Vallø Castle () is a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

located 7 km south of

Køge Køge (, older spelling ''Kjøge'') is a Danish seaport on the coast of Køge Bugt (''Bay of Køge'') 39 km southwest of Copenhagen. It is the principal town and seat of Køge Municipality, Region Sjælland (Zealand), Denmark. In 2025, the ...

, in

Stevns Municipality Stevns Municipality () is a '' kommune'' in the Region Sjælland on the southeast coast of the island of Zealand in south Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 23,612 (1 January 2025). The municipality covers most ...

, on the island of

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

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 now serves as a residence for

Vallø stift Vallø stift or ''Det Adelige Stift Vallø for ugifte døtre'' (Noble Vallø Foundation for Unmarried Daughters) was a Danish foundation for the support of unmarried female nobles. It was located at Vallø Castle just south of Køge on the ea ...

, a home for unmarried, widowed and divorced women of noble descent.

History

Vallø traces its history back to the 14th century. From 1554 to 1651 it was divided into two separate estates, West Vallø and East Vallø. In 1708 Vallø was acquired by King Frederick IV who passed it on to

Anne Sophie Reventlow Anne Sophie von Reventlow (; 16 April 1693 – 7 January 1743) was Queen of Denmark and Norway from 1721 to 1730 as the second wife of Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway. Early life Born in Clausholm castle, into an ancient House of Reventlow, ...

. In 1731 King Christian VI passed the property on to Queen Sophia Magdalene who in 1737 founded the Noble Vallø Foundation for Unmarried Daughters (da. ''Det Adelige Stift Vallø for ugifte døtre'').

Building

Vallø consists of four wings with robust towers and is surrounded by a moat. The south wing, with its robust corner towers, and the south end of the west wing were built from 1580 to 1586 by Mette Rosenkrantz, one of the richest women in Denmark of her day. In Christen Skeel's time of ownership, from 1638 to 1659, the castle was expanded to three storeys and the west wing extended. The north wing was built by

Johan Cornelius Krieger Johan Cornelius Krieger (1683–1755) was a Danish architect and landscape architect, who from the 1720s served as both the country's chief architect, and head of the royal gardens. Krieger oversaw the construction of Fredensborg Palace and its ...

in 1721. A three-winged building designed by

Lauritz de Thurah Laurids Lauridsen de Thurah, known as Lauritz de Thurah (4 March 1706 – 5 September 1759), was a Danish architect and architectural writer. He became the most important Danish architect of the late baroque period. As an architectural write ...

was built in the courtyard from 1735 to 1738. The surviving central wing expanded with an extra storey by

Georg David Anthon Georg "George" David Anthon (1 October 1714 – 30 August 1781) was a German-born Danish architect. Background Anthon was born in Northern Germany. He was student of Danish architect Nicolai Eigtved (1701–1754) and graduated as a teacher of ge ...

in 1765. The castle was devastated by fire in 1893 but restored largely to its old design by

Hans Jørgen Holm Hans Jørgen Holm (9 May 1835 – 22 July 1916) was a Danish architect. A pupil of Johan Daniel Herholdt, he became a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and a leading Danish proponent of the National Romantic style. Biograp ...

between 1893 and 1904.

Park and surroundings

The park was turned into a Romantic landscape garden in 1830 but retains elements from the former French gardens from the 1720s. I large flower park was founded in 1960 but it has later been disbanded. Next to castle and its park there is a cluster of historic houses arranged around a street known as Vallø Castle Street (da. ''Vallø Slotsgade''). Vallø Castle Inn received a royal privilege in 1784. The estate also owns a variety of other houses spread out across the surrounding countryside.

Vallø today

The estate is still owned by the Vallø Foundation (da. Vallø Stift) and covers 4,109 hectares of land of which 1,860 hectares are woodlands. Apart from agriculture and forestry, the revenues derive from house rental, the inn, a campground located close to Køge, and hiring-out of hunting areas, The castle still provides housing for women of the Danish nobility but since 1976 admission to the residences is not restricted to unmarried women but now also cover widows and divorced women.

Churchyard

Vallø Stift has its own churchyard. Burials include: *

Sophia Magdalena of Denmark Sophia Magdalena of Denmark (; ; 3 July 1746 – 21 August 1813) was Queen of Sweden from 1771 to 1792 as the wife of King Gustav III. Born into the House of Oldenburg, the royal family of Denmark-Norway, Sophia Magdalena was the first daughter ...

(16351719), Danish princess * Regitze Barner (18341911), writer and philanthropist * August Villads Bech (18791953), landowner * Frederik Moltke (17541836), politician *

Johanne Svanenskjold {{Infobox given name , name = Johanne , image= , imagesize= , caption= , pronunciation= , gender = Female , meaning = , region = French , origin = , related names = Johanna, Joanna, Johannes, John, Joan, Jane , footnotes = Johanne ...

(17681875), writer, schoolmaster and missionary * Elisabeth Wedell-Wedellsborg (18301920, noblewoman and writer

Cultural references

* Vallø was used as a location in the 1965 drama fulm '' Gertrud''. * Vallø is also used as the eponymous castle in the 1989 comedy film '' The Egborg Girl''. * Vallø is also used as location for the scenes at the fictional Borreholm Castle in the 1978 ''

Olsen-banden The ''Olsen Gang'' (, ) is a Denmark, Danish comedy film series created by Danish director Erik Balling and special effects expert Henning Bahs about the eponymous fictional criminal gang. The gang's leader is the criminal genius and habitual o ...

'' film ''

The Olsen Gang Sees Red ''The Olsen Gang Sees Red'' () is a 1976 Danish comedy film directed by Erik Balling and starring Ove Sprogøe, Morten Grunwald and Poul Bundgaard. The film was the eighth in the ''Olsen Gang''-series, and was selected as the Danish entry for ...

''. * Vallø has also been used as a location in the Tv2 television series '' Badehotellet''.

List of owners

* ( - ) Eskild Falk Krage * ( - ) Bo Eskildsen Falk * ( -1387) Eskild Bosen Falk * (1387- ) Christine Evertsdatter Moltke, gift Krage * ( - ) Jens Eskildsen Falk * ( -1421) Hans Henningsen Podebusk * ( -1464) Oluf Axelsen Thott * (1421- ) Axel Pedersen Thott * (1464-1484) Birgitte Olufsdatter Thott, gift Rosenkrantz * (1467-1522) Kronen * (1484-1516) Niels Eriksen Rosenkrantz * (1522-1528) Birgitte Olufsdatter Thott, gift Rosenkrantz * (1528-1545) Oluf Nielsen Rosenkrantz * (1545-1554) Ida Munk Lange, gift Rosenkrantz

References

External links

Vallø Stift

Vallø Camping
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vallo Castle Castles in Denmark Listed buildings and structures in Stevns Municipality Manor houses in Stevns Municipality Castles in Region Zealand Lutheran women's convents