Known locally as the ‘castle in the lake’ this stunning location will make even the hardiest of us swoon. It has become an iconic image of the Glücksburg area and is home to a museum that houses important tapestries, portraits & porcelain.Schloss Glücksburg, erected between 1583 and 1587 under Duke Johann the Younger (1545 – 1622), belongs to the most significant castle complexes in Northern Europe. The builder, Nikolaus Karies, erected the castle on the site of a former Cistercian monastery (Rudekloster), which itself had medieval religious origins. Granite from the previous construction was re-used in the present foundations and many of the old bricks also found further use in today’s striking white-plastered building.
The castle was named after the motto of the Duke: “Gott Gebe Glück Mit Frieden” (God grant happiness and peace). The initial letters of the motto can be found, with the Duke’s Coat of Arms, above the entrance. Next to them are the Coats of Arms of the Duke’s two wives: on the left, from the Braunschweig-Lüneburg family and, on the right, that of the Electorate of Saxony.
