Royal Castle of Nyborg

Nyborg is an old town with a very important strategic location – it is located right at the Great Belt which is one of the most important crossings of the waters in Denmark. The city grew up around a good harbor which were one of the main bases for crossing the belt – on the other side of the belt were another good harbor and on the middle between these two harbors were the only island of any significance in the Great Belt. So the city needed some royal presence to protect this important crossing against enemies and possibly block foreign ships from passing through if needed.

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To have a presence the king needed a castle and around 1200 a castle was built right here in this city. This castle quickly became one of the most important castles in Denmark. during the period from 1250 and 1413 Danehoffet were meeting at this castle – Danehoffet were a gathering of the most important men of the Danish kingdom and they had some advisory role towards the king. The meeting here was a natural place since it was in the middle of the country and the location with a good harbor made sure the important nobility could arrive by boat – which would be a lot faster and more reliable way of transport at this time compared to trying to travel any distance over land.

The castle belonged to the Danish king up until the Danish free constitution of 1849. After this the king no longer ruled supreme and there was a separation between the king’s finances and the finances of the Danish government economy.

Today the castle is a museum and supposedly one of the best museums of old castles. Unfortunately I have never made it to the castle while it has been open – but you can go around the castle to have a look from the outside and you can also go and see the fortifications in front of the castle which are pretty well kept and gives an idea of how important this castle was – not just as a royal residence but also as a military position.