Esviken (formerly Esvigen) is a

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

surrounded by an elaborate garden. It is located on a former farm on Leangbukta bay between Vettre and Konglungen in

Asker Asker ( no, Asker), properly called Askerbygda in Norwegian, is a district and former Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus, Norway. From 2020 it is part of the larger administrative municipality Asker, Viken (also known as Greate ...

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 t ...

History

Industrialist

Halvor Schou Halvor Arntzen Schou (11 May 1823 – 5 February 1879) was a Norwegian industrialist. He was the founder of the Hjula Væveri weaving mill in Oslo. Biography Halvor Schou was born in Christiania (now Oslo, Norway). He was a son of Chri ...

(1823–1879) and his wife Anna Cecilie Crowe (1829–1914) bought Løkenes farm in the late 1860s. They commissioned the villa to be designed by noted architect

Wilhelm von Hanno Andreas Friedrich Wilhelm von Hanno (15 December 1826 – 12 December 1882) was a German-born Norwegian architect, sculptor and painter. He was among the leading architects in Norway during the middle of the 1800s. Biography Wilhelm von Hanno ...

(1826–1882). Esviken was completed in 1872 and used by Schou and his heirs as a summer residence. Their daughter Birgitte Halvordine Schou (1847-1923) was married to industrialist

Einar Westye Egeberg Einar Westye Egeberg Sr. (23 July 1851 – 7 June 1940) was a Norwegian businessperson and politician for the Conservative Party. Personal life He was born in Kristiania as a son of Peder Cappelen Egeberg (1810–1874) and Hanna Wilhelmine Scheel ...

(1851–1940). They inherited the villa and half of the surrounding property. Their daughter Hermine Egeberg (1881–1974) was married from 1901 to Count

Peder Anker Wedel-Jarlsberg Peder Anker, Count of Wedel-Jarlsberg (born 18 August 1875, died 13 October 1954) was a Norwegian courtier, military officer and estate owner. He served as Lord Chamberlain for King Haakon VII of Norway from 1931 to 1945 and was one of the King's ...

(1875-1954). Wedel-Jarlsberg was

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main cha ...

for King

Haakon VII of Norway 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 V ...

from 1931 to 1945 and one of the King's closest confidants for over thirty year. Esviken is located close to

Skaugum Skaugum is an estate, manor house and the official residence of Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and his wife Crown Princess Mette-Marit. The estate is located in Asker municipality, southwest of Oslo, by the foot of the mountain Skaugumsåsen. The ...

which was owned by the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...

. The King and Queen visited Esviken many times. Formally, Hermine and Peder Anker Wedel-Jarlsberg took over the property in 1930, but in reality, this happened around thirty years earlier. The Wedel-Jarlsberg family extended the garden significantly. In 1960, the property was inherited by their daughter Hedevig Wedel-Jarlsberg (1913–1996), who married Per Christian Cornelius Paus (1910-1986), his wife's distant cousin and himself a descendant of the Schou family. In 1996, their children Cornelia Paus, Christopher Paus and

Peder Nicolas Paus Peder Nicolas Paus (; born 22 November 1945) is a Norwegian banker and investor in the petroleum industry. He is a co-founder and former chairman of the international oil and gas exploration company Questerre Energy Corporation. Background He is a ...

inherited the property. The property was sold to

municipality in 1999. The villa and garden were listed as a protected cultural heritage site by the

Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage The Directorate for Cultural Heritage ( no, Riksantikvaren or ''Direktoratet for kulturminneforvaltning'') is a government agency responsible for the management of cultural heritage in Norway. Subordinate to the Norwegian Ministry of the Environm ...

in 2006. 107057 Esviken

References

External links

Esviken website
{{coord, 59.8333, N, 10.4856, E, source:wikidata, display=title Historic farms in Norway Farms in Akershus Houses in Norway Houses completed in the 19th century Asker Wedel-Jarlsberg family Paus family