Schackenborg Castle: A Baroque Manor in Denmark
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.2
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- Denmark
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Danish
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Castle
On this page7 sections
History
Schackenborg Castle is a Baroque castle in Møgeltønder, Denmark, built between 1662 and 1666 after Hans von Schack took over the former Møgeltønderhus estate. Its history reflects the transfer of Church property to the Danish Crown during the Reformation, the rise of the von Schack family, and the later change from a royal residence to foundation ownership.
Møgeltønderhus and the Crown
The site was first mentioned in 1233 as Møgeltønderhus, a fief of the Roman Catholic bishops of Ribe. The stronghold helped protect the area against the Frisians to the south and guarded the waterway linking the Vidå with Tønder. During the Reformation, the sixteenth-century religious and political transformation that established Protestant churches across much of northern Europe, the Danish Crown confiscated the estate from the Church.
Hans von Schack, a nobleman from Schleswig and a German-Danish field marshal, took over the fief in 1659. A field marshal was a senior military commander. In 1661, King Frederick III transferred the estate to him in recognition of his service during the Danish-Swedish conflict within the Northern Wars, a series of wars in northern Europe involving Denmark and Sweden among other powers.
Construction and the von Schack succession
Møgeltønderhus had become both dilapidated and militarily obsolete. Hans von Schack largely demolished the former stronghold and commissioned Schackenborg Castle, a Baroque residence. Baroque architecture is associated with formal symmetry and elaborate monumental design. In 1671, Hans von Schack was raised to the rank of count.
The estate remained with the von Schack family for eleven generations, passing from father to son. The successive heirs were alternately named Hans and Otto Didrik. A street connecting the manor with the local church was laid out in 1680. Around 1750, the castle received Rococo decoration, a lighter and more ornamental style, while a rebuilding around 1790 introduced Classical features based on the forms and proportions associated with ancient Greece and Rome.
Royal ownership and the foundation
In 1978, the eleventh-generation Count von Schack, who was not expected to have descendants, transferred the entire estate to the Danish royal family. Prince Joachim, the second son of Queen Margrethe II, took over the castle and estate in 1993 after extensive agricultural training. He lived and worked there, managed an agricultural and forestry estate of 969 hectares, and carried out extensive renovation of the castle.
In 1995, a national wedding collection called the “Nation’s Gift” raised several million Danish kroner for Prince Joachim and his then-wife, Princess Alexandra. Joachim announced that the funds would support a restoration programme for Schackenborg Castle.
In July 2014, Prince Joachim and his second wife, Princess Marie, announced that they would move their residence to Copenhagen. The castle was transferred to a foundation on 1 July 2014 and removed from the list of Danish royal castles. The change followed the difficulty of combining the agricultural business with official duties and patronages, the residence of Joachim’s children from his first marriage in Copenhagen, and the difficult financial position of the agricultural operation.
The Schackenborg Foundation was established on 1 July 2014 to preserve the castle and park and to make the park, and occasionally the castle, publicly accessible. It also supports events with cultural, scientific, social, and educational purposes. Its founders included Prince Joachim, Ecco Holding, the Bitten og Mads Clausens Fond, and the Ole Kirks Fond. The foundation received 113 million Danish kroner, including 13 million kroner from Joachim, while Joachim and Marie became its patrons. Schackenborg was Prince Joachim’s private residence from 1993 to 2014 and has since been held by the foundation.
Remains
Schackenborg survives as a three-winged Baroque castle set within a symmetrically arranged garden. The garden is organized around two crossing axes. Its longitudinal axis runs from the main entrance to the east gate, while its transverse axis links the gatehouse with the riding stable. The building and grounds also preserve later Rococo decoration and Classical alterations.
Castle and formal garden
The castle contains the original Baroque construction of 1662 to 1666, Rococo decoration added around 1750, and Classical features introduced during the rebuilding around 1790. The grounds retain the formal symmetry of the estate, with the garden’s principal axes connecting the castle entrance, the east gate, the gatehouse, and the riding stable.
Surviving agricultural boundary and guns
The garden was originally enclosed by large agricultural buildings. Those buildings were demolished around 1770, but the red wall along the northern side of the garden remains as a reminder of the former group. Six light Swedish bronze field guns stand in front of the castle. They formed part of Hans von Schack’s war booty and were probably used at Schackenborg as saluting guns, a ceremonial role for artillery.
The castle is also associated with Schackenborg Slotskro hotel and restaurant.
Nearby sites
