Espe is a manor house and estate located at

Boeslunde Boeslunde is a village on Zealand, in Slagelse Municipality, Region Zealand in Denmark. It is located 7 km north of Skælskør, 9 km east of Korsør and 14 km south of Slagelse. History Boeslunde and the surrounding area has a history rich in ar ...

, between

Korsør Korsør is a town on Zealand, Denmark. It is located in Slagelse Municipality. Until 2007 Korsør was the seat of Korsør Municipality. The town is located west of Slagelse, north-west of Skælskør and connects to Nyborg through the Great Bel ...

and

Skælskør Skælskør () is a town in Zealand, Denmark. It is located in Slagelse Municipality. Until 2007 Skælskør was the seat of Skælskør Municipality. The town is located 17 km southwest of Slagelse and 12 km southeast of Korsør. Skæls ...

Slagelse Municipality Slagelse Municipality is a municipality ( Danish: '' kommune'') in Region Zealand on the west coast of the island of Zealand (Danish: ''Sjælland'') in Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 571 km². The municipality borders Kalundborg ...

, some 100 kilometres southwest of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. Espe has been listed on the Danish registry of protected buildings and places since 1918. The main building dates to the 18th century but was adapted to the Late Neoclassical style in 1848. The manor and estate has been owned by members of the

Moltke family The House of Moltke is the name of an old German noble family. The family was originally from Mecklenburg, but apart from Germany, some of the family branches also resided throughout Scandinavia. Members of the family have been noted as pigfarme ...

since 1810.

History

Early history

Espe was originally the name of a village. In the Middle Ages, it belonged to the church. After the Reformation, it was confiscated by the Crown together with all other property of the Catholic church. In 1541 the village was replaced by a manor of the same name. In 1561, Espe was ceded to chancellor Johan Friis in exchange for property at

. Espe was subsequently managed as a farm under Borreby. In 1667, Dorthe Daa sold Espe to Anders Mogensen. He ser as mayor of

. The estate was probably later acquired by Anders Hansen, since his widow, Anne Marie Andersdatter, is recorded as the owner in 1689.

17th century

Anne Marie Andersdatter sold Espe in 1723 to Mette Rosenkrantz (died 1630). It was then sold by auction in 1730 for 10,000 rigsdaler to colonel lieutenant Christian Frederik de Boysset. He had also bought nearby

Basnæs Basnæs is a manor house and estate located southeast of Skælskør, Slagelse Municipality, Denmark. The Gothic Revival style main building is a three-storey building with three corner towers designed by Gustav Friedrich Hetsch. The estate covers ...

. He sold Espe by auction 1736 for 7,810 rigsdaler to merchant in

Sorø Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in east Denmark. The population is 7,999 (2022).

Poul Schnabel. He sold it in 1747 for 8,200 rigsdaler to army major Friederich Lorentz von Bülow. In the same year, he had also bought Bonderup at Korsør. The two estates were later by his son sold for 15,510 rigsdaler to Johan Ludvig Schwerman. He sold it them in 1758 to Peder Christensen. Espe and Bonderup were subsequently sold to different buyers. Espe was sold to Folmer Danchel (died 1773). The new owner, Hans Thibi, committed suicide later that same year. Espe was sold in 1774 to . Back in 1760, he had also bought

Gerdrup Gerdrup, formerly Gjerup, is a manor house and estate located three kilometres north of Skælskør, Slagelse Municipality, Denmark. The estate was from 1760 to 1919 owned by members of the Qvistgaard family and has since then been owned by the F ...

and Lyngbygård. In 1775, he increased his holdings even further with the acquisition of part of Antvorskov Cavalry Fistrict. He was a member of the 1786 Agriculture Commission where he opposed the abolition of '' stavnsbåndet''. He was the father of

Iver Qvistgaard Iver Qvistgaard (28 October 1767 8 October 1829) was a Danish civil servant, landowner and mayor of Copenhagen. He owned Aagaard (manor house), Aagaard Manor at Holbæk and the country house Wesselsminde at Nærum. He also engaged in a number of ...

. 1In 1788, he ceded Espe to another son, Johan Rehling Quistgaard, who sold the estate in 1798.

19th century

In 1810, after having changed hands three more times, Espe was acquired by Otto Joachim Moltke. In 1825, he also purchased Bonderup. Moltke sold most of the tenant farms to the copyholders and constructed a new main building. He died in 1858. Espe and Bonderup then went to his son, Adam Gottlob Moltke, who was succeeded by his son Joachim Vilhelm Moltke in 1863. He died just five years later and his widow then managed the estate on behalf of their newborn son, Adam Gottlob Moltke. He ended up owning Espe for 90 years but for long periods of time lived elsewhere. After his death in 1958, Espe went to Adam Moltke-Huitfeldt.

Today

The current owner is Elise Josephine Moltke-Huitfeldt.

Cultural references

Espe was used as a location in the 1954 drama film ''

Landmandsliv ''A Farmer's Life'' ( da, Landmandsliv) is a 1965 Danish comedy film directed by Erik Balling and starring Lone Hertz, Morten Grunwald and Ellen Winther Lembourn.Sundholm p.68 It is based on the classic German novel '' From My Farming Days'' by F ...

''.

List of owners

* ( -1561) Kronen * (1561-1570) Johan Friis * (1570-1616) Christian Friis * (1616-1617) Mette Hardenberg, gift Friis * (1617-1618) Dorthe Friis, gift Daa * (1618-1641) Claus Daa * (1641-1652) Jørgen Daa * (1641- ) Dorthe Clausdatter Daa, gift Krabbe * ( - ) Gregers Krabbe * ( -1667) Dorthe Clausdatter Daa, gift Krabbe * (1667-1682) Anders Mortensen * (1682- ) Anderse Hansen * ( -1703) Anne Marie Andersdatter, gift Hansen * (1703-1719) Gerlach Thigullius * (1719-1723) Anne Marie Andersdatter, gift Hansen * (1723-1730) Mette Rosenkrantz, gift Ramel * (1730) Boet efter Mette Rosenkrantz, gift Ramel * (1730-1736) Christian Frederik de Boysset * (1736-1747) Poul Schnabel * (1747-1748) Frederik Lorentz von Bülow * (1748-1750) Boet efter Frederik Lorentz von Bülow * (1750-1758) Johan Ludvig Schwermann * (1758-1760) Peder Christensen * (1760-1773) Folmer Danchel * (1773) Hans G. Thibi * (1773-1775) Boet efter Hans G. Thibi * (1775-1788) Morten Iversen Qvistgaard * (1788-1798) Johan Rehling Qvistgaard * (1798-1804) Cosmus Bornemann * (1804-1805) Simon Groth Clausen * (1805- ) Hans Frederik Uldall * ( -1810) Frederik Christian Hansen * (1810-1853) Otto Joachim Moltke * (1853-1863) Adam Gottlob Moltke * (1863-1868) Otto Joachim Vilhelm Moltke * (1868-1958) Adam Gottlob Moltke * (1958-1977) Adam Nicolas Moltke-Huitfeldt * ( -2013) Adam Carl Moltke-Huitfeldt * (2013- ) Elise Josephine Moltke-Huitfeldt

References

External links

Official website

Source
{{Slagelse Municipality Manor houses in Slagelse Municipality Listed buildings and structures in Slagelse Municipality Listed castles and manor houses in Denmark Neoclassical architecture in Denmark Houses completed in 1848 Buildings and structures of the Friis family Buildings and structures of the Daa family Buildings and structures of the Krabbe family Buildings and structures in Denmark of the Moltke family Buildings and structures of the Huitfeldt family