Gottorf Castle

Gottorf was the seat of the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp and now holds the state museums. Its archaeological collection includes bog bodies and the Nydam boat, a rowing vessel of about AD 320 preserved in a peat bog and one of the oldest surviving large boats in northern Europe. In the seventeenth century Duke Friedrich III commissioned the Gottorf Globe, a hollow sphere over three metres across that visitors sat inside while it rotated to show the stars; Peter the Great took it to Russia in 1713 and it remains in St Petersburg, so a working replica was built and installed in the reconstructed baroque garden in 2005.

What you actually see

• The Nydam boat - a rowing vessel of about AD 320 from a peat bog.
• The bog bodies - preserved human remains from the region's peat.
• The Gottorf Globe replica - a rotating walk-in sphere rebuilt in 2005.
• The baroque garden - a terraced garden reconstructed with the globe house.

When to go

April to October; the globe house is seasonal and entered on timed visits in small groups. Museums close Mondays outside summer. Allow most of a day.

Honest expectations

The original globe is in St Petersburg; the one here is a replica. Globe visits are timed with small groups. The museum complex is large.

Nearby

Hedeby lies across the water; Flensburg is north.