Description of the attraction
Egeskov Castle is located in the southern part of the Danish island of Funen. It is the best-preserved Renaissance-style water castle in all of Europe.
For the first time, a fortress at this place was mentioned as early as 1405, but the modern building of the castle was erected only in 1554. In those years, Denmark experienced difficult times - a civil war broke out in the country, provoked by the Reformation. Therefore, the nobles sought to strengthen their estates and personal residences as much as possible. Egeskov Castle is one of such powerful defensive structures.
Its name is translated from Danish as "oak grove", it is believed that a whole forest was cut down for its construction. It is surrounded by a lake, and the only way to get to the castle was through a suspension bridge. The fortress consists of two living quarters, around which defensive walls have grown, reaching a thickness of about a meter and hiding secret passages and fresh water reserves behind them. Thus, the castle could withstand any lengthy siege.
Subsequently, the castle began to be used as an ordinary family residence. Agricultural lands were laid out around it, a large forest was spread, numerous parks and gardens were developed. Now all this is carefully preserved. Especially worth noting is an elegant Renaissance park with fountains and ornately trimmed trees, an English-style landscape park, the largest collection of fuchsias in all of Europe and a variety of natural labyrinths made of bamboo and century-old beech.
The castle is open for tourist visits, but not completely - a significant part of its premises belong to the count's family living here. In other halls, as well as in a summer wooden house with a thatched roof, various museums are now located: the museum of vintage cars, motorcycles, aircraft and the history of agriculture.
