Big dramas and quiet everyday life
Feel the strong gust of wind from Gisselfeld's fantastic cultural history. Great dramas and quiet everyday life have unfolded here since its construction in 1575. And once you have stood on the bridge leading to the mighty knight's castle, you understand why successive artists through the centuries have visited and written about Gisselfeld again and again.
The artist's muse
Gennem tiderne har Gisselfeld Kloster haft en fremtrædende position, og mange berømtheder har gæstet stedet. Det smukke herregårdslandskab har inspireret og tiltrukket kunstnere som f.eks. Otto Bache, Betel Thorvaldsen, Christian Winther og H.C. Andersen. Dét var her, at H.C. Andersen fik idéen til “Historien om en and”, som senere blev til “Den Grimme Ælling”.
A strong story
The current Gisselfeld was founded by Peder Oxe, who was Lord High Treasurer (prime minister) and built the castle from 1547-1575.
Following Peder Oxe's death, his wife, Mette Rosenkrantz of Vallø, took over the running of the estate. When she died in 1588, Peder Oxe's niece, Karen Banner, took possession of the castle. She married Henrik Lykke of Overgaard, and the Lykke family subsequently held Gisselfeld until Kai Lykke was sentenced to loss of life, honour, and property in 1661 due to treason.
This meant that Gisselfeld was under the Crown from 1661-1670, until it was given to Count Hans Schack for his accomplishments during the Swedish Wars. Hans Schack's descendants sold Gisselfeld to Adam Levin Knuth in 1688. The family owned Gisselfeld until 1699, after which Christian Gyldenløve (son of King Christian V and Sophie Amalie Moth) took over the estate.
Gyldenløve died in 1703, but he did manage to establish a foundation, according to which the estate was to pass from private ownership to a noble convent for young ladies.
Christian Gyldenløve's descendants, who took the name Danneskiold-Samsøe, have managed the Castle up to the present day according to the will of 1701. To date, there have been 11 counts / directors-general from the Danneskiold-Samsøe line.
The current Director-General, and the 12th in line, is Helene Danneskiold-Samsøe, and she is the first woman to hold the position. Helene Danneskiold-Samsøe was appointed Director-General on 1 March 2010.
