Visiting the old castle of Sønderborg

After we have spent the morning watching the horse parade leaving from in front of the castle in Sønderborg it is time to go inside the castle and see the museum. As we walk across the square in front of the castle we have to keep our eyes open so we can avoid the waste left behind by the horses.

The museum is a bit of a strange mix – I guess this is fairly typical for a castle in a small town. The museum isn’t just about the castle – it is also the most important regional museum – hence there are different local items on display.

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A main exhibition is about the war of Schleswig and the battle at Dybbøl Banke which was only a couple of kilometers away from the castle. If you haven’t already been to see the memorial for the battle you will get a lot of information about the war at this part of the museum.

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There are also some different local artefacts on display. One special item they got is a copy of the greatest ancient gold treasure ever found in Denmark called guld hornene – or gold horns. The original was found nearby but put on display in Copenhagen until they were stolen a couple of hundred years ago and melted down and sold.

We had hoped a bit to see some rooms of the castle – but the rooms aren’t really set up to be admired. There are not any big rooms which are being presented with old furniture. So the castle itself isn’t very impressive inside – you can only go and see what is displayed in the museum.

The most interesting room in the castle is probably the church which is a nice old building we could go in and have a look at.

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After we have finished our tour around the museum we leave again. When we get to the square in front of the castle it still smells pretty strongly of horse. But they have cleaned the waste so we manage to leave the castle without stepping into something left behind by the horses.