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.
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