Augustenborg Palace

Augustenborg, Denmark, Germany

---

Augustenborg Palace (Danish: Augustenborg Slot, German: Schloss Augustenburg) is a Rococo-style palace located in the southwestern part of Augustenborg on Als Island in Denmark, overlooking the Augustenborg Fjord in the Baltic Sea, and is considered one of the most beautiful baroque palaces in Denmark.

The palace was named after Duchess Auguste (1633–1701) and gave its name to the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, a cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg that ruled Denmark. The original half-timbered manor house was built in 1660–1664 by Ernest Günther, the first Duke of Augustenborg, and was replaced by the current symmetrical three-winged main building constructed from 1770 to 1776 by Duke Frederick Christian I, which is a fine example of Baroque architecture completed in 1776.

For over 200 years, the palace served as the residence of five dukes and one duchess before the last duke, Christian August II, left during the First Schleswig War in 1848 due to his close relations with Germany. The palace was purchased by the Danish state in 1921, converted into a psychiatric hospital in 1927–28, and since 1932 has been used as a psychiatric facility, though today it houses the Danish Agency for Agriculture.

Famous writer Hans Christian Andersen spent two weeks at the palace in autumn 1844 and wrote "The Little Match Girl" during his visit, and there is a small museum in the entryway about the palace, the town, and its ducal history.