Tranekær - the castle town on North Langeland

From nobility and property systems to enthusiasts and visions of the future

With local guide through town

Step with a local guide into a unique cultural environment where Tranekær Castle reigns majestically on one of Langeland's famous hat hills. On this tour you will get the story of the Ahlefeldt—Laurvig family, which left a significant imprint over 300 years. A story of fortresses and progress, of wartime and peacetime. Today the legacy is continued with respect and new life by the Jepsen family.

• See the castle on Hatbakken — Denmark's oldest inhabited building.
• Hear the fascinating tales of entrepreneurial and eccentric families of counts.
• Walk through the historic castle town and experience the unique cultural environment.
• Get local tales and hidden details with a guide who knows the history of the city in depth.

People who have left their imprint

Hear the guide tell about the “General”, Christian Ahlefeldt Laurvig, who in the dark of night sent troops across the Langeland Belt during the English Wars while English warships patrolled the waters.
About the Count who laid out the plague avenue so that he could avoid getting infected on his way to and from church. And who ended up dying of smallpox when a little infected boy defied the ban and ran to the count, who patted him on the head.

Hear about life as a fortress farmer or servant in the County of Langeland: About the many local women who had children with Knudegreven, and aboutLudvig Antony from Sct. Croixwho was bought at a slave auction, and spent many years as a trusted servant at the castle until he was given free.

The guide also tells about the exciting future of the city: since 2009, a circle of volunteers is succeeding in establishing “Medicinhaverne” as Langeland's second largest tourist attraction, and northern Europe's largest collection of medicinal plants. The wealthy Jebsen family has taken over the estate and the castle, and several exciting projects have been launched: a college for conservation-worthy crafts is in the pipeline, and together with local forces Jebsen is working to preserve the many beautiful old buildings.

The irreplaceable cultural heritage of Tranekær

The residents of Tranekær love their town and this can be seen in the old buildings that are carefully maintained. Guests are guided through the city and to the distinctive, rather Udanian, church.

Slotsgade and the buildings around the castle are worth a story and most of the houses date from the time of the theatre-loving “Generalen”. The houses have names according to who lived in them, for example *the musician houses, the table-decker house, and the “onion” *, where the trusted servants lived.

You should see the castle's strangest house, the “hen house*” where the forager lived, right at the entrance to the castle park. Guests are invited to walk around the castle lake on their own in the famous Tickonpark*with land art.