Seeblick Försterhaus

Gottorp Slot

Visit Gottorp Castle with its beautiful baroque gardens and three art museums; the National Museum of Art, Cultural History and Archaeology.

The castle is located at the bottom of the river Slien and has played an important role in the many wars between the Danish kings and the Gottorp dukes.

Frederik I also ruled Denmark from Gottorp Castle.

Schleswig

Schleswig is just 40 km south of the Danish border and offers exciting history and culture. The city is over 1200 years old and calls itself the first city of Northern Europe. A stroll around the centre is recommended, where the city's cathedral is enthroned and hints at little Schleswig's more colourful past. Vikings settled along the Slien fjord, making the area an economic hub for 200 years. Later, the Dukes of Gottorp made Schleswig their power base from the 16th to 18th centuries. You can learn more about this historical heritage in the town's many museums.

Kiel

Kiel has plenty to offer all year round. In summer, the city and harbour are really lively and there are great opportunities for swimming. In winter, the city hosts one of northern Germany's most popular Christmas markets, transforming the town square into a fairytale Christmas village. And at other times of the year, it's a great place for sightseeing, with everything from the 2. World War II history to the beautiful botanical gardens. Located on the Kielerfjord, Germany's largest ferry port is in Kiel, where maritime atmosphere and city life combine beautifully. Kiel is also one of the most popular shopping cities on the Baltic Sea with plenty of exciting boutiques. Take a stroll through the Old Town, where you can see St Nicholas' Church on Alter Markt with Ernst Barlach's figure of the Geistkämpfer. It's also worth visiting the Maritime Museum, housed in an old fish hall, and seeing the historic ships in the Museum Harbour.

Glücksburg Castle

The castle is considered one of the most important Renaissance castles in the Nordic countries. The water castle is located in the town of Glücksburg on a dammed-up dam, which was built on a 2.5-metre-high granite plinth. The connection to land was over a bridge. Before the Second Schleswig War in 1864, the castle was a Danish royal residence where Frederik VII spent part of his time and he died here in 1863, the year before the war.

Sønderborg Castle

Better known as Christian II's prison.

The castle from the 13th century was one of the strongest castles of the kingdom in the Middle Ages. In the 1550s it was rebuilt as a Renaissance castle. The palace church, Queen Dorothea's Chapel, is one of Europe's few preserved lighthouse churches from the Reformation period and Denmark's oldest Renaissance-style interior.

The castle's most famous occupant was Christian II, who was deposed and imprisoned in the castle in 1532-1549. As a princely prisoner, he was treated according to his high rank and had several rooms in Sønderborg Castle at his disposal. He also had a small servants' quarters and his own cook, who prepared a good diet for him.

Today the castle houses the Museum of the History and Culture of Southern Jutland.