Dragsholm Slot Castel is one of Denmark’s tourism brands and it has a very interesting history, the building was originally built in 1215 by the Bishop of Roskilde (Peder Sunesen). The imposing medieval fortress was long time considered the Episcopal Palace, but when representatives of the Danish Catholic Church led by the Bishop of Roskilde refused to support King Christian III in his decision to reform the Church by imposing Protestantism as the official religion, the castle was confiscated and passed into the ownership of the crown, and the Bishop of Roskilde together with other clergy of the old church order were imprisoned in the cells in the tower of Dragsholm Slot castle. During the civil wars between Catholics and Protestants, the castle became a state prison for clergy or nobles who opposed reforms or laws established by the monarchy. Over the centuries, Dragsholm Slot Castle was in a constant state of decay, especially during the Danish-Swedish War, when the Swedish army occupied the castle and destroyed it almost entirely by detonating it with gunpowder. After a long time after the withdrawal of the Swedish army following the conclusion of a peace treaty, the old building was rebuilt on the same foundation at the end of the 17th century.
In 1664 Henrik Muller received Dragsholm Slot Castle from the Danish Monarchy as a way of paying off his debt, because he provided financing to the crown as a creditor during the wars. Muller later sold the castle to the Portuguese merchant from Hamburg, Manuela Teixeira, and in 1694 Dragsholm Slot became the property of the nobleman Frederik Christian Adeler, who, together with his wife Adele, financed the completion of the reconstruction works in the Baroque style, changing the name of the building to Adelersborg. In the 20th century, more precisely in 1932 after the death of Baron Frederik Georg de Falsen Zytphen-Adeler, Dragsholm Slot Castle became the property of the Danish State, and after an auction, the property was leased by Johan Frederik Bøttger, who transformed the castle into a hotel, an investment that became a very successful business that continues to this day through his descendants, Flemming Frederik Bøttgerand Inge Merete Bøttger, her son Mads Bøttger being the director of the castle. Once in the custody of the Bøttger family, Draholm Slot Castle was renovated and expanded by attaching new rooms that include the restaurants Dragsholm Slot Gourmet, Dragsholm Slot Bistro and Dragsholm Slot Madhus.
Beyond this extremely prosperous business related to the castle, there is a story that fascinates paranormal enthusiasts. Dragsholm Slot Castle has been investigated by several mediums who have noted the presence of at least four ghosts, which sometimes actively manifest themselves in the presence of visitors, mainly in the tower area. Thus, from the testimonies of some visitors it appears that they could hear cries in the hallways on the second floor of the castle and also observed translucent figures entering through the interior walls of the castle. Some paranormal investigators claim that these ghostly apparitions are the spirits of two bishops of Roskilde – Peder Sunesen and Joachim Rønnow, who were held prisoner in the castle tower during the Protestant Reformation, and the Earl of Bothwell, a former lover of Queen Mary, Queen of Scots. Another spirit that haunts the castle is that of Celine Bovles, the daughter of a Danish aristocratic family who became pregnant by a poor man she loved, just before she was to marry to a nobleman. The girl’s father punished her in a cruel way, ordering her to be locked up and tied up in the castle’s basement, where she met her end, being buried in the walls. Along with these spirits already mentioned, there is also the ghost of a servant named the Gray Lady who died of a tooth infection.
The legend of Dragsholm Slot Castle has attracted the attention of many parapsychological investigators, as a result of which the location has entered the list of the most haunted places in the world.
Author-Andreea Arsene
Reference sources: https://everythingcopenhagen.com/dragsholm-slot/
https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragsholm_Slot
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