Egeskov Slot, Odense

This weekend I was off to visit the Egeskov Slot (castle) near Odense, which is about 400 Kms from Aalborg. The journey of 3 1/2 hrs was filled with fun and masti in the bus with the typical games like antakshari, Dumb , a small breakfast and lots of beer.

Egeskov estate is spread over 1131 hectares, with the castle n parks amounting to 20 hectares, and is located in the south of the island of Funen in Denmark. The castle is Europe's best preserved Renaissance water castle. Egeskov's history dates to the 14th century.

Through his marriage to Anne Trihuus in 1545, Frands Brockenhuus took over a large farm in the village of egeskov. Acquiring large areas inside and outside the parish through inheritance n purchase and in 1554 the manor was replaced by the existing castle.

The castle is a genuine moated castle built directly on the lake. According to the popular legend the oak piles on which the castle stands gave rise to the name. Egeskov in Danish means oak wood. The Count's War during which many of the manors were attcked by the peasants was probably the reason why Frands Brockenhuus wanted to build a castle which was, to all intents and purposes, inpenetrable. Egeskov reflects a time of unrest. In 1986 Count Claus Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille opened the castle itself to the public.
There are about 8 rooms open to the public of which The Hunting Room is the most popular. It was used as Count gregers Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille's study and shows his great passion for hunting. Many of the game trophies are rare as the Impala below which has remarkably long horns (90 cms, while the normal is 50 cms). The room contains trophies brought back from British East Africa and the Congo - Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya of today.
From his jouneys in Africa, the Count brought back many souvenirs like these plus objects of ethnogrpahical interest like head dresses, jewellery and weapons. In The Hunting Gallery, many of the Count's trophies are displayed along with weapons from many countries. The Count was one of the most famous hunters in Denmark and one of the very few who were granted permission to hunt with bow n arrow. The trophies are displayed with the arrow that brought them down. In one corner is one of Egeskov's 'privies'. The castle was extremely luxurious for its time, with 17 lavotories.
The Victorian Room was furnished with typical items of furniture, brick-a-brac, curtains, carpets, upholstery from the Victorian period which were in the family's possession. The paintings and photographs show members of the family.
Titania's Palace is a palace made by English painter and officer Sir Nevile Wilkinson for his daughter. This palace took 15 years to build and has 3000 components collected from all over the world.

Egeskov's wooden man lies under the spire. Its is said that if he is to be removed from the cushion , Egeskov will sink in the moat on Christmas night. Because of this legend the family never used to celebrate Christmas at the castle. Traditonal Danish rice pudding is served to the wooden man so that he can share it with the castle elves and the human occupants can celebrate Christmas in the other rooms.

The Vintage Motorcycle Museum carries a collection of old bikes. A must see for any auto enthusiast.

The gardens around the castle are to enjoy the warm sunny afternoons with a picnic spread and to marvel such beautiful surroundings.

The picnic also had people from our comapny spread across Denmark. About 150 in all. A delicious Indian lunch followed by not so delicicious sweets and finally a group of 25 people returned back to Aalborg.