ca. 1672) the Crown *(ca. 1672-1676) Johan Adolf of Pløn *(1676-1699) Duke August of Nordborg-Pløn *(1699-1722) Duke Joachim Frederik *(1722-1729) Arvingerne til Duke Joachim Frederik *(1729-1766) the Crown *(1766-?) Hans Bugislav Carstens *(?-1830) various owners *(1830-?) Momme Steffens *(?-1909) unknown owner *(1909-1921) Nordborg town *(1921) Johan Hansen *(1921-) Nordborg Slot Foundation

References

External links

Nordborg Castle
on the ''1001 stories about Denmark'' website (Danish language)
Nord-Als Musikfestival websiteNordborg Slots Efterskole website
{{Castles in Denmark Castles in Denmark Buildings and structures in Sønderborg Municipality Als (island)