Glimmingehus
Glimmingehus is one of the best preserved medieval castles in Scandinavia , along with Spøttrup Castle in Denmark . It is located between Ystad and Simrishamn in the Österlen region , a little off Riksväg 9 in the historic southern Swedish province of Skåne .
history
The castle was built during the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance . According to a controversial inscription on a relief above the portal of the castle, the day the foundation stone was laid was May 2, 1499: “On May 2, 1499, I, Jens Holgerson, laid the first foundation stone for this castle.” Glimmingehus was founded by Jens Holgersen Ulfstand ( 1450–1523), who had been the royal Danish governor on Gotland since 1487 and was appointed Imperial Admiral in 1511. The architect of the castle was the Westphalian builder Adam van Düren (around 1487–1532). The main building of the castle is 30 m long, 12 m wide and has a height of 26 m between the ground and the top of the gable. The castle was primarily intended to protect against peasant revolts.
Although castles were primarily built for protection at that time, comfort was usually given priority over safety. Glimmingehus is an exception here. Several traps were set up to surprise attackers. Remnants of the wall suggest that the castle was once surrounded by an outer curtain wall.
From the outside, it corresponds to a nostalgic view of the Middle Ages. However , the furnishings found during excavations suggest a modern interior. The extravagant time with Spanish ceramics and Venetian glass, which were among the most expensive items to buy in Europe in the early 16th century, probably ended with the death of Jens Holgerson. The castle was later used as a grain store. Today's moat goes back to a restoration in the 20th century, but pictures from the 17th century show that a moat existed earlier.
During the Scandinavian War , the Swedish side considered tearing down the castle so that it could not fall into Danish hands. However, demolition turned out to be too costly and time-consuming and was therefore never carried out. The castle is now owned by the state and managed by the Riksantikvarieämbetet .
Others
The fourth chapter of Selma Lagerlöf's novel The wonderful journey of little Nils Holgersson with the wild geese is dedicated to Glimmingehus .
literature
- Anders Ödman: Glimmingehus . Riksantikvarieämbetet, Stockholm 2000, ISBN 91-7209-064-2 .
- Leif Törnquist: Svenska borgar och fästningar. En military history reseguide. Stockholm 2007, ISBN 978-91-7329-008-1 , pp. 35-36.
Web links
Coordinates: 55 ° 30 ′ 4 ″ N , 14 ° 13 ′ 52 ″ E