Et af Danmarks ældste kongelige slotte. Mure i syv lag — én konges arbejde oven på det forrige.
One of Denmark's oldest royal castles. Walls in seven layers — each king's work on top of the one before.
Sønderborg blev opført som et lille forsvarsanlæg på en høj i Alsund, sandsynligvis under Valdemar den Stores rigsdannelse i 1100-tallet. Det rumvolumen, vi ser i dag, er resultatet af mindst syv større ombygninger frem til 1500-tallet. Hans Tausen — den danske reformations Luther — fungerede her som hofprædikant for Christian III i 1530'erne.
Sønderborg was raised as a small defensive work on a hill above Alsund, probably under Valdemar the Great's consolidation of the kingdom in the 12th century. The volume we see today is the result of at least seven major rebuilds before the 16th century. Hans Tausen — the Luther of the Danish Reformation — served here as court preacher for Christian III in the 1530s.
Slottets navn er for evigt knyttet til kong Christian II, kaldt «Tyrannen», som blev fanget her efter sit nederlag i 1532. Han sad indespærret i 17 år. Folkesagnet siger, at han slibede en fure i gulvet ved at gå rundt om et stenbord — det er ikke sandt, men furen findes faktisk og er endnu synlig i tårnet. Faktisk levede han i forholdsvis komfortable kår, omgivet af bøger og besøg, men adskilt fra magten og fra Danmark.
The castle's name is forever bound to King Christian II, known as "the Tyrant", imprisoned here after his defeat in 1532. He sat locked up for 17 years. Folk legend says he wore a groove in the floor by walking around a stone table — not true, but the groove is real and still visible in the tower. In fact he lived in relative comfort, surrounded by books and visitors, but cut off from power and from Denmark.
I 1864 — under den tabte krig mod Preussen og Østrig — stod det blodige slag ved Dybbøl få kilometer fra slottet. 1.700 danske soldater blev dræbt, og hele Sønderjylland gik tabt til Tyskland i 56 år. Slottet rummer i dag landets vigtigste museum om netop denne krig.
In 1864 — during the lost war against Prussia and Austria — the bloody Battle of Dybbøl was fought a few kilometres from the castle. 1,700 Danish soldiers were killed, and the whole of southern Jutland was lost to Germany for 56 years. Today the castle houses the country's most important museum about this very war.