A socially committed baron

Manor – or castle – Gelting was first mentioned over 700 years ago, in a tax document of the Danish King Valdemar II Sejr. The way the castle looks today is mainly due to Seneca Ingwersen. In 1758, the North Frisian-Dutch merchant bought it from the Danish King Frederick V, had it redesigned and expanded. In 1759 he was given the title Baron von Gelting. In 1789, shortly before he died, he abolished serfdom, divided the estate into plots and leased them to former serfs – an unusual step for his time. To this day, the castle is family-owned and not open to the public. Nearby and adjacent to the Geltinger Birk, however, Baron von Hobe-Gelting operates 12 historic holiday homes.