Egekov Castle

Egekov Castle is located in Southern Funen, Denmark.  The castle is Europe’s best-preserved Renaissance water castle.  Egekov Castle was constructed by Frands Brockenhuus in 1554.  The castle is located in a small lake, which was originally only accessible by a drawbridge.  The structure consists of two long houses that connect by a double wall.  This allowed defenders to abandon one section of the castle and continue fighting from the other building.  The double wall is over a meter thick and has secret stairwells and a water well to supply the needed sustenance during a siege.  The outer walls have machicolations for dropping solids or liquids on enemies below.  According to legend, it took an entire forest of oak trees to build the defensive fortress, hence the name Egekov, which means oak forest.