Denmark - Country of 600 castles and manors

The Bernstorff Palace, just north of Copenhagen, was the preferred summer residence of King Christian IX, the "Father-in-law of Europe". Visitors included Tsar Alexander III of Russia and Edward VII of the United Kingdom. The Palace is now converted to a congress hotel facility.

If you are interested in beautiful castles, palaces and manor houses, Denmark is most certainly worth a visit. There are more than 600 castles and manor houses in this small country! Kronborg, Amalienborg, Frederiksborg and Fredensborg are probably the most well known castles, but there are many other ones which are worth exploring. Several of them have been lovingly restored and converted to hotels. Others allow other kind of access for visitors.

Fredensborg  is the main spring and autumn residence of the Danish Royal Family.

Amalienborg, consisting of four identical palaces, is the winter residence of the Danish  royal  family.

The Marienlyst Palace in Helsingør is an architectural pearl.

Bregentved, close to Haslev, is Denmark´s largest estate with its 6,338 hectars of land. It has belonged to the Moltke family since 1746. The main building consists of three two-storey wings. The north wing is from about 1650 and was converted into the baroque style in the 18th century. The south and east wings were designed by Axel Berg and built in 1890. The large park from the 1750s is open to the public at specific times. 

Frederiksborg in Hillerød is the largest Renaissance castle in Scandinavia. The oldest parts of the castle date back to 1560, and were built by King Frederik II, after whom the palace is named. The castle, which also serves as Denmark´s Museum of National History, is adjoined by a formal baroque garden.

Kronborg, known all over the world from Shakespeare´s Hamlet, is the most popular castle in Denmark with over 
200 000 visitors annually. 

Egeskov  in Southern Funen with its park and garden (the garden has been described as "the most beautiful in Denmark") the Veteran Car Museum and several other museums which are part of the estate, are open to the public from the end of April to late October. 

Egelund castle, close to Fredensborg, is the youngest Danish  castle.  The Confederation of Danish Employers bought the castle from Prince Knud and Princess Caroline Mathilde in 1954. It is used as a conference center.

The website Danske Slotte og Herregaarde has excellent information about the castles and manors in Denmark. .