Schackenborg Castle ( da, Schackenborg Slot, ) is a

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

located in

Møgeltønder Møgeltønder () is a small town in Denmark, located in Møgeltønder Parish and Tønder Municipality in the southwestern corner of the Danish peninsula of Jutland 5 kilometres north of the Danish-German border and 4 kilometres west of Tønder. ...

Southern Jutland Southern Jutland ( da, Sønderjylland; German: Südjütland) is the name for the region south of the Kongeå in Jutland, Denmark and north of the Eider (river) in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The region north of the Kongeå is called da, Nørr ...

. From 1993 until 2014, it was the private residence of

Prince Joachim of Denmark , father = Henri de Laborde de Monpezat , mother = Margrethe II of Denmark , house = Glücksburg (official) Monpezat (agnatic) , religion = Church of Denmark , occupation = Military Attaché, Royal Danish Embassy in ...

, the second son of Queen

Margrethe II of Denmark 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 ...

History

Originally called Møgeltønderhus (Møgeltønder House), the former stronghold on the site was the property of the Roman Catholic bishops of Ribe. It served as protection against the

Frisians The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal regions of the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, ...

in the south, and guarded the waterway that joined

Vidå The Vidå (german: Wiedau, North Frisian ''Widuu'') is a creek in The Jutland region of, Denmark. The creek starts east of Tønder and flows to the west, ending in the North Sea. In places the Vidå marks the border between Denmark and Germany (' ...

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 ...

. During the

Reformation in Denmark 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 ...

, the mansion was confiscated from the Church by the Danish crown. Count Hans von Schack, a

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...

nobleman and soldier, was given Møgeltønderhus as a token of King

Frederick III of Denmark Frederick III ( da, Frederik; 18 March 1609 – 9 February 1670) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death in 1670. He also governed under the name Frederick II as diocesan administrator (colloquially referred to as prince-bi ...

's gratitude for his military achievements in the

Northern Wars "Northern Wars" is a term used for a series of wars fought in northern and northeastern Europe from the 16th to the 18th century. An internationally agreed-on nomenclature for these wars has not yet been devised. While the Great Northern War is gen ...

. Schack demolished most of the mansion in 1661 due to its bad condition, building the more impressive,

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style "Schackenborg Castle". In 1680, a street was laid out from the manor house, leading toward the local church. For eleven generations, the castle belonged to the von Schack family before reverting to the

Danish Royal Family The Danish royal family is the dynastic family of the monarch. All members of the Danish royal family except Queen Margrethe II hold the title of ''Prince/Princess of Denmark''. Dynastic children of the monarch and of the heir apparent are accor ...

again in 1978.

Prince Joachim residency

In 1993, Schackenborg and the extensive estate were transferred to Prince Joachim of Denmark, the younger son of Queen Margrethe II. In 1995, it was announced that Prince Joachim and then- Princess Alexandra would finally be moving into the residence. For their wedding, a national collection was made, known as the "Nation's Gift". Several million Danish kroner were raised. Prince Joachim announced that the money would be spent on a restoration programme for the castle. The castle and the surrounding park are not open to the general public; however, guided tours of the gardens are sometimes available during the summer. Since 2014, it has been owned by a foundation and not by any member of the royal family.

References

{{Castles in Denmark Houses completed in the 17th century Castles in Denmark Castles in the Region of Southern Denmark Listed buildings and structures in Tønder Municipality

History

Prince Joachim residency

See also

References