Egeskov Castle (Egeskov Slot), located in the south part of the Funen, is Europe’s best-preserved Renaissance water castle. According to legend, it took an entire forest of oak trees to build the foundation, hence the name Egeskov (oak forest).
Egeskov Castle was on my Denmark-must-see list for a long while, but somehow I never made it there. So when I had to drive for a baptism that took place close by, I decided to extend the weekend and check the castle out. Additionally, I found out there was a Christmas market happening on the castle grounds, so I didn’t need any more encouragement to go 🙂
During the winter, the castle itself is closed for visitors, but the neighboring buildings usually hosting different museums, are decorated with Christmas lights, and welcome visitors looking for a hygge day in a great location. The sellers display a variety of handcrafted Christmas ornaments, decorations, and foods. There are some exciting activities for kids, like painting a stump into a Santa Clause or cooking snacks over the fire.
We only had 1,5 hours there, and I must admit I have significantly underestimated the size of the market. Every time we thought we had seen it all, we discovered another building hosting more of the market! We will definitely be back next year as it was a lot of fun that was cut short because the market closed down for the day. We also didn’t get a chance to wander through the castle grounds as it was raining, and we were pressed for time.
More details about the Christmas market in Egeskov Slot can be found on their website.
