Bygdøy Royal Estate ( no, Bygdøy kongsgård), also known as the ''Bygdø Royal Farm'', is a Kongsgård estate and

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

that occupies a large part of the northwestern part of the Bygdøy peninsula in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. It is the official summer residence of the

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingd ...

History

Middle ages

The estate originally belonged to the Cistercian monastery on Hovedøya. At the end of the thirteenth century, Bygdøy was purchased from the Hovedøya monastery by King

Haakon V of Norway Haakon V Magnusson (10 April 1270 – 8 May 1319) ( non, Hákon Magnússon; no, Håkon Magnusson, label= Modern Norwegian) was king of Norway from 1299 until 1319. Biography Haakon was the younger surviving son of Magnus the Lawmender, Ki ...

as a gift for his wife, Queen Euphemia of Rügen. Their daughter,

Ingeborg of Norway Ingeborg of Norway ( Old Norse ''Ingibjörg Hákonardóttir'', Swedish ''Ingeborg Håkansdotter'', Norwegian ''Ingebjørg Håkonsdatter''; 1301 – 17 June 1361), was a Norwegian princess and by marriage a Swedish royal duchess with a positi ...

, later returned the island to the monastery. It was acquired by the king during the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

to supply

Akershus Fortress Akershus Fortress ( no, Akershus Festning, ) or Akershus Castle ( no, Akershus slott ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress ...

and garrison. The King would also use the estate for hunting and a hunting lodge. A zoological garden was set up by King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway.

Current estate

The current main building was erected in 1733 as a summer residence and '' maison de plaisance'' for the Danish Governor of Norway,

Christian Rantzau Christian Rantzau (23 January 1684 – 16 April 1771) was a Danish nobleman and civil servant. He served as Governor-general of Norway from 1731 to 1739. Biography Rantzau was born at Copenhagen, Denmark as son of Otto Rantzau (1632-1719), th ...

(1684-1771). King Christian Frederick lived on the estate in 1814 after he was forced to give up the throne and before he left for Denmark. Following the establishment of the Swedish-Norwegian Union, King

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...

purchased the remaining estate grounds from the Norwegian government in 1837. King Oscar I would later erect the palace

Oscarshall Oscarshall Palace is a ''maison de plaisance'' located in the small fjord Frognerkilen on Bygdøy in Oslo, Norway. History The palace was built from 1847 to 1852 by the Danish architect Johan Henrik Nebelong on commission from King Oscar ...

close to the estate grounds while his son, King Charles IV, later sold much of the estate back to the government. King

Oscar II Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...

, the last king of the union, invested considerably in the estate and constructed six villas which functioned as both residences and guest houses (only one of these villas exists today). King Oscar II also established the world's first

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

on the estate in the year 1881, a museum which in 1907 was overtaken by the

Norwegian Museum of Cultural History Norsk Folkemuseum (Norwegian Museum of Cultural History), at Bygdøy, Oslo, Norway, is a museum of cultural history with extensive collections of artifacts from all social groups and all regions of the country. It also incorporates a large op ...

Recent years

After the election of King

Haakon VII Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick ...

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia ( Shostakovich's 11th Symphony ...

, the King and Queen Maud lived their first year in Norway at the estate while the Royal Palace in Oslo was refurbished. Queen Maud created new English landscape and rock gardens on the estate grounds with the help of

Charles Edward Hubbard Charles Edward Hubbard (23 May 19008 May 1980) was a British botanist, specialising in agrostology – the study of grasses. He was considered "the world authority on the classification and recognition of grasses" in his time. He is indicated by ...

. The royal family would later use the estate as a summer residence, a tradition which was continued by King

Olav V Olav V (; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was the only child of King Haakon VII of Norway and Maud of Wales. He became heir apparent to the Norw ...

and later

King Harald V Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991. Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the lin ...

. A comprehensive restoration of the main building and gardens began in 2004. The buildings and gardens have undergone extensive refurbishments and the estate is again set to be the regular summer residence of

Harald V Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991. Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the li ...

and Queen Sonja . As a birthday present when the king and queen turned 70 in the year 2007, the Norwegian government restored a statue of Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg, which was erected by King Charles IV and unveiled in 1845, while also restoring the original buildings in the '' Dronningberget''-park which is close to the estate.

Public accessibility

Bygdøy Royal Estate is the largest organic dairy producer in the city of Oslo with a visit yard, riding school, organic food production and

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

. Jams from fruit grown on the farm are for sale. There is a

cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

in the gardener's house every Saturday and Sunday most of the year. Opening hours: Saturday and Sunday 12 noon - 4 pm. The farm buildings ''except the main building and the royal park'', such as the stable and the barn are open to the public every Saturday from March to June and August to October.Lørdagsåpen gård
at the official website in Norwegian

Gallery

File:Bryllupsfest på Bygdø kongsgård i 1869 OB.OT072.jpg, Royal wedding celebrations in 1869 File:Bygdøy Royal Estate 1903.jpg, The estate in 1903 File:Bygdø kongsgårds have med dam og bro i 1935 OB.X0803.jpg, The estate's

English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

File:Kongen, Dronningen og Kronprinsen, 1924 (6958859457).jpg, King Haakon VII, Crown Prince Olav and Queen Maud in the estate gardens, 1924 File:Christian Frederiks vei - kongsgården.jpg, Gates leading to Bygdøy Royal Estate File:Bygdøy kongsgård (29. april 2018).jpg, Aerial view of the estate in 2018

References

External links

Bygdø Royal Farm - From the Royal House of Norway
(In English)
Official website in Norwegian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bygdoy Royal Estate Bygdøy Houses completed in 1733 Buildings and structures in Oslo Palaces in Norway Royal residences in Norway