#TRAVEL My Weekly Powerup | #club100 | Aalborghus Castle was once owned by the powerful Queen Margrethe I - Denmark | #steemexclusive / 20 photos

This beautiful castle is found in the city of Aalborg, northern Denmark. The city itself is an old city that dates to the Stone Age. I also believe that Denmark is one of the oldest kingdoms in the world. The fist king was “Gorm den Gamle” who reigned during the first half of the 900s. Aalborg Castle was built by King Christian III during the years between 1539 to 1555. His intention was to build it as a fortification. Before him, there was another building placed at the same site as the castle. That building / castle was owned by Queen Margareth 1st. She was a powerful Danish queen ( from 1387) who became the ruler of the Nordic countries. From 1388 she became the reigning queen of Norway and of Sweeden from 1389.

Aalborg Castle has a beautiful location by the waterfront along Limfjorden (the fjord). It is surrounded by green park. All year round you can walk around the castle park. The buildings are not open to the public, because they function as administrative offices. But you can walk across the courtyard. The only thing is that lots of cars are parked here. During the summer the dungeon and casemates are open to the public. I have passed the castle many times, but never actually been looking at it inside the courtyard. Last weekend when I had several days in Aalborg, I took time to visit the park, the courtyard and the dungeon. Also, I read the boards with information to understand a little more about the castle and its history.

The castle is built as a half-timbered castle. Even some wings were added later, the architectural style is the same. The fortress had cannon roundabouts at each of the corners. In addition, it was surrounded by a deep moat. This should enable the fortress to defend itself from any direction. The moat is not visible anymore. I tried to locate the cannon roundabouts, but the sites might not be visible either. At least I found it difficult to locate the sites.

After studying the architecture, I went to the dungeon and casemates. These casemates were formed as corridors that runs from the courtyard and to the outside. This made a possible exit in case of unrest or war. The corridors were also used during WWII. The German soldiers needed to test their gas masks and used the casemates to do just that. After closing all openings, tear gas bombs were dropped. I was alone when I was inside, so it felt a little spooky. Especially when learning what has been going on here.

The Castle has undergone changes throughout the years. Different kings made changes. One of kings added a barrier wall to the north where the building is facing the Limfjord. Later, in 1633 another wing was added. That part was in use as a granary. The south-facing part of the building was added as late as in the beginning of the 1800s. In the years 1954 to 1964 the granary was renovated to become offices. I left the place through the ramparts towards the Limfjord. It was really a great way to spend time in Aalborg. Also, I rediscovered parts of Denmark's history I had forgotten.

CC @patjewell

Powering up at least 50% of all liquid payout! Thank you for the support for making this possible for me each week! 😂And thank you @steemcurator01 @steemcurator02 for your kind support. 👍

Please do follow if you want to keep up with my next travel post. Any upvotes or resteems are hugely appreciated!

Latest powerup post, check out :
#TRAVEL My Weekly Powerup | #club100 | Two ghost towns worth a visit | #steemexclusive / 26 photos

U.J

Kristiansand, Norway

All the photoes are mine, Ulla Jensen (flickr, Instagram and facebook)

Read about us? // Main page!
Follow us for our blogs about travel, art, article and photo