Møgeltønder

Møgeltønder
Town
Slotsgaden (The Castle Street)
Slotsgaden (The Castle Street)
Møgeltønder is located in Region of Southern Denmark
Møgeltønder
Møgeltønder
Location in Region of Southern Denmark
Møgeltønder is located in Denmark
Møgeltønder
Møgeltønder
Møgeltønder (Denmark)
Coordinates: 54°56′34″N 8°48′6″E / 54.94278°N 8.80167°E / 54.94278; 8.80167
CountryDenmark
RegionSouthern Denmark
MunicipalityTønder Municipality
Population
 (2023)[1]
787
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Møgeltønder Church
Alley

Møgeltønder (Danish pronunciation: [ˈmøˀjl̩ˌtsʰønˀɐ]) is a small town in Denmark, located in Møgeltønder Parish, Tønder Municipality, in the southwestern corner of the Danish peninsula of Jutland 5 kilometres north of the Danish-German border and 4 kilometres west of Tønder. Møgeltønder is known for its picturesque main street, the large 12th-century church, and Schackenborg Castle. As of 2023, it has a population of 787.[1]

Møgeltønder Church[edit]

Møgeltønder Church is one of the largest village churches in southern Jutland. The church was built in c. 1180 but had the nave extended and a larger choir added c1275. The tower with the tall spire was added in the 15th century. The church was owned by the counts Schack of Schackenborg castle from 1661 to 1970, and has a rich interior e.g. a gothic altarpiece from c.1 450, 17th pulpit and pews, and the oldest church organ in Denmark. As a manor church, it shows many references to the Schack family. Apart from the large burial chapel of the Schack family, the medieval murals in the choir were restored and repainted in 1890 to show the faces of the current count and his son.

Schackenborg Castle[edit]

Schackenborg Castle was the home to the counts of Schackenborg from 1661 to 1979, who rebuilt and extended the castle. It was subsequently the home of the Danish Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik's younger son Prince Joachim until 2014. Prince Joachim and his second wife Princess Marie married at Møgeltønder church on May 24, 2008.[2] Since 2014 the castle has been owned by the Schackenborg fund and has been partially opened to the public.

The castle connects with the old part of Møgeltønder (the houses around the medieval church) through the picturesque newer main street "Slotsgaden" with 18th-century houses, flanked with lime trees. South of the church, the town is a good example of a rural Danish town consisting of farmhouses, dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, where the farms have not been moved out to their fields as was customary all over Denmark in the period 1784-c1830 due to agricultural reforms.

Notable people[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b BY3: Population 1st January, by urban areas The Mobile Statbank from Statistics Denmark
  2. ^ "HRH PRINCE JOACHIM & HRH PRINCESS MARIE". Royal Family of Denmark.

External references[edit]

Møgeltønder church's home page