Ruins from a castle

One thing about Denmark is that its history is very old.  We visited some ruins under a castle a few weeks ago and learned about the people who lived more than 800 years ago who lived in the castle.  The castle belonged to a religious leader, Bishop Absalon , who built a wall around the castle for protection from pirates who attacked Copenhagen.  When pirates tried to get into the castle, they were killed and Absalon put their severed heads on stakes outside the castle walls to serve as a warning to other pirates and to make them afraid to attack.  Here are some pictures.

The castle was later taken over by a Danish king who built a tall prison tower by the castle.  Many political prisoners and other criminals were locked in the tower.  But the most famous prisoner was a princess who stayed there for nearly 22 years.  She was locked in the prison because her husband was a traitor to the country.  He was sentenced to be beheaded but he escaped.  The princess was later released but she had been locked up for a very long time. 

This is part of the original wall.  You can see how thick it was. 

Here is a model of what the castle looked like at the time of the prison tower  The tall building is the prison. 

You can see the sword of  one of the kings’ guards as it is resting by the fire.  You can almost imagine what it must have been like to live in these times.

The castle has been rebuilt many times.  They just built over the old foundation.  Twice it burned down and when it was rebuilt the last time, they discovered these ruins underneath the burned ruins.