Inside the courtyard of the Malmöhus, Mr Monkey thought about the history of the castle. It was used as the Danish mint under Christoffer of Bavaria, was expanded then accidentally burned under Frederik I in 1529, expanded but not burned by Christian III in 1542 and by Christian IV in 1607. At times it was home to Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, at least nineteen Sherriffs of Skåne, and the Earl of Bothwell, who was held prisoner in the hope that Scotland would pay to have him back. They didn't. The castle withstood a siege by the Danish army in 1677, then was turned into a grain store. In the nineteenth century it was a prison, after which it was neglected then, between the wars, restored as a museum. It was used as accomodation for concentration camp survivors after the war, and then used as a museum again. During all this, most of the old castle fell or burned down, so there's only the front of the sixteenth century castle left, with more modern buildings behind it.
Copyright Rik Shepherd and Mr Monkey. This page last modified 6 October 2005