Egeskov Castle

On the island of Funen, close to the village of Kværndrup, Egeskov rises straight out of its own small lake — a Renaissance castle built on the water itself. Finished in 1554 by the nobleman Frans Brockenhuus, it is the best-preserved moated castle in Europe, carried on thousands of oak piles sunk into the lake bed; the name "Egeskov" means, fittingly, "oak forest".

Raised in unsettled times, it was a fortress as much as a home: two houses bound together by a thick double wall, equipped with a secret well, firing slits and a drawbridge as the only entrance. It is still privately owned and lived in today, yet much of it is open to visitors.

What it is famous for

Egeskov is celebrated for the way the castle, its gardens and its collections work together. The grounds hold some of the finest gardens in Denmark — Renaissance parterres, a fuchsia garden and one of the oldest surviving hedge mazes anywhere — while the old farm buildings house large museums of vintage cars, motorcycles, horse-drawn carriages and aircraft.

The interiors, crowded with hunting trophies, portraits and historic furniture, can be toured room by room, and the park adds tree-top walks, play areas and a calendar of seasonal events that make Egeskov one of the most-visited attractions on Funen.

Good to know

Egeskov is as much an outdoor day out as a castle, and opens seasonally — usually spring to autumn — with a single ticket that covers the grounds, the gardens and the museums. It lies between Odense and Svendborg; the nearest station is Kværndrup, a short way off, and there is plenty of parking for those arriving by car.