- 3 Places to go Sightseeing in Denmark

Few places inspire the imagination more than a great ruin in a place where dramatic things once happened. Atlantis is probably the most famous city that was left in ruins and then disappeared. The problem with Atlantis is that, according to legend, it was swallowed up by the sea and nobody knew where it was anymore. Meaning that there are no ruins to visit. But there are also some interesting ruins in Denmark. Perhaps they can be used? 

In Denmark we of course can't match Pompeii, Troy, the Acropolis or the Temple of Karnak, not to mention Angkor Wat, the Mayan Tikal or Incan Machu Picchu. Denmark offers the following 3, which are more humble but certainly very interesting nonetheless: Hammershus, Kalø Castle and Koldinghus. The order is not random. It is sorted by fame and drama. We begin with:

Hammershus

Denmark's largest castle ruins, Hammershus, is beautifully situated in the far north of Bornholm, where it has stood since the High Middle Ages. Access to the ruins is free. If you also want to see the exhibition about the castle and learn about its history in the fairly new visitor center, access is also free. But parking costs a little. There is also a restaurant.

Hammershus is a popular destination. It is estimated that there are up to 400,000 visitors a year. There are many good opportunities to tour other parts of Bornholm, with a local guide to tell the good stories.

Large Castle, Small Population

Hammershus is quite large. The ring wall that ran around the castle itself is almost 800 meters long, making Hammershus the largest ruined castle in Northern Europe. The fortress may seem oversized for an island as small as Bornholm, which had a population of no more than a dozen thousand inhabitants when the castle stood in all its power and might. The explanation, of course, is that in the Middle Ages the castle was intended to help secure control of the Baltic Sea. It was not just about grand politics here, but also about the need for a military facility that could take on any pirates and make life miserable for them.

The Many Medieval Castles

Castles like Hammershus belong to the Middle Ages. We know that up to 20,000 castles were built in Europe during the Middle Ages. Up to 6,500 of them still exist, at least as ruins. A few are even still in use, such as Windsor Castle in England. Hammershus was not so lucky. Along the Rhine, they lie one after another. On some stretches of the river there is always a castle in sight, and beyond the next bend in the river there may be a new one.

Castles of Denmark

There are a number of real late medieval/renaissance castles and one of the most beautiful is Egeskov on Funen. There is Borreby on Zealand and Rygård on Funen. Then, of course, there are the large royal castles in Zealand - but they are far from ruins. And then, of course, there is Sønderborg.

As cannons got better and better, the castles were no longer good and secure defenses. Perhaps they were not exactly demolished, but after about 1600 they were allowed to decay. Hammershus was also abandoned as a fortress. Oddly enough, the two most famous dramatic stories come from the period when Hammershus was no longer a site to be taken seriously.

Hammershus: A Traitor and a Few Rebels

The first story is about Corfitz Ulfeldt and Christian IV's daughter, Leonora Christina. After the death of Christian IV, Ulfeldt ruled the country for a few months and did what he could to limit the power of Frederick III, who was to succeed his father on the throne. This was obviously not a good basis for a long, trusting relationship, and political intrigue was involved. 

Ulfeldt was accused of massive embezzlement and of being behind a poison plot against the King. Rumor had it that the king would have Ulfeldt murdered in return. There were rumors of the murder of Ulfeldt's illegitimate children - those he had had with a prostitute. This reeks of a smear campaign and character assassination. All in all, the situation became so dangerous that Ulfeldt preferred to leave the country. It's a violent story, but to cut a long story short:

After about 1650, Hammershus served as a prison, and Corfitz and Leonora were imprisoned here for about 1½ years from 1658. They were held in Manteltårnet, the Mantel Tower, which is the large square tower that still stands today. There was also a failed escape attempt. Corfitz later died in exile, while Leonora was miserably imprisoned for many years in Blåtårn, the Blue Tower, in Copenhagen. She wrote a classic about her experiences - the book Jammers Minde. 

The Bornholm Uprising

At the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658, Frederik III had to cede Skåne, Halland and Blekinge - and also Bornholm - to Sweden. Of course, Hammershus was included in that deal, and it ended up becoming the headquarters of the Swedish troops on the island. Since the Bornholmers didn't have heavy cannons, it was safe enough. Or so they thought.

The next story is about the Bornholm uprising, also in 1658, which ended with the Bornholmers freeing themselves and returning to Denmark. 

A Swedish officer, Prinzensköld, held Hammershus with about 60 soldiers ready for battle. But a priest, Rønne's mayor and others managed to kill Prinzensköld first and then to capture the lieutenant who was the only one who knew how to use the castle's cannons. But Swedish reinforcements were on their way and the rebels knew it. If they managed to get ashore, the game would be up.

A True Tall Tale

By a series of amazing maneuvers, they succeeded time and again in deceiving the enemy, capturing the leaders in small groups, convincing the soldiers that it was better to open the gate of the castle and surrender. Thus, Bornholm was liberated, as far as we know, without more than 3 Swedes dying. It was an amazing feat. Isn't that a real life tall tale?

Kalø Castle Ruins

Kalø Castle Ruin is beautifully situated on a small islet at the bottom of Kalø Bay, on the south side of Djursland. That's how it usually is. Most castles are beautifully situated, but it is never for the sake of the beautiful view. When castles were built on mountains, hilltops or small islands, it was to make access difficult for invaders. As long as the walls and gates were intact, they could withstand enormous superior force.

Kalø - a Difficult Siege

Small islands were especially good for defense, because in the post-gunpowder era and before the big guns, digging tunnels and undermining castles was a common method. "Undermining" should be taken literally. You dug down under the foundations, put a barrel of gunpowder and set fire to it. Boom! There was a hole in the wall and the castle was done looking good. Now you know why moats were always so popular: wet gunpowder isn't worth much.

Kalø was once a large complex. The castle was built about 100 years later than Hammershus and, like Hammershus, it lost its value when the cannons became so powerful that the walls could not withstand a prolonged bombardment. Like Hammershus, Kalø was also used as a prison for high-ranking prisoners. The most important is probably Gustav Vasa, who was imprisoned here on the orders of Christian II in 1518-19. However, he managed to escape and, unlike Corfitz Ulfeldt, was not recaptured. The Vasa family had their center in Dalarna in Sweden and it was here that Gustav Vasa fled.

A Prisoner Escapes

In 1520, a reconciliation meeting between the Swedish nobility and Christian II was convened in Stockholm. Gustav Vasa was also invited, but he was not entirely satisfied with the quality of Christian's hospitality and had therefore stayed away. The Vasas were on the side that did not want a Danish king in Sweden. 

After the Stockholm bloodbath, the Vasa family was the only one of the powerful Swedish noble families that had not lost an important man or even the head of the family. Gustav Vasa managed to lead a rebellion that ended with the Danish king giving up his ambition to ascend to the Swedish throne. Instead, it became Gustav Vasa. The Kalmar Union was no longer a viable project. 

Gustav Vasa - from Captive to King

And all this was possible because Gustav Vasa is said to have managed to escape from Kalø through one of 'hemmelighederne' - those exterior walled trapdoors with a toilet seat above them, which constituted the toilets of the time. 

Freedom is sometimes worth the sacrifice. Fortunately for Gustav Vasa, the water was not far away and with that a chance to be rinsed. The castle is beautiful, as is the escape and the fight for freedom. But on closer inspection, not every detail smells roses.

Charlottenborg - Built with Recycled Stone

Kalø Castle became increasingly outdated and dilapidated, and it was simply abandoned as a military installation. After 1660 it was abandoned as a castle. This was almost at the same time as all the trouble at Hammershus. In 1672, the castle was stripped of its innards, partially demolished and the building materials sailed to Copenhagen, where they were reused to build Charlottenborg.

But if castles were no longer suitable, what should be used for defense? The answer is something with high earth ramparts around it. You can see something like that at Spøttrup, for example. But the finest example in Denmark is probably Fredericias voldanlæg, the Fredericia Ramparts.

Koldinghus

The first Koldinghus was completed in 1268, about half a century before Kalø. There is disagreement as to exactly why a royal castle was built in the town, but one reason may have been that Kolding was a border town. The Duchy of Schleswig began just on the other side of Kolding River, about 1½ kilometer away. 

The area is rich in attractions and guided tours are also available. The city itself is interesting, there is Skamlingsbanken, Christiansfeld and a little further out Fredericia with its ramparts.

Fire in the Castle

In 1808, Koldinghus was turned into a ruin. It was wartime once again, and things were not going well for Denmark, to put it mildly. It was not the enemies' fault that things went so badly at Koldinghus. It was simply bad luck.

Denmark was allied with France and Napoleon had also sent some auxiliary troops to the country. They were housed at Koldinghus and had in the cold winter night over fired the fireplaces. Flames went high up the chimney. Wooden hot air ducts had been laid between the floors of Koldinghus, and it is believed that this is where the fire started. With a fire in the storey partition, under the floor and above the ceiling, it is not easy to extinguish. The red rooster crowed, the castle was beyond saving, the fire lasted for several days and the beautiful royal castle was transformed into a ruin.

It was possible to carry out and rescue large parts of the movables - chairs, tables, benches, carpets and other items. For many years afterwards, you could therefore find a few fine plates, chattels and pieces of furniture around the farms in the area. It wasn't very romantic - but that is the story. 

Legends of Koldinghus

Among the many legends about Koldinghus, I will offer two. First there is the story of the blood stain that could never be removed, and then there is the story of the shoemaker's daughter and the prince.

At Koldinghus there lived in the Past a King who had only one Daughter. And when she could not hide her Sin (= she became pregnant and it was the seventh month), her Father was so cruel to her that he sentenced her to suffer Death. As she had always before been fond of Dancing, it was now his hard Will that she should die by Dancing.

So he selected nine of the most accomplished Dancers from his Knighthood, and ordered them, one by one, to dance with her until she could no longer Breathe. But though they were well practiced in the Dance, and though they danced grimly with her through the long Halls, they all grew tired before she had to give up altogether. And when she had thus danced the nine Knights tired and had even strength left for life, the King, her Father, was so indignant about it that he seized her to execute the Sentence.

But when he also saw that he could do no more, he took his Dagger, and cut her with it. Then Blood came out of her Mouth, and so she died in her Father's Arms. But while the Castle was still standing, there was a Bloodstain on the floor, which no lye or Wash could remove.

Very well. But can that really be true? What is this princess vision? She likes to dance and then she has to be danced to death? What an ancient knightly custom, that father. It must have been in REALLY old times, because there is also a story about Christian III where the royal Crown Prince behaves a lot better and is not quite so virtuous on behalf of others.

Shoemaker Mother and Royal Father?

Here is the story:
Once when King Christian the Third, still as a Prince, was staying at Koldinghus, it happened a Summer Day when he went out hunting that he met a young and very beautiful peasant Girl in Erstskov. The Prince found great Pleasure in her Countenance and asked her who she was and where she was going. She told him that she was a Shoemaker's Daughter from Andst, and that she was bringing a Jar of Strawberries to Town.

Then the Prince bid her bring her Strawberries to the Kitchen at the Castle and then come to him to collect her wages. The Consequence thereof was that she came more frequently to the castle, and that the Prince fell in love with her, so that she became pregnant with his Child. After her Birth, the Prince had this Child's Upbringing and Education taken care of, while the Mother got a Farm in the Parish of Andst.

This Child was named Casper Dannemark, but later the Name was changed to Markdanner. He became Seignory of Koldinghus and was raised to Nobility. However, his Enemies could never forget that his Mother was a Shoemaker's Daughter, which is why they once had his noble Arms in Kolding Church smeared with Shoemaker's Polish, which led him to put the following Inscription, in the German language, over the west Church Door:

"Eigennutz, heimischer Neid, kindischer Rath/Rom und Troja zerstöhret hat./Wo Tugend nicht so hoch wird geacht/Als Geburt und Pracht ,/Da Land und Regiment werden übel bewacht,/Und in die Länge/Gehen sie Krebsgänge.”/1593. C. M.

Ruins and Romance

The ruins of the old royal castle still stand and today serve as a museum. In recent times, there have been no new, gallant stories about princes and princesses. But the footpath that leads around the castle is called the Love Path, so the romance lives on. 

The idea behind the museum was to rebuild the ruin into something contemporary, while not concealing the fact that the building was struck by disaster and that it is in fact a ruin. This project was led by architect Johannes Exner and was so successful that it was awarded the Europa Nostra Prize. So the castle has been brought back to life and has taken its rightful place among the major sights of southern Jutland.

We are happy to say visit the castle ruins with Guide Service Denmark and our guide service Jutland and Bornholm.

Photos
Hammershus. Photo: Stefan Asp. License: VisitDenmark
Hammershus. Photo: Stefan Asp. License: VisitDenmark
Kalø Castle Ruins with Hestehave Forest seen from the top of Rønde. Photo: Old Dane. License: CC BY-SA 4.0
Koldinghus. Photo: VisitKolding. License: VisitDenmark