Tranekær Castle is known from sources from the 13th century as a heavily fortified castle on a steep hill with moat and wind bridge. At the death of Valdemar II in 1241, the Tranekær Castle passed to the royal family's Abel line, which occupied it with some interruptions, to Valdemar Atterdag in 1358, the castle took over after 14 days of siege and deployed a royal captain and made it headquarters for Tranekær Len . In 1645, the wealthy councillor Christian Rantzau got a mortgage. His 15-year-old daughter, Margrethe Dorothea, was in 1656 Denmark's richest heir. 31-year-old Frederik...

Tranekær Castle is known from sources from the 13th century as a heavily fortified castle on a steep hill with moat and wind bridge. At the death of Valdemar II in 1241, the Tranekær Castle passed to the royal family's Abel line, which occupied it with some interruptions, to Valdemar Atterdag in 1358, the castle took over after 14 days of siege and deployed a royal captain and made it headquarters for Tranekær Len . In 1645, the wealthy councillor Christian Rantzau got a mortgage. His 15-year-old daughter, Margrethe Dorothea, was in 1656 Denmark's richest heir. 31-year-old Frederik Ahlefeldt fell in love with her, but the father did not cheapen the connection. Ahlefeldt resolutely abducted the young girl, and on July 2, 1656, they devoted themselves to a Holstein village church. Chr. Rantzau was reportedly furious, but had to settle for the accomplished fact and in 1659 renounced his son-in-law as part of his daughter's dowry. Since then, the genus Ahlefeldt has been sitting on Tranekær. Ahlefeldt was elevated to German Count in 1665 and Lord of Rixingen in the diocese of Metz and Mörsberg in Elsass since 1669. He also owned Søgård in Southern Jutland . Frederik Ahlefeldt rose rapidly in Frederik III's favor and ended up after Griffenfeld's fall in 1676 as Christian 5.'s great Chancellor. In 1672 he was exalted in the Danish Counting by forming Tranekær and his other possessions the county of Langeland . The present castle consists of two built-up polished and red-painted wings in the north and west at an angle to the foundation of the original castle. The buildings are built in 2 1/2 - 3 floors with an octagonal stair tower with high spiers in the corner towards the courtyard and opens onto the castle lake and the park. The North wing has building parts from the 1200s and is thus the oldest inhabited worldly house in Denmark. In the basement, building remains have been found from the beginning of the Middle Ages, so the castle is even older. It was surrounded by a moat that still exists. To the west of the castle, the road runs on a dam, which votes the water into the moat and lets it run west to the so-called Skvatmølle. In the 16th century, the castle consisted of a mighty core tower, the current two wings on two floors and lower buildings in the east and south, which were demolished by a thorough renovation by 1722. The tower was loosened in the 17th century, after the castle in 1558 had ceased to be a fortress. Both current wings have up to three meters thick walls, and in the west wing there is a wall exit in the actual mortar. The castle's present figure is due to Frederik lens's Ahlefeldt-Laurvig, who in 1859-1865 let architect, Professor N.S. Nebelong carry out an extensive rebuilding. The west wing was extended, the staircase was erected, the ceilings changed to twig roofs and the wings were painted pink and received high, glare-spotted comb tiles. In 1948-1949, the main buildings were restored and the facades painted the beech colour. At the refurbishment in 1860, most of the baroque garden was redesigned to the present large park, which was again converted in 1890-1892 by the English garden architect Milner. The castle park is in English style and, with its 150 acres, is one of the country's largest. It has the shape of an open, stylized landscape as opposed to the original French, tightly built baroque garden, which remains of remains of west of the road. In addition to the lake, the small Chinese gazebo and the many old trees, the park is distinguished by its land art sculptures, since 1993 by Danish and foreign artists. Today the castle serves as a restaurant and a business meeting location, also offering overnight accommodation.