DENMARK's
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History
Its unclear exactly when this manor house/castle was originally built but there is a historical mention of it 1481.
In the Danish War of Succession called the Count’s Feud the castle was taken by an army of peasants from a Bishop but in 1536. When the war ended it was confiscated by the Crown as a Catholic Property as this was now after the Reformation.
As a Protestant Country Denmark seized all property that had belonged to the Catholic Church.
In 1579 Danish King Frederick II granted the castle to Karen Krabbe in return for another estate. Karen’s daughter, Ingeborg Skeel, actually moved into the estate and did a major expansion of the building between 1588-91.
Between the 17th and 19th centuries there were many owners of the estate and most of the land was sold off over the decades.
In 1872 it was purchased by Peder Scavenius a politician who managed to buy back also all the land that had been sold previously. Upon his death the estate was 1,944.5 hectares (4,804.7 acres) making it the largest in Denmark.
Peder passed the estate to his son, Erik, who the Prime Minister of Denmark during World War II. He owned Voergaard until the end of the war in 1945.
In 1955 the castle was bought by Enjar Oberbech-Clausen; a Dane living in France. His wife had been killed in an air raid in 1941 and he had inherited a huge collection of art through her family. After gaining permission of the French Government, he moved 12 train cars of art to the castle and began restoring it.
Upon his death in 1963 the castle with it’s huge art collection were passed to a foundation that opened it to the public.
Paranormal Activity
The castle’s most famous ghost is that of Ingeborg Skeel who has been vilified by history; probably because she was – the horror – an independent woman who took care of her own affairs and was quite wealthy. All without the help of any man.
What else was needed to terrify a bunch of short dick men with Oedipus issues.
She is said to have thrown the architect of the expansions she made to the castle into the moat - drowning him – in order to prevent him from every creating another building like it. She’s been accused of everything short of eating children and bathing in virgin’s blood.
When she died, a priest was brought to preform an exorcism to lay her to rest in a nearby marsh. Apparently it didn’t work.
In truth, Ingeborg paid to have a hospital and school built and did a lot to help the poor on her estate and in the area.
Perhaps it is due to her vilification both in her life and after her death that causes her to haunt her castle. Villain, or just an independent woman, Ingeborg’s apparition is seen as a ‘woman in white’ who is often witnessed gliding through the castle she once owned.
Ingeborg is also said to be responsible for other paranormal activity including: objects moving on their own; disembodied voices; light anomalies and feelings of not being alone.
In the north-eastern tower room is a blood stain which cannot be removed; creating the legend that an innocent person was murdered there. In 1997 it had all but been forgotten until a renovation removed years of varnish and it appeared again.
No amount of sanding of the floor will make this blood stain fade.
In a display case in the castle is the skin of a boar. This boar was brought down in the 18th century on the border between Voergaard and the Hundslund estate but the skin was brought to Voergaard. Legend says if this skin should ever be removed from the castle the entire building will come crashing down to dust.
HAVE YOU HAD A PARANORMAL EXPERIENCE AT THIS LOCATION?
Share Your Experiences
By <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Olaf2" title="User:Olaf2">Olaf Meister</a> - <span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
History
The original castle here was built in 1216 by the Bishop of Roskilde. During the Middle Ages it was upgraded to a full fortified castle.
In 1539 during The Reformation the castle was taken by the Crown – as were all other properties of the Catholic Church – and used as a prison for those who committed crimes against the King.
In 1694 the Frederik Adeler bought the site and built the castle we see today over the ruins left after it was blown up in a war with Sweden. The Adeler’s died out in 1932 and Danish Government sold the castle to the Bottger family who own it to this day.
The castle is now run as a boutique hotel with a Michelin rated restaurant.
Paranormal Activity
Many claim the castle has hundreds of ghosts from its long history. Mediums have consistently identified 4 ghosts in the castle.
The White Lady
The White Lady who walks through the castle frequently crying and wailing in anguish is thought to be Celina Bovles. She was a noblewoman who was to be given by her father in marriage to another noble family in order to forward his goals. Celina, however, was in love with a commoner and when her father found out he allowed it to continue until her wedding day.
Unfortunately, Celina became pregnant before her wedding quickly ending her father’s dreams. Celina was chained to a wall in basement as punishment. Eventually she would be walled completely up resulting in her death.
In the 1930’s a walled-up skeleton was found in the basement during renovations which seems to prove this story true.
The Bishop
When the King took possession of the castle and kicked out the Church, the Bishop in residence needed to be dealt with. The King’s solution was to lock him up in one of the cells in the castle’s centre for life. Today, those cells have been converted into high end luxury hotel rooms.
Guest staying this area – the second floor - frequently report unexplained moans and wails coming from the hallway.
The Grey Lady
The Grey Lady was a servant at the castle who developed a tooth ache. The Master of the castle gave her a poultice to help with the pain which it did. Unfortunately, it did nothing to stop the infection which would result in the lady’s death.
Her ghost is said to roam the castle helping anyone she can as a way of saying thank you to the Master who alleviated her horrible pain.
The Earl of Bothwell
The Earl of Bothwell was James Hepburn; the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. He escaped Scotland to Norway where he was arrested and imprisoned because his ex-wife – a Norwegian noblewoman – wanted her family’s dowry back.
He was also wanted for murder by the English and the Danish King managed to get him sent to Denmark. Definitely not a popular man Hepburn, who had no friends and many powerful enemies, was locked up in Dragsholm. He was basically chained to a pillar left there to die.
His ghost has chosen to haunt the courtyard. His apparition is seen in the courtyard riding a horse and the phantom sounds of horse’s hooves have also been heard. There have been no live horses at the castle for many years.