Gunderslevholm is a manor house and estate located 12 km northwest of Næstved in southeastern Denmark. Gunderslevholm has been owned by members of the de Neergaard family since 1803. The main building is located on high ground just west of the Susaa river. It was originally a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

-style mansion built in 1729 for Carl Adolph von Plessen but was in 1787 adapted to the Neoclassical style. Gunderslevholm covers 2,020 hectares of land and 276 hectares of lake (2023).

History

Early history

Gunderslevholm was in the Middle Ages located in the village of Gunderslevmagle, The manor was in the beginning of the 14th century owned by Niels Pedersen who passed it on to his sons Peder Nielsen and Jens Nielsen. Jens Nielsen sold it to Johannes Mogensen Grubbe, a judge of Zealand, in 1333. Grubbe constructed a fortified house on the estate, but it was destroyed by king

Valdemar IV Valdemar IV Atterdag (the epithet meaning "Return of the Day"), or Waldemar (132024 October 1375) was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375. He is mostly known for his reunion of Denmark after the bankruptcy and mortgaging of the country to finance ...

's troops just a few years later, probably because Johannes Mogensen Grubbe had sided with Holstein, in their conflict with the Danish king. Johannes Mogensen Grubbe was killed on the third day of the action. Gunderslev was then passed on to Johannes Mogensen Grubbe's three sons, Mogens Jens Grubbe (later bishop of Børglum), Esbern Rage Grubbe and Bent Biug Grubbe, who had all remained loyal to the king. Bent Biug Grubbe, who later became the sole owner of the estate, served as '' hofmeister'' for

Olaf II of Denmark no, Olav Håkonsson , house = Bjelbo , father = Haakon VI of Norway , mother = Margaret I of Denmark , birth_date = , birth_place = Akershus Castle, Oslo , death_date = , death_place = Falsterbo Ca ...

. His son Jens died without children in 1405. His sister, Cecilie, was married to Tyge Basse. Their daughter was married to Ove Jacobsen Lunge, whose daughter Ellen Ovesdatter Lunge married Axel Lagesen Brok.

Gøye family

Mogens Gøye's first wife, Mette Bydelsbak, the daughter of Albrecht Engelbrechtsen Bydelsbak and Pernille Brock, was the last surviving member of her family after her brother had died in Dithmarschen. Gunderslevholm therefore passed to Mogens Gøye when Axel Lagesen Brok died in 1498. Mogens Gøye constructed a new main building in circa 1530. When Mogens Gøye died in 1544, Gunderslevholm was initially passed to his second eldest son, Eskil Gøye, who died without children in 1560. Gunderslevholm was therefore passed on to his elder brother, Christoffer Gøye. who served in the war against Sweden in 1564-65. He died in Viborg in 1584 but is buried in Gunderslev Kirke (Gunderslev Church). His son and only child had died back in 1550, and Gunderslevholm was there passed to his nephew, Mogens Gøye, a son of his younger brother, Falk Gøye. Mogens Gøye was headmaster of

Herlufsholm Boarding School Herlufsholm School ( da, Herlufsholm Skole og Gods) is a private day and boarding school by the River Suså in Næstved, about south of Copenhagen. Herlufsholm was founded in 1565 as a boarding school for "sons of noble and other honest men" o ...

from 1609.

Krabbe family

Mogens Gøye the Younger's son, Christoffer Gøye, in 1631 sold Gunderslevholm to Ejler Urne. Urne's son-in-law, Flemming Ulfeldt, in 1647 sold Gunderslevholm to

Iver Krabbe Iver Krabbe (March 22, 1602 – October 30, 1666) was a Danish nobleman, military officer, and governor-general in Norway. Biography Iver Krabbe was born at Övedskloster Manor in the province of Scania in eastern Denmark, the son of Tage Krabb ...

. King Frederik III (1609-70) made Iver Krabbe Governor-General of Norway. Iver Krabbe died on Gunderslevholm on 30 October 1666. Gunderslevholm remained in the Krabbe family's possession until 1693.

Changing owners

Birgitte Reedtz, the widow of Markor Rodsteen, purchased Gunderslevholm at an auction in 1693. Reedtz' heir, Christian Rodsteen, a foster son, sold Gunderslevholm to Elisabeth Sophie von Holstein in 1707. She served as lady-in-waiting for the queen. Elisabeth Sophie von Holstein sold Gunderslevholm to a court priest,

Hector Gottfried Masius Hector Gottfried Masius (13 April 1653 – 20 September 1709) was a German Lutheran theologian serving as vice-chancellor of the University of Copenhagen from 1691 to 1692 and, again, from 1700 to 1701. He acquired wealth through marriages and owne ...

, who died shortly thereafter. The Masius family was ennobled under the name von der Maase in 1712. Christian von der Maase expanded the Gunderslevholm estate with more land.

Carl Adolph von Plessen

Carl Adolph von Plessen Carl Adolph von Plessen (18 May 1678 - 30 January 1758) was a Danish statesman and landowner. He played a central role during the early reign of Christian VI but fell out of favour at the court and resigned in 1733. He was a major stakeholder in ...

bought Gunderslevholm in 1725. Plessen constructed a new main building in 1729 and expanded the estate through the acquisition of new land. Carl Adolph von Plessen improved the living conditions for the peasants on his estates, ''e.g.'' through the construction of schools. Carl Adolph von Plessen later included the estate in the Plessenske Fideikommis. The legal effect of a ''fideikommis'' was that the estate could not be sold, mortgaged, or divided between heirs. The Plessenske Fideikommis was converted from land to capital when the Plessen estates were sold in 1803.

de Neergaard family

The new owner of Gunderslevholm was Peter Johansen de Neergaard. He died at Gunderslevholm in 1835 but had already ceded it to his second-oldest son, Carl de Neergaard. Carl de Neergaard had no children and therefore left Gunderslevholm to his nephew Johan Thomas Oluf de Neergaard who was subsequently succeeded by his son Ferdinand Lorenz de Neergaard.

Architecture

The main building is a two storey building which is nine bays wide and whose facade is tipped by a triangular pediment. Its hipped roof is clad with blue-glazed tile.

Today

The current owners are chamberlain Claus Johan Thomas de Neergaard and Christoffer Johan Thomas de Neergaard. Gunderslevholm covers 2,020 hectares of land and 276 hectares of lake (2023).

List of owners

* ( - ) Niels Pedersen * ( -1333) Peder Nielsen * ( -1333) Jens Nielsen * (1333-1345) Johannes Mogensen Grubbe * (1345-1348) Esbern Rage Grubbe * (1345-1369) Mogens Jens Grubbe * (1345-1391) Bent Biug Grubbe * (1391-1405) Jens Grubbe * (1391-1408) Tyge Basse * (1408-1458) Ove Jacobsen Lunge * (1458-1498) Axel Lagesen Brok * (1498-1544) Mogens Gøye * (1544-1560) Eskild Gøye * (1560-1584) Christoffer Gøye * (1584-1615) Mogens Gøye * (1615-1631) Christoffer Gøye * (1631-1640) Ejler Urne * (1640-1647) Flemming Ulfeldt * (1647-1666)

* (1666-1676) Tage Krabbe * (1676-1693) Boet efter Tage Krabbe * (1693-1699) Birgitte Reedtz, gift Rodsteen * (1699-1707) Christian Rodsteen * (1707-1709) Elisabeth Sophie von Holstein * (1709-1719) The heirs of

* (1719-1725) Christian von der Maase * (1725-1758)

* (1758-1803) Carl Adolph von Plessen * (1803-1835) Peter Johansen de Neergaard * (1835-1850) Carl de Neergaard * (1850-1921) Johan Thomas Oluf de Neergaard * (1921-1938) Ferdinand Lorenz de Neergaard * (1938-1947) Marie Henriette Dorothea de Neergaard, née Hansen * (1947-2006) Rolf Viggo de Neergaard * (1981-2019) Claus Johan Thomas de Neergaard * (2019-) Claus Johan Thomas de Neergaard and Christoffer Johan Thomas de Neergaard

References

External links

{{Commons
Official website

Foreningen af den gunderslevholmske gren af slægten Neergaard
Listed buildings and structures in Næstved Municipality Listed castles and manor houses in Denmark Manor houses in Næstved Municipality Neoclassical architecture in Denmark Houses completed in 1787