Engelsholm Castle

Experience the French-inspired Renaissance castle beautifully situated in Nørup by the shore of Engelsholm Lake.

The Renaissance castle Engelsholm Slot is beautifully situated on the shores of Engelsholm Lake, surrounded by forest and park. The castle has had many owners over time, but since 1940 it has been used as højskole, a Danish folk high school.

The castle has a rectangular ground plan with square towers topped with onion domes at each corner, inspired by the castle Ancy-le-Franc in Burgundy, France – almost a copy, but with “pure” Danish lines.

What you can experience

Today, Engelsholm belongs to the independent institution “Engelsholm Højskole”. Therefore, there is no public access to the castle itself, which can only be viewed from the southern part of the park. However, concerts with public access are regularly held at the castle and in its annexes. Buy tickets for concerts at Engelsholm Slot here.

The castle is located in beautiful surroundings with forest, park, and lake. The castle park, originally designed as a herb and rose garden, is open to visitors all year round. Here you can experience beautifully symmetrical flower beds, lawns, ponds, clipped trees, embankments, and stairways. Read more about Engelsholm Castle Park here.

There are several lovely hiking routes around the castle. Among others, there is a beautiful 5 km hiking trail that takes you through the wonderful forest and past the castle. See the route by Vesterskoven here.

The history of Engelsholm Castle

The castle has, as a manor, a long and eventful history. The current castle was built in 1592 by Knud Brahe, who was the brother of the famous astronomer Tycho Brahe. Since then, the castle has had many different owners, including noble families and wealthy merchants. Over the centuries, the castle has been rebuilt and renovated several times, but it still retains its Renaissance character.

In the 1730s, Gerhard de Lichtenberg began an extensive restoration and remodeling of the castle. Among other things, he added the distinctive onion domes, built a large three-winged farm complex, and laid out the park in the French style. The castle still contains furnishings with painted Chinese scenes from this renovation. Lichtenberg also left his mark on the nearby Nørup Church, which belonged to Engelsholm Castle from 1586 to 1935. You can read more about Nørup Church here.

Engelsholm Castle burned down in 1952, but shortly after the castle was restored according to its original structure.