Explore 7 castles on Bornholm
On Bornholm, you can find traces of seven historic castles. From Hammershus on the northern tip of the island to more hidden fortified sites in the forests. Here, you come close to history, nature and small places where the imagination can go exploring.
Discover Bornholm’s castle history
Not all castles on Bornholm are easy to spot in the landscape today. In several places, only traces remain. It may be a foundation, an earthwork or a raised shape in the terrain.
Even so, many of these places are well worth a visit. They are often beautifully set in nature, where forest paths, rocks, bogs and views give the history a special setting.
7 castles on Bornholm
Here is an overview of the seven known castle sites on Bornholm.
Hammershus
Lilleborg - Little Castle
Gamleborg - Old Castle in Almindingen
Rispebjerg
Gamleborg in the Paradise Hills
Storeborg at Spællinge Mose
Rø Plantation
Dive deeper into the history
Bornholm’s castles are just one way into the island’s long history. In museums and at historic sites around the island, you can come even closer to the people, events and landscapes that have shaped Bornholm over time.
Discover more historic sites on the island
Helleristninger ved li. Strandbygård
Aakirkeby, Bornholm
Gamleborg - Old Castle in Almindingen
Aakirkeby, Bornholm
Gamleborg in the Paradise Hills
Nexø, Bornholm
Kongens Bastion on Christiansø
Christiansø, Bornholm
The Russian Cemetery in Allinge
Allinge, Bornholm
King and Church met in the middle of the forest
In Almindingen, two of Bornholm’s most important castle sites lie just a few kilometres apart.
Gamleborg was the old royal castle on the edge of Ekkodalen. Later, Lilleborg was built as a smaller, strongly positioned castle in the middle of the forest. Here, the landscape was part of the defence, with rocks, water and steep slopes surrounding the castle.
In the 13th century, Bornholm was shaped by the conflict between the Danish Crown and the Archbishop of Lund. The conflict culminated in 1259, when Lilleborg was captured.
When you walk between Gamleborg and Lilleborg today, you are not just taking a walk in the forest. You are moving through one of the places where Bornholm’s history of power, faith and defence can still be felt in the landscape.
