Gottorf Castle

The origins of Gottorf Castle date back to 1161, when it was built as a fortress under Bishop Occo. Initially, it served to guard a strategically important land route. After an exchange in 1268, the complex passed to the Counts of Schauenburg and subsequently withstood several Danish attacks. In 1459, Gottorf came into the possession of the Danish crown through the Treaty of Ripen and served as a royal residence. A fire in 1492 destroyed parts of the medieval castle, after which it was modernized in several stages, including the construction of the west wing in the style of the Nordic Early Renaissance around 1530. From 1544, it became the main residence of the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf and experienced a cultural flourishing under Duke Friedrich III. In the late 17th century, the castle was redesigned in Baroque style under Duke Friedrich IV, but the reconstruction was interrupted by the Great Northern War, as a result of which Denmark annexed the Gottorf possessions in Schleswig in 1713. Thereafter, it served as the seat of Danish governors and later as a barracks, until it ended its military use in 1945 and was made available to the state museums from 1948.

Gottorf Castle is located in the city of Schleswig in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, at an elevation of approximately 31 m above sea level.

Today, Gottorf Castle houses two Schleswig-Holstein state museums and is a center for cultural events. Visitors can explore large parts of the complex and numerous interior rooms, including preserved original furnishings.

• Heespens Hof (residence), approx. 0.6 km away
• Prinzenpalais zu Schleswig (residence), approx. 0.7 km away
• Brockdorffscher Hof (residence), approx. 0.7 km away
• Günderothscher Hof (castle), approx. 0.7 km away