Danish Luxury

Temporarily closed. Closed to the public during the Castle Project, which restores and extends it; opening of the new Nyborg Castle is planned for 2028.

Museums Royal castles

Nyborg Castle

Denmark's oldest preserved royal castle, a brick castle from around 1200 in Nyborg on Funen where Erik Klipping signed the charter of 1282 and the Danehof met.

Address
Nyborg

Visit nyborgslot.dk

The red-brick King's Wing with its round tower and stepped gable
The red-brick King's Wing with its round tower and stepped gable
A restored room with black and white geometric wall painting and a tiled floor
A restored room with black and white geometric wall painting and a tiled floor

Pictures © Nyborg Castle, from nyborgslot.dk.

Why it is renowned

Nyborg Castle is Denmark's oldest preserved royal castle.1 VisitDenmark names it among the twelve castles to visit in Denmark, for its origins as a royal defence of the Great Belt and for the medieval market and festival held every July.2 Kings and the realm's most powerful men met here for about two centuries, and in 1282 Erik Klipping signed at the castle the charter regarded as Denmark's first constitution.34 In 1377 the assembly at Nyborg pledged its support to Oluf, son of Margrethe I, a step towards the Kalmar Union.3

The story

The castle is first named in writing in 1193, and archaeological finds show that the ring-walled castle and its moats were complete by 1209 or 1210; the watchtower dates from around 1300.3 The royal assemblies later called the Danehof met here through the 14th century, the last in 1413.3 Nyborg became the kingdom's first royal residence town in 1525, and Christian III enlarged the castle in the 1550s, thickening its walls from about 1.25 to 3 metres against artillery.3 Swedish forces took and stripped it in the wars of the 1650s; the army then used it as an armoury and grain store until 1913, and most of the south, east and north wings were pulled down.3 The National Museum of Denmark took it over in 1916 and 1917, and the architect Mogens Clemmensen restored it until the money ran out in 1922.3 The King's Wing was restored again from 2018 to 2022 under the Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces, with the A.P. Møller Foundation, Realdania, Nyborg Municipality and Østfyns Museer.5 Building of a visitor centre, a new ring wall and a raised watchtower, designed by CUBO Architects and JAJA Architects, begins in 2026, and the castle is closed to the public until the planned opening in 2028.51 Since 2010 the town has held the Danehof medieval festival each July, with a procession and jousting on the square.4

What to know it by

  • The King's Wing3Core of the palace from the early 13th century
  • The Watchtower5Built around 1300; to be raised in the Castle Project
  • Charter of 128241282Erik KlippingSigned at the castle, 18 clauses, the first constitution
  • The Castle Project52028CUBO Architects, JAJA ArchitectsNew visitor building, ring wall and raised watchtower
  • Koldinghus, another medieval royal castle, also enlarged by Christian III
  • Egeskov, another castle to visit on Funen
Sources
  1. Nyborg Slot. nyborgslot.dk, read 30 September 2026.
  2. 12 castles you should visit in Denmark, VisitDenmark. visitdenmark.com, read 30 September 2026.
  3. The history of Nyborg Castle, Nyborg Slot. nyborgslot.dk, read 30 September 2026.
  4. Danehof in Nyborg, Nyborg Slot. nyborgslot.dk, read 30 September 2026.
  5. The Castle Project, Nyborg Slot. nyborgslot.dk, read 30 September 2026.

Last checked 30 September 2026, against the maker's own pages.