Søborg Castle ( da, Søborg Slot, ) is a ruined castle south of

Gilleleje Gilleleje () is a fishing town and seaside resort on the north coast of the peninsula North Zealand, Denmark. The town is located at the northernmost point of the island of Zealand. It is one of the main towns of the Gribskov municipality in Regio ...

North Zealand North Zealand, also North Sealand ( da, Nordsjælland), refers to the northern part of the Danish island of Zealand which is not clearly defined but generally covers the area north of Copenhagen. The Danish tourist authorities have recently in ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. It was one of the strongest castles in Denmark and was also used as a prison. It was inhabited until the

Count's Feud The Count's Feud ( da, Grevens Fejde), also called the Count's War, was a war of succession that raged in Denmark in 1534–36 and brought about the Reformation in Denmark. In the international context, it was part of the European wars of relig ...

in 1535, when it is speculated that it was destroyed. In 1577, the feudal tenant was granted permission to use the ruins as a quarry.

History

Søborg Castle is first known from the 12th century, when ownership of the castle passed from the king to the Bishop of

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

. Queen

Margaret I of Denmark Margaret I ( da, Margrete Valdemarsdatter; March 1353 – 28 October 1412) was ruler of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (which included Finland) from the late 1380s until her death, and the founder of the Kalmar Union that joined the Scandinavian k ...

was born at the prison of Søborg Castle, where her father, King

Valdemar IV of Denmark Valdemar IV Atterdag (the epithet meaning "Return of the Day"), or Waldemar (132024 October 1375) was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375. He is mostly known for his reunion of Denmark after the bankruptcy and mortgaging of the country to finance ...

, had confined her mother,

Helvig of Schleswig Helvig of Schleswig (also erroneously Hedwig; 1320–1374) was the queen of Denmark as the spouse of King Valdemar IV. She was the mother of Queen Margaret I of Denmark. Life Helvig was the daughter of Eric II, Duke of Schleswig, and Adelaide ...

. Traditionally,

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Eskil of Lund Eskil was a 12th-century Archbishop of Lund, in Skåne, Denmark (now in Sweden). He was one of the most capable and prominent princes of the Church in Scandinavia. A man of profound piety, he was always zealous for the welfare of the church, and ...

is said to have expanded the previous buildings to a real castle with

defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

s and a

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 ...

. As Eskil was in close contact with

Esrum Abbey Esrum Abbey, also Esrom Abbey ( da, Esrum or ), was the second Cistercian monastery founded in Denmark, located near Hillerød in Region Hovedstaden, on the island of Zealand (Sjælland), on the north side of the Esrum Sø (Lake Esrum) near Es ...

, it is considered likely that he lived nearby at Søborgby.

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. ...

wrote that Eskil had built a castle in the ''den lethriske mose'', but it is unknown whether that is a reference to Søborg. No-one has so far been able to make a clear connection between Eskil and Søborg either by archaeological finds or written sources. Such a connection is therefore a hypothesis only. In the Middle Ages, the castle was on an island in a

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

with an outlet to the

Kattegat The Kattegat (; sv, Kattegatt ) is a sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Skåne in Sweden ...

. Later, the fjord became Søborg Sø, which was drained 1872-1896 when a canal was dug to Gilleleje.

Excavations

In 1985, Danish historian Robert Egevang (1939–2008) led an excavation of two trenches to make determine the conditions between the octagon tower and the castle proper. A rampart approximately wide is the oldest encirclement of the castle. In the rampart, as well as in the octagon tower which was built at the same time, tiles have been found. The excavations show that the castle proper was erected in the late 13th century, which would make it unlikely that Eskil was the builder, as he died in 1181. The tiles are very unevenly made, evidence of their novelty in Denmark, after having only recently arrived from

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

References

Sources

*Skovgaard-Petersen, Inge, 1987: ''Da Tidernes Herre var nær. Studier i Saxos historiesyn''. Den danske historiske Forening: Copenhagen *Smidt, C.M., 1934: ''Ærkebiskop Eskils borganlæg på Söborg. Aarböger for nordisk Oldkyndighed''

External links

Holbo Herreds kulturhistoriske center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soborg Castle Buildings and structures completed in the 12th century Ruined castles in Denmark Former castles in Denmark Defunct prisons in Denmark Buildings and structures in Gribskov Municipality