Cooperation between The National Agency for Culture and Palaces, The Royal Family, The Municipality of Sønderborg and local associations, has led to a development project for the Palace Gardens at Gråsten. The project has received a donation from Bitten & Mads Clausen’s Foundation.
The goal of the project is to expand the Palace Gardens and to turn them into an interdisciplinary project. The primary aim is to open the vegetable garden as a tourist attraction and at the same time, transform it into a year-round asset for the local community. In the building, that today is used by the gardeners as their operating centre, there will be a new garden store and café. This will be the new visitor center for visitors to the park. From here it will also be possible to buy produce from the vegetable garden such as plants, fruit and herbs, as well as products linked to the garden, for example apple pie, apple cider, herb products and wickerwork.
In addition to this, the project also intends to create a place for employment from within the social psychiatric field. As part of the project a new building will be built with facilities for all the staff. Here, employees from the social psychiatric department in the Municipality can work side by side with the regular staff of the gardens. Volunteers and non-profit organisations in the local area are also invited to be part of the projects in the park, thus integrating the local life and community in these activities. The last key pillar of the project will be the cooperation with the school programme “House of Health”; an initiative for local schools with the goal of promoting the science interests of the students.
Bitten & Mads Clausen’s Foundation supports the project, in terms of building the visitor centre as well as establishing the new building with staff facilities.
The Palace at Gråsten can be visited by following this:
