Aalholm Castle, Nysted, Lolland

Aalholm castle

Nysted

The marina by Nysted & Aalholm

Aalholm was already in 1300 a royal castle with a royal vasal. It was built ab. 1300 by king Erik Menved, (1286-1319). Aalholm served as the Danish king's bridgehead during fights about the commercial towns south of the Danish borders. The fights were passed on by Christoffer II but he gave finally up and pawned the whole of Lolland inclusive Aalholm to the North German Graf Johan den Milde. Christoffer's son, Valdemar Atterdag reconstructed the kingdom after 1340 and Lolland and Aalholm came back to Denmark in 1359. Court meetings were held on the castle from 1366 up to the beginning of the 1500s.

After the reformation in 1536 the castle lost its significance in favour of the new Renaissance castle in Nykøbing Falster. In 1725 Aalholm was privatized by an auction where Johan Otto Raben's widow Emerita von Levetzow recieved the deeds of the house in 1726 which in 1734 with other estate entered into the count's estate Christiansholm, named after the widow's paternal grandson Christian Raben. In 1889 the medieval castle was rebuilt.

After 270 years in the ownership of the family Raben-Levetzau Aalholm was sold to direktør Stig Husted-Andersen in 1995. There is no public admittance, only to the pretty park which is surrounded by a beautiful manor-landscape with views and free-standing old trees. Upon a little inlet southeast of Aalholm is a strange romantic layout with a well and two thatched pavillons.

Northwest of the main building is the wellknown Veteranbilmuseum (Vintage cars) which was established in 1964. It is one of the biggest in northern Europe with 4 halls and ab. 300 cars from 1886 until present. Here is also a small preserved railway line and a playground.

photo 2007: grethe bachmann