Gråsten Palace () is located at

Gråsten Gråsten (; ) is a town with a population of 4,298 (1 January 2025) on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in south Denmark by the Nybøl Nor at an inlet of the Flensburg Fjord. It belongs to the Sønderborg municipality in Region of Souther ...

in the

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

region of southern

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. It is best known for being the summer residence of the

Danish royal family The Danish royal family is the dynastic family of the monarch of Denmark. While some members of the Danish royal family hold the title of ''Prince(ss) of Denmark'', descendants of Margrethe II additionally bear the title '' Count(ess) of Monpe ...

. The main house has a modern, all-white facade, with Venetian doors opening onto sweeping, manicured lawns and gravel walkways. The grounds include a huge stables court.

History

In its first edition, Gråsten was a small hunting castle built in the middle of the 16th century. The south wing of the present-day main house is believed to be built on the site of the second structure built in 1603 to replace a hunting lodge which had been destroyed in a fire in the middle of the 16th century.Gråsten Palace
Palaces and Properties Agency Under the ownership of Carl von Ahlefeldt, the second palace was demolished in favour of a grand

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style palace built in the years leading up to 1700. This third palace was however devastated by a fire in 1757 under the ownership of the then Duke of Augustenburg which only the Palace Chapel and two pavilions survived. The Duke then commissioned Johann Gottfried Rosenberg to rebuild the fourth and current palace in

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

-style in 1759 – though considerably smaller than its former edition. After about three and a half succeeding centuries of ownership by Danish

nobles Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

, Gråsten Slot was taken over by the State and extensively restored. In wake of their wedding in 1935, it was given as a summer residence to Crown Prince Frederik (later King Frederik IX) and his Swedish-born Crown Princess Ingrid (later Queen

Ingrid Ingrid may refer to: * Ingrid (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ingrid Burley (born 1986), rapper known mononymously as Ingrid * Ingrid (record label), also an artist collective * Tropical Storm Ingrid, various cy ...

) who especially adored the palace until her death in November 2000. It remains the summer residence of the

. In November 1845,

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

visited Duke Christian August II at Gråsten Castle. Legend had it that Gråsten Palace was where Andersen wrote ''

The Little Match Girl "The Little Match Girl" (, meaning "The little girl with the matchsticks") is a literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen. The story, about a dying child's dreams and hope, was first published in 1845. It has been ...

,'' during his visit. However, that is not the case. Andersen wrote it when he visited Augustenborg Palace.

Landscape and Palace Chapel

The estate area has an area of . The property includes a stables court, manicured lawns and gravel walkways. Graasten Palace Chapel in the north wing is the only building remaining from the original baroque palace after a 1757 fire. Despite being badly damaged in the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...

, the chapel is decorated with 80 paintings. The chapel has

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

congregations, with

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and Danish services to accommodate the mix of local culture.

Owners

* –1559: ''Gregers Ahlefeldt'' (?-1559) * 1559–1580: ''Hans Gregersen Ahlefeldt'' (1530-1580) * 1580–1617: ''Gregers Ahlefeldt'' (1577-1617) * 1617–1648: ''Hans Ahlefeldt'' (1605-1662), sold Gråsten to the first Duke of Glücksburg in 1648 * 1648–1662: '' Philip I of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg'' (1584-1663), sold Gråsten to Gregers Ahlefeldt's (1577-1617) grandson in 1662 after the Karl Gustav Wars (1657-1650) * 1662–1686: '' Frederik Ahlefeldt'' (1632-1686), Grand Chancellor of Denmark (1676-1686) and son of Gregers Ahlefeldt's (1577-1617) daughter Birgitte (1600-1632) * 1686–1708: ''Frederik Ahlefedt'' ("the Younger", 1662-1708) * 1708–1722: '' Carl Ahlefeldt'' (1670-1725), inherited Gråsten from his childless older brother but died in bankruptcy in 1722 after which Gråsten was sold at an auction at Gottorp Castle in 1725 * 1725–1754: '' Christian August I of Augustenburg'' (1696-1754) * 1754–1794: '' Frederik Christian I of Augustenburg'' (1721-1794) * 1794–1814: '' Frederik Christian II of Augustenburg'' (1765-1814), brother-in-law of King Frederik VI of Denmark * 1814–1852: '' Christian August II of Augustenburg'' (1798–1869), grandson of King Christian VII of Denmark, lost Gråsten after the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (), also known as the Schleswig-Holstein uprising () and the Three Years' War (), was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig–Holstein question: who should control the Du ...

* 1852–1862: The Danish state * 1862–1864: ''Count Adam Gottlob Moltke-Huitfeldt'' (1798-1876), sold Gråsten back to the Augustenburg-family after the

in 1864 * 1864–1865: '' Prince Christian of Augustenburg'' (1831-1917), later son-in-law of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, sold Gråsten to his first cousin in 1865 * 1865–1884: '' Frederik Christian August of Augustenburg'' ("Friedrich der Achte", 1829-1880), pretender to the duchy of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

* 1884–1921: '' Ernst Günther II of Schleswig-Holstein'' (1863-1921), died childless in 1921 * 1921–1935: The Danish state * 1935–: The

receives the right to use Gråsten and it has been the family's summer residence ever since

References

External links

Gråsten Palace and Palace Gardens
Agency for Palaces and Cultural Properties

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grasten Palace Palaces in Denmark Royal residences in Denmark Castles in the Region of Southern Denmark Listed buildings and structures in Sønderborg Municipality Tourist attractions in Sønderborg Municipality