It is a little paradise for the royal family of Denmark only a few hundred meters away from Den gamle Kro in Slotsgade - The Castle Avenue. As the most of the town the Inn was build here a long time ago when everything in the town was established because of the castle and its overwhelming importance. And the castle - nowadays a palace - still is the remarkable centre of the little fairytale town of Graasten.
The mighty and Nobel family of the “Ahlefeldts” established here at the beautiful lake surrounded by forests in the latter part of the 16.century the first castle - a fashionable structure in French baroque. Never before such a building had been seen in this part of the duchy of Northern Schleswig - a part of the Danish kingdom.Here the Nobel men could enjoy themselves hunting deer and ladies and having their good suppers and dinners in comfortable surroundings. But oh - it burnt down in the year of 1757 and only the magnificent church was left. A new and a little bit more modest castle was build step by step. And the Ahlefeldt’s had the Dukes of Augustenborg as their successors. It was in the 18.and 19.century - in the kingdom of Denmark in many ways a time of confusion. The Danish king was the ruler of the kingdom from Norway to Hamburg. But in the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein he was a duke too! And in the southern part of the kingdom a varied lot of higher Nobel families with or without money or brain married into each other in a complicated patchwork had their share of the power. A lot of dukes were acting on the scene. The daughters were married away as good as possible. The eldest son became a duke and the other sons got their possessions at the better farms belonging to the Duke or - if there were not farms enough for all the sons - they became officers and more or less poor or drunk.
Some Dukes came off better than others. To Duke Frederik Christian the Second and Duchess Louisa Augusta we owe a debt of gratitude because of their change of the stylish and stiff park at the castle to a welcoming and friendly English country garden opening itself to the landscape around.
The last Duke of the castle, Ernst Günther, was in the beginning of the last century acting on behalf of the fishing “industry”. He headhunted a clever fishing foreman from the family estate Prinkenau in Schlesien (now Poland) and in the traditionally way a detailed system of ponds with carps was established. Still there are lots of imposing fishes to see in wonderful ponds in the woods and every year in December good fat carps are for sale at the palace. Everybody can by and especially a lot of Germans are coming. They love carp for their traditionally Christmas Eve supper.
The year of 1935 was a very good one for the castle of Graasten. It had just become a palace and the Crown Prince Frederik and his Crown Princess Ingrid (daughter of the Swedish King) here found a place they loved. The Crown Princess had what we call “green fingers” and fairy-like she got the garden into shape. Today it is the beauty of a show-piece. The spirit of the late Queen Ingrid is still to be found between all the flowers. And except of the three weeks every summer when Queen Margrethe II of Denmark following the tradition of her mother is gathering the whole royal family with a lot of children for relaxed summer holidays the garden (and it is not a park but a garden) is open for everyone who comes by. In the garden you will find the most flourishing views. The flowers are changing from the very beginning in spring to the fall. Maybe you will find the famous marguerites - the successors of the seeds which Crown Princess Ingrid got from her wonderful and cosy childhood summer place at Sofiero Palace in Sweeden. So now you know why the present Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, in the close family is called Daisy and why her favourite flower is - -? Yes - you got it!
PS:
You will in the garden at the Royal Palace see no signs with “No trespassing on the grass!” You are most welcome in one of the wonderful gardens of Denmark.