Glücksburg Castle, erected between 1582 and 1587 under Duke Johann the Younger (1545 – 1622), is Germany’s largest “water” castle and one of the most significant family houses 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 with freedom). 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.