Glimmingehus Castle, Skane, Sweden, 040714
July 16, 2014
is the site of Glimmingsehus Castle, in Hammenhog; it is a well-preserved medieval manor, the start of the construction of the fort dating back to 1499.
"Glimmingehus was established as an imposing residence for the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand and his family. At that time Skåne belonged to Denmark.
"Finds from archaeological excavations have revealed the highly exclusive nature of the Glimmingehus household. The most expensive objects available in Europe in the early 16th century have been found, including Venetian glass, extruded Rhineland glass and Spanish ceramic ware.
"Today, Glimmingehus is a living Ancient Monument and a centre for people throughout Scandinavia interested in the Middle Ages, as well as an exciting outing. New research, both archaeological and research into building history, has helped to produce a picture of how the fortress was once built and used."
Even the lichen is blooming on the walls!
We had our own, very good Swedish guide!
Down to the kitchen:
The well that served the castle; the story goes that there is an eel, about a thousand years old, that is still alive at the bottom! (No, we couldn't see into the well!)
The huge hall at the top:
The staircase:
The view from the top:
Vaulted ceilings underground:
Narrow windows tell their tale of fortification:
Here's the baron who built the castle:
(er, he does look "petrified", doesn't he!)
And here's the coat of arms:
The huge fireplace:
The area where the womenfolk lived:
Couldn't go past this:
The museum downstairs documented the way life was lived:
I certainly remember grinding soaked rice in a similar grinding stone, when I was very young, in my parents' home in Kolkata!
The refectory tables:
Interesting window:
This woodcut of the castle itself is very old!
Old tapestries:
A poster advertising an event highlighting the activities of medieval times:
An artist has depicted various coats of arms:
Ancient implements:
Pouring pots (don't ask me why I thought of little boys pissing!)
Bread was dried in disks like that!
Kitchen soot will always be kitchen soot, and there will always be Cinderellas...
A modern lock in an ancient latch!
An amazing fact at this castle was that even tourism is very old...here are the signatures of tourists from 1938!
PC was very taken with the moat, I think he wants one of his own, with crocodiles:
Another portrait (instead of oils, they used stone in those days!) of the Baron of the Castle:
A scale model:
I was amazed to find the
Morching
which we call the mOresing, and which is still played in many Carnatic music concerts:
It's apparently also called the "Jew's Harp" and is one of the oldest musical instruments in the world! Here's the castle employee playing it for us, being careful not to cut her tongue in two:
When medieval knights talked of chain mail, they didn't mean a spate of unwanted letters!
The museum had some (SO lightweight, made of nylon!) on sale:
They also had a lovely model of a slingshot cannon, and knights of old:
They had quill nibs and metal nibs:
There was a children's activity area:
Medieval pastimes no. 347, Riding a Pig:
Now you know why there are no more unicorns, they've been made extinct!
Tourists are helping make each other extinct, too:
Imposing Glimmingehus Castle...thank you for taking us there, 
Ofkose I have to talk about the birds, too....many of them make their homes here. We saw Swifts and Starlings, Ravens and Rooks, and many Jackdaws, like this one:
As we were leaving, we sighted a pair of Common Kestrels circling above the castle...and Kejn spotted three nestlings, in a niche, high above! What a thrill it was!
So that was my heritage-cum-birding experience here!
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That was me documenting Glimmingehus....
I hope you enjoyed the castle as much as I did!
here
is my FB album of the visit.
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