Vordingborg Castle

The first Vordingborg Caslte was a wooden fortress surrounded by a board-covered rampart. It was built during the middle of the 12th century by Valdemar the Great, who, among other things, fought and converted the Slavs at Rügen to Christianity. In the beginning of the 13th century, the fortress was restructured completely. Valdemar II the Victorious replaced the wooden fortress with a solid brick castle. It is in this castle that the king met with his statesmen to discuss important matters; and it is from here that the king gave his people the Code of Jutland: the first modern, Danish law.

The ruins you can see in Vordingborg today are the remains of the largest medieval castle in Denmark, built by Valdemar IV Atterdag in the 1360s. With its nine large towers, 12 smaller towers and an almost 1 kilometre long ring wall, it truly was a castle fit for the greatest king of Northern Europe. The Goosetower was part of the defence of Atterdag’s castle. According to legend, Atterdag placed a golden goose on top of the tower to mock the citizens of Lübeck – the wealthiest city of the Baltic coast. The building of Vordingborg had been financed by high war reparations from Lübeck.

After the wars with Sweden in 1658-1650, the castle was demolished. Prince Jørgen, the youngest son for Frederik III, inherited the fief of Vordingborg and built a grand mansion amidst the picturesque ruins. Prince Jørgen’s mansion was torn down in 1750.