Holsteinborg Castle was built by the Trolle family between 1598 and 1651, but has been owned by the Holstein family since 1707. The first count, Ulrich Adolph Holstein, established ten village schools on the estate in about 1710. The first Christmas tree in Denmark was lit at Holsteinborg in 1808, Northern Europe's first savings bank was opened in 1810 and Denmark's first health insurance was available in 1811. Between 1810 and 1825, a total of 14 schools and 12 handicraft schools were built on the estate. Hans Christian Andersen was inspired by his many visits to the castle, where he wrote some of his fairytales, stories, songs, poems and accounts of his travels.
References:Střekov Castle (Schreckenstein) is perched atop a cliff above the River Elbe, near the city of Ústí nad Labem. It was built in 1316 for John of Luxembourg, the father of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, to guard an important trade route to Germany. After changing hands several times, the castle was acquired by the Lobkowicz family in 1563. Its strategic importance led to occupations by Imperial Habsburg, Saxon, and Swedish forces during the Thirty Years' War, as well as successive sieges by Austrian and Prussian armies during the Seven Years' War.
Although Střekov Castle was heavily damaged during those conflicts and abandoned as a military installation by the end of the 18th century, the 1800s saw many poets and artists visiting the castle, drawn by a new trend of interest in romantic ruins.