Sønderborg Castle is reckoned to date back as far as 1158, when it was said to be founded by Valdemar the Great as a fortified tower. Over the centuries the castle has been enlarged and rebuilt, but in 1964-73 it was restored and returned to the Baroque form it was given by Frederik IV in the 1720s.
Under Christian III, in the mid-16th century, the castle was modified and converted into a four-wing castle. After the war of 1864, the province and the castle became German. On reunion in 1920, the Danish state acquired the castle, which came to house a museum of Southern Jutland history.
The Sønderborg Castle Museum houses local history collections from the Middle Ages to the present day, but with focus on the Schleswig wars of 1848-50 and 1864. The museum also hosts exhibitions on navigation, textiles and handicrafts and holds a small art collection with works by prominent Southern Jutland painters over the years.
The original ramparts around the castle became a visible part of the gardens in the 1970s.
Last updated:: Tuesday, March 17, 2009
