3 castles, 1 mill: Sønderborg, Augustenborg, Nordborg, Havnebjerg Mill

27.07.2020

The breakfast outside fell victim to the cool weather, but inside it is wonderfully cozy. Ingrid is away for her trial work and we have the place to ourselves.

The drive to Sønderborg only takes 30 minutes.

To get to the water, we walk through the pedestrian zone, along a small square with a tree full of little birdhouses. Each one has a name. Presumably, this was a kindergarten or elementary school project. Unfortunately, all the houses seem to be empty.

The castle is not very impressive, but the green waters of Sønderborg Bay are quite stunning as we walk along. There are some sailors out here and they provide beautiful photo opportunities.

We continue through the town, which is actually more like an extended pedestrian zone. So even in the rain, we accidentally stumble upon a shoe store - without buying anything, but one pair remains memorable (see 1.8.20).

We leave Sønderborg, whose castle resembles a sturdy red brick building in Hamburg, and drive to Augustenborg, only 7km further east. The castle - a white building with yellow window frames, is much more royal than in Sønderborg.

The outbuildings date back to 1733. However, none of the royal guests have stayed here for a long time. Until 5 years ago, this castle was a psychiatric clinic for almost 80 years, and before that, it was a barracks. The adjacent park above the Augustenborg Fjord has an incredible number of old trees, which are even marked and named on a map. Several lawn mowers are mowing the large lawns and they are an anachronism to the estate, which was built around the middle of the 17th century by Duke Ernst Günther for his wife, Auguste von Sonderburg-Glücksburg, and remained the residence of the Augustenborg ducal family for about 200 years.

Unfortunately, we cannot visit the adjacent sculpture park Augustiana today, as it is closed on Mondays. So we continue on the island of Als (German: Alsen) to the north towards the northern castle: Nordborg.

While Sønderborg is the southern castle, the third castle of the day is located at the northern end of the island of Als. Actually, it is also the most beautiful, even though it is not grand and could use some more color. With its tower and red roof, it is more recognizable as a castle than the sober box of a castle in Sønderborg.

Nordborg is one of the oldest castles in Denmark and was built in its current form in the 17th century. Before that, a castle complex had already been built here in the 12th century, which is why it is called NordBORG instead of NordSLOT.

The castle has a eventful history and burned down in the middle of the 17th century, it was rebuilt as a baroque castle, transferred to the Danish royal family in the 18th century, sold by them, and left to decay by the new owner and his descendants until about 1900, when the mayor rebuilt it.

Today, it houses a boarding school. We were particularly impressed by the beech avenue, a row of trees that are over 350 years old.

On the way back in the car, we caught some rain, and at 7:30 p.m. we are home, at 8:00 p.m. we are devouring a mountain of pasta. Another really great day ❤️✌️