Søborg Castle in its heyday, was the strongest castle in Denmark ,and was also used as a prison (Jens Grand

Jens Grand

Dr. Jens Grand, the Firebug was a Danish archbishop of Lund , titular Archbishop of Riga and Terra Mariana , and Prince-Archbishop of Bremen , known as the central figure of the second ecclesiastical struggle in Denmark in the late 13th century...

 was imprisoned here in the 13th century). It was inhabited until the Count's Feud

Count's Feud

The Count's Feud , also called the Count's War, was a civil war that raged in Denmark in 1534–36 and brought about the Reformation in Denmark...

 in 1535, when it is speculated that it was destroyed. In 1577, the feudal tenant was granted permission to use the ruins as a quarry.

History

Søborg Castle is first known from the 12th century, when ownership of the castle passed from the king to the bishop of Roskilde

Roskilde

Roskilde is the main city in Roskilde Municipality, Denmark on the island of Zealand. It is an ancient city, dating from the Viking Age and is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network....

.

Traditionally archbishop

Archbishop

An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

 Eskil of Lund

Eskil of Lund

Eskil was a 12th century Archbishop of Lund, in Skåne, Denmark .He was one of the most capable and prominent princes of the Church in Scandinavia...

 is said to have expanded the previous buildings to a real castle with defensive wall

Defensive wall

A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...

s and a moat

Moat

A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...

. As Eskil was in close contact with Esrum Abbey

Esrum Abbey

Esrum Abbey, also Esrom Abbey was the second Cistercian monastery founded in Denmark, located near Hillerød in Region Hovedstaden, on the island of Zealand , on the north side of the Esrum Sø near Esbønderup and Græsted.- Monastery :Esrum Abbey began as a Benedictine foundation, perhaps in about...

, it is considered likely that he lived nearby at Søborgby. Saxo Grammaticus

Saxo Grammaticus

Saxo Grammaticus also known as Saxo cognomine Longus was a Danish historian, thought to have been a secular clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, foremost advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author of the first full history of Denmark.- Life :The Jutland Chronicle gives...

 wrote that Eskil had built a castle in the den lethriske mose, but it is unknown whether that is a reference to Søborg. No-one has so far been able to make a clear connection between Eskil and Søborg either by archaeological finds or written sources. Such a connection is therefore an hypothesis only.

In 1985, Robert Egevang and Søren Frandsen took the initiative of digging two trenches to make clear the conditions between the octagon tower and the castle proper. A rampart approximately 11 meters wide is the oldest encirclement of the castle. In the rampart, as well as in the octagon tower which was built at the same time, tiles have been found. The excavations show that the castle proper was erected in the late 13th century, which would make it unlikely that Eskil was the builder, as he died in 1181. The tiles are very unevenly made, evidence of their novelty in Denmark, after having only recently arrived from Lombardy

Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

.

In the Middle Ages, the castle was on an island in a fjord

Fjord

Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...

 with an outlet to the Kattegat

Kattegat

The Kattegat , or Kattegatt is a sea area bounded by the Jutland peninsula and the Straits islands of Denmark on the west and south, and the provinces of Västergötland, Scania, Halland and Bohuslän in Sweden on the east. The Baltic Sea drains into the Kattegat through the Øresund and the Danish...

 by Gilleleje

Gilleleje

Gilleleje is, with a population of 6,491 , one of the main towns of the Gribskov municipality in Region Hovedstaden in Denmark. The town is at the northernmost point of Sjælland in Denmark.-Etymology:...

. Later, the fjord became Søborg Sø, which was drained 1872-1896 when a canal was dug to Gilleleje.

Sources

• Skovgaard-Petersen, Inge, 1987: Da Tidernes Herre var nær. Studier i Saxos historiesyn. Den danske historiske Forening: Copenhagen
• Smidt, C.M., 1934: Ærkebiskop Eskils borganlæg på Söborg. Aarböger for nordisk Oldkyndighed

External links

• Holbo Herreds kulturhistoriske center