You have now reached Jægerpladsen (the Hunter Square), where you can enjoy a rest under the big oak tree. One of the duke’s carp ponds used to be here. On the map of the town from 1796, you can see the four ponds that lay like a string of beads between Jægerpladsen and the Manor Farm. Carp breeding requires four ponds in order to maintain a steady production. Today, only one of these ponds remains, and it is located by the Manor Farm.
However, the pond at Jægerpladsen also had other purposes. It was used by the duke’s hunt staff to wash their hounds after the hunt. The hunt staff had to keep poachers away, manage the game and, of course, take part in the many ducal hunts.
Jægerpladsen is named after the hunt servants who lived in the Hunters’ Houses around the square.
The large shady oak tree in the middle of the square was planted by the Germans in 1871. The reason was that in 1870-71 Prussia conquered Alsace and northern Lorraine from France. The tree was intended to commemorate the victory but was also an expression that the Germans now wanted peace. This was marked by planting a series of “Peace Oaks” in the German Empire and therefore also in Southern Jutland, which was under Prussian rule from 1864 to 1920.
Originally, the oak tree was surrounded by a fence to protect it from vandalism. The Germans had also furnished the tree with a sign that said, “Sieges Eiche” – Victory Oak!
Not many of the original Peace Oaks have survived to the present day. Some have been replaced by new trees while others have been removed. The Peace Oak at Jægerpladsen in Augustenborg is one of the few Peace Oaks in Denmark that has survived. If you follow Storegade around the bend, you get to the last carp pond and the Manor Farm, also described in this guide. At the Manor Farm you can also see one of Denmark’s largest thatched barns.