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| Egeskov Castle is western
Denmark. |
| Courtesy Egeskov |
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| Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille |
| Courtesy Egeskov |
In 1554, there was a nasty civil war in Denmark,
one of the first violent social struggles in Europe.
The peasants, a formidable mass of resentment, would
attack and plunder the homes of the rich. The rich
responded much as they still do in Los Angeles,
by building gates and barricades to keep them out.
Frands Broeknhuus built a castle on wooden piles
on a small lake, leveling an entire forest for the
lumber. (Egeskov, in Danish, means “oak wood.”)
The castle, in a light red brick, is a collection
of two longhouses, “So the enemy could take
one part and we could defend the other.” It
was opened to the public in 1965, starting with
an astonishing 200,000 visitors.
The interior reflects the changing world of European
royalty. Count Gregers Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille,
the count’s grandfather, has adorned the walls
with the horns of animals he had killed on safari.
Count Michael, the current ruler, heats the place
with sunflower oil. “It’s CO2 neutral.”
Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille, ninth count
of Egeskov, is a big, enthusiastic fellow. He has
had a set of armor made and he opens up Renaissance
Fairs by jousting in it. Quick to smile, he rides
a classic motorcycle and grows barley.
“Egeskov is a privately owned estate. My family
bought it in 1784. We cultivate crops, we have 1,200
hectares forestry and the rest is arable land. Then
we have the tourism, which is now our biggest business.
If you buy a book about castles in Europe, you will
always find Egeskov.”
Castles, if you don’t live in them, can be
excessively ancient, so the count tries to keep
it alive. “We do new stuff. We do treetop walking.
People film commercials here.”
Corporations are sending team-building seminars
there. They have archery contests, and dueling.
Some of the expenses are staggering. The normal
upkeep, not counting electricity or sunflower oil,
is DKK 650,000 a year. Painting the windows, a project
he is now undertaking, will take six years and cost
DKK one million. (There are 2,062 windowpanes.)
What’s it like to be a royal in a Social Democratic
land? “Well, it is different from England.
The only way you’ll get respect in Denmark
is to be good at what you do. I went to agricultural
school, and I’m educated as a farmer. I studied
tractor driving, among other things. I’m aware
that I have a title, but in Denmark everybody is
equal, which is good, even though I’m aware
that I have to represent a part of our history.”
“You have to learn to be a modern count.
In my normal day working nobody thinks about it.
I never use my title here but everybody uses it
for me. I say, this is Michael. They say, the count
is not here. I just hope that with my way of being
and of working will bring respect to the nobility.”
Jante, which covers every level of society,
applies to royalty as well. You can be a count or
a prince, but the Danes judge you by how well you
do what you do, and how you carry yourself. (Count
Michael’s great-grandfather was really good
at the old practice of droit de seigneur,
fathering 100 children.)
“Our crown prince is very clever and respected.
So jante is not so hard for him, but if he
had an arrogant attitude, he would get no respect,
the jante lov would kill him right away.”
An intriguing story from Egesov’s history
During the reign of Christian IV, another owner
of the castle sent his daughter to the king’s
court. She became pregnant by an officer there,
a friend of the still-famous Rosenkrantz family.
Her father demanded a trial, and showing again that
you should be careful what you wish for, his daughter
was found guilty of adultery and sentenced to life
imprisonment. The alleged cad had two fingers of
his hand cut off and was sent to war against the
Turks.
On the way, however, he went to London, exactly
the same time that Shakespeare was writing Hamlet.
He knew his Saxo Grammaticus, and his story of Prince
Amled. And he liked to hang out in taverns and tell
stories about Denmark.
Well, it’s just as plausible as the one about
Francis Bacon.
The count was asked how much of his working time
was spent on promoting the castle? “As much
as possible, “ he smiled. “I think it’s
fun.”
Visit Egeskov Castle online: www.egeskov.com
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