Trøjborg castle ruins

Facts

Renaissance manor in ruins

By Vivian Etting, Museumsinspektør og seniorforsker på Nationalmuseet (28 stories)

Trøjborg was an impressive manor house during the renaissance era. Now in ruins, Trøjborg is about 15 kilometres north of Tønder. The manor was built in the 1580s by nobleman Peter Rantzau. The architect was probably Hercules von Oberberg. The castle was designed with four wings around a small square courtyard. The upper floors were linked by stair turrets in each of the four corners, topped off with an onion-shaped spire. There were two main floors above a high cellar. A drawbridge led across the moat into the castle's large entrance gateway, which has now been partially reconstructed based on the original superstructure. Trøjborg was demolished in 1854, as the state did not wish to take over the castle.

Public place

Selected entry

Troy's castle

Listen to the story

play
pause

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.

Story written by Vivian Etting

Time / Periode 1300 1580

0 comments 0 recommendations

Under Trøjborg's ruins lie the remains of a medieval castle built in the first part of the 14th century by Duke Valdemar of Schleswig. The name Troja's (Troy's) Castle comes from Greek Mythology. It later passed to the Limbæk family. In 1407, Queen Margrete I acquired Trøjborg and later mortgaged it to Ribe bishopric. Excavations have shown that at that time the castle consisted of one large central tower measuring 12 m x 13 m, which was built on an artificial castle embankment surrounded by a moat. Its walls were no less than four metres thick, and parts of the foundation were later recycled when the manor was built during the renaissance.