An attractive old seaside market town


For the last 6 years Korsør hosted tourists from 9 cruise ships. The town is situated around a harbour which for centuries has been an important part of its inhabitants' daily life. To move from the southern part of the town to the northern, or vice versa, citizens have to pass over a bridge which at certain times of the day will be raised in order to let ships in or out of the fiord. Boats, vessels, merchant ships and the occasional cruise liner are regular visitors.

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H.C. Andersen

hcaWhen on his travels, Hans Christian Andersen often came to Korsør. He stayed at the grand Hotel Storebælt, the source of inspiration for the poem "Oppe fra Vinduet i Banehotellet" (From the window of the station hotel) he wrote in 1868, in praise of travel, steamboats, locomotives, Danish writer Jens Baggesen and Korsør. – He spent four years of his school life at Slagelse Latinskole grammar school. His time there was something of an endurance test as he was humiliated and ridiculed by the other pupils and the headmaster. In a letter to his poet friend B.S. Ingemann he wrote that Slagelse was torment, but it should be added that he was well received by many of the town's households. At Slagelse Museum in Bredegade, there is a classroom from the Latin School, the poet's room and the headmaster's office. – Not far from Skælskør are the manor houses Espe, Basnæs, Borreby and Holsteinborg that Hans Christian Andersen loved to visit. These were the source of inspiration for many of his fairytales. "It is extremely beautiful at Holsteinborg. The beach is right on the doorstep and the islands outside are beautifully forested," he wrote.

Locations: H.C. Andersen Museum, Odense.

The Vikings

vikingsThe Telleborg Viking fortress is located on a peninsula at the junction of two rivers a few miles east of Korsør. Built around 980 AD it was part of a larger fortification with five other fortresses spanning Denmark and Southern Sweden at the time of King Harold Bluetooth an ancestor of the current Queen of Denmark. All of them were built in the shape of a circle, Trelleborg with an inner diameter of 136 metres. In Gørlev some miles north of the Viking fortress there are two impressive commemorative stones, Runic Stones. On one of the stones may be read; "Þjóðvé raised this stone in memory of Oðinkárr".

Locations: Viking fortress Trelleborg, Slagelse and Roskilde Viking Museum.

The Fortress Trelleborg Viking is located on a peninsula at the junction of two rivers a few miles east of Korsør. Built around 980 AD it was part of a larger fortification with five other fortresses spanning Denmark and Southern Sweden at the time of King Harold Bluetooth an ancestor of the current Queen of Denmark. All of them were built in the shape of a circle, Trelleborg with an inner diameter of 136 metres. In Gørlev some miles north of the Viking fortress there are two impressive commemorative stones, Runic Stones. On one of the stones may be read; “Þjóðvé raised this stone in memory of Oðinkárr”.

Locations: Viking fortress Trelleborg, Slagelse and Roskilde Viking Museum.

Castels

castelsSituated in beautiful nature with woods, fields and meadows there are a number of manor houses and castles some miles south of Korsør. Most of them were originally built in the fifteenth and the sixteenth century like "Basnæs", "Borreby" and "Holsteinborg". They all have played an important role in Danish literary history. Hans Christian Andersen was regularly invited to stay with the families who owned the castles where he often found inspiration to his fairy tales.

Stone and Bronze Age

stoneThere is plenty of evidence of our early human ancestors and their ways of life in the area around Korsør. In the wood, "Lystskoven", you will find a remarkable stone setting in the shape of a large ship as well as two circle settings. All of them date from the Stone Age, 3.800 BC. There is also a passage grave near the village of Halseby but the most impressive one is "Rævehøj" near the village of Dalby. The chamber is approximately 2.5 meters high, one of the tallest found in Denmark. It contains Bronze Age carvings.

Fortifications

fortesClose to Korsør there are a number of historic remains from times of unrest. On the isle of "Sprogø" and near "Tårnborg" walls and patterns in the ground confirm the existence of two castles from the twelfth century meant to control the passage through the Great Belt. – Close to the town centre are the remains of Korsør Castle from the thirteenth century with its impressive old tower still intact and two miles north of Korsør entrenchments from the war with Sweden in 1658 are still visible.

Church frescos

muralsAround year 1200 AD more than two thousand church buildings were built throughout Denmark and many of these were decorated with frescos at the time of building or later. Today these murals may be found in some 600 churches across the country representing the highest concentration of surviving church murals anywhere in the world. The churches in the villages Ørslev and Ottestrup have good examples of quality murals which have survived for so many years.

Gavnø Castle

Gavnø - the Island of Flowers - where historical memories, art, nature and flowers are united in one place. Already in the 12th century there was a pirate's castle at the island. In 1398, however, it was purchased by Queen Margrethe the Ist, who turned it into a convent for "unmarried women of noble rank". Today Gavnø Castle is one of Denmark's finest rococo castles, where the visitor will find a great many things of interest, e.g. the largest privately owned collection of paintings in Scandinavia. Please notice The Great Dining Room and the beautifully furnished guest rooms from the 1750'es. The rooms are still used on special occasions.

Also to be seen: Gavnø Convent Church, Gavnø Castle Garden, The House of Butterflies, The Land of Pirates - a nature playground, Treasure Hunt, the largest private collection of paintings in Scandinavia, and The Castle Brewery.

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