Selsø Castle Skibby

Selsø castle

Few kilometers east of Skibby lies Selsø Castle, which areas open southwards towards Roskilde Fjord over a large meadow with Gershøj town and Bognæs in the background. Selsø has once been a real island, Sels island, as Møllekrog and Selsø Lake were connected to Roskilde fjord with a sound, where now there are mossy areas along Skuldelev Ås. On the island were the present Eastby and Sønderby, but also the now lost Vestby near Selsø church.

Historie
Selsø was built in 1570 by the nobleman Jakob Ulfeldt dææ, who was one of the richest men in the kingdom and a member of the Rigs parliament. Ulfeldt also built the manor houses Bavelse and Ulfeldtsholm (today Holckenhavn).

Selsø was originally situated on an islet in a lake with a river connection to Roskilde Fjord, and here before the current building lay a small medieval castle building (presumably from the late 13th century, where the farm belonged to Roskilde bishop's chair), from which the large stone well the courtyard comes from.

The Ulfeldt family sold Selsø in 1624 and after changing owners, the manor was bought by the enterprising noble lady Berte Skeel in 1682. Much suggests that she has stayed a part on Selsø when she was not in her mansion at Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. When she died without leaving children and heirs, her nephews and nieces took over her rich manor, and so Selsø ended up in her niece Charlotte Amalie Skeel and his husband, Christian Ludvig von Plessen's ownership in 1721.

Christian Ludvig von Plessen rebuilt Selsø into its current Baroque form. Only the outer walls and the basement vaults are left from Uldfeldt's Renaissance house. The interiors were decorated according to all the rules of art with painted and marbled panels, painted floors and paintings by Hendrick Krock, the time-favored artist, who has also decorated at Rosenborg Castle, Fredensborg and Frederiksberg Castle.

Selsø Castle's last resident became Agathe Johanne von Qualen, who inherited it after his son Mogens von Plessen. She let some of the rooms decorate in empire style, a style we can still see in the castle, where part of the "baroque tree" is painted in the gray color that was so popular during the empire style.

Agathe von Qualen died in 1829 and the heir of the nephew Mogens Scheel was not interested in the buildings and sold the furniture at auction. However, the estate is still in the family's possession.
Selsø Castle "slept afterwards" until 1972. In the 1920s there has been dairy and cheese in the basement and you have also used the knife hall for cereal storage for a pheasant cultivation.

Selsø Castle gradually decayed, windows and roof broke, which resulted in water damage to both building and wallpaper and stucco. Since it was easy to gain access to the building, there have also been a number of thefts of ovens, locks etc. The damage stopped in the 1950s, when the Special Building View provided external renovation, among other things. new windows against the goods provided for roof and walls.
Selsø Castle, after Agathe Johanne von Qualen's death, has been uninhabited and unused until 1972, when Grete Gunnar Nielsen and Bernhard Linder rented the castle's main building with a maximum of 2,000. to restore and decorate the manor museum. In cooperation with the conservation authorities, the National Museum and a lot of volunteers, the building was restored and already in 1973 the Manor House Museum Selsø Slot opened to the public. Work is still ongoing; farm and gate tower have been restored and the old furniture (or similar) is bought back.

Seværdigheder
The manor house Selsø castle is a unique museum and timetable of manor life for almost 300 years from Jacob Ulfeldt's main building and courtyard in 1563 to 1829, when the last resident Agathe Johanne von Qualen died.
Most of the rooms have been installed, but in particular:
The basement is the original Renaissance basement with a continuous vault. However, the partitions date back to the 18th century.
The kitchen is Denmark's oldest cellar kitchen. Here is a baking oven and a huge fireplace and a huge washing-up place can also be seen, where the water can run out and down the moat. In a nearby room, the slaughter room with a large carcass is made of an old gravestone. In the east wall there are a couple of walled entrances. Possibly one has been able to sail directly into a cave in the basement region.

The Knights Hall is one of the best preserved knights in Denmark. The ceiling is decorated with fantastic stucco and here is also a mirror monogram with coat of arms and flower tanks. On the walls are distinguished paintings with motifs from the mythology, all painted by court painter Hendrik Krock. From floor to ceiling there are the original marbled wooden panels, and between the windows are a couple of huge mirrors also in Baroque style.

The courtyard. Here is Denmark's largest medieval well. It is older than Selsø castle and probably originates from a property in the same place as Jacob Ulfeldt's brother Corfitz had built before the current castle.
On one of the walls is a reconstructed "secret", a locomotive hanging on the wall with direct "access" to the moat.
In addition to Selsø Castle and its furnishings, there is an exhibition of, among other things. tin soldiers and ship models.
events:
In the summer, concerts are arranged in the knight hall.
In December there is a Christmas market at Selsø Castle on Saturday.
Outside of Selsø Castle, various medieval punishment remedies have been erected which can be photographed in.
It is possible to rent in both the basement kitchen or the knights hall for weddings and other events.
In the basement below the gate tower is wine sales and tasting. There is open during the manor museum's opening hours and by appointment.

In front of Selsø Castle is a kiosk.

Parking at Selsø church.

Selsø Church is located close to Selsø Castle. It was originally part of a fortification around Selsøgård. Part of the ship has been a round church that was part of the fortification. Like the other churches at Hornsherred, it is a medieval church with extensions in the form of towers and porches. In the late 1800s, frescoes were discovered. In connection with renovation, the church has been closed for a number of years due to dangerous gases, but are now in use again.

Herregårdsmuseet Selsø Slot - Selsøvej 30 A - 4050 Skibby
Tlf.: 4752 0171 - mobil: 5056 4980 - e-mail: selsoe-slot@selsoe.dk