Early history First mentioned in 1345, by the end of the century Borreby had come into the possession of the
Urne family, an important house of high nobility in Denmark at that time. In 1410 the estate was acquired by Bishop
Peder Jensen Lodehat and it was then held by the
Bishops of Roskilde until its confiscation by the Crown in 1536 in connection with the
Reformation in 1534.
Friis and Daa families In 1553, possibly somewhat earlier, King
Frederick II ceded the property to Chancellor
Johan Friis, one of the most powerful men in the country at the time, who also owned
Hesselagergård on the island of
Funen. In 1456 he built the current castle at a site north of the old building. After Johan Friis' death in 1570, Borreby was passed to his nephew, Christian Friis, who later followed in his uncle's footsteps as Chancellor from 1594 to 1616. Christian Friis expanded the complex with an extra moat and several new buildings, including two castle yard wings to the east and west, a gatehouse and several large farm buildings west of the castle. Christian Friis' daughter Dorthe Friis brought Borreby into her marriage to Claus Daa. The estate was later passed down to his son Jørgen Daa and grandson Claus Daa. The latter's brothers Oluf and Valdemar Daa ran it into economic ruin during their ownership from 1652 to 1681. Valdemar Daa spent large sums on experiments with alkymism.
Changing owners, 15711783 The next owner was Ove Ramel. His daughter Else sold Borreby in 1732 to Christian Berregaard. On his death, Borreby was passed first to his son Willum and then to his grandson Frederik. In 1776, Frederik Berregaard sold Borreby to Hans Georg Faith (17511795). In 1783, Feith sold Borreby. In 1786, he purchased
Edelgave noirthwest of Copenhagen. In 1791, he sold Edelsgave and bought
Bødstrup at
Kalundborg.
Castenschiold family In 1783, Borreby was acquired by Major General
Joachim Castenschiold. The Castenschiold family still own the property. ==Architecture==