Merløsegaard is a manor house located 9 kilometres north of Ringsted, close to the village of Store Merløse,

Holbæk Municipality Holbæk municipality is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in northwestern Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in Denmark. The municipality includes the island of Orø, and covers an area of 583 km², and has a total p ...

, some sixty 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 ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. Merløsegaard and nearby

Bonderup Bonderup, also known as Bonderupgård, is a manor house located south of Holbæk, Denmark. It was purchased by the merchant Johannes Theodorus Suhr in 1852 and is now owned by the Suhr Family Trust (Den Suhrske Stiftelse). History The first know ...

are owned by Den Suhrske Stiftelse. The buildings are now operated as a hotel and event venue.

History

Early history

The estate was established as a manor in 1678 by colonel Lauritz Munk. The requirement for an estate to have status of ''sædegård'' ("seat") was 200 ''tønder hartkorn'' of land within a distance of 2 Danish miles and the reward was tax exemption and other privileges. Merløsegaard was later sold to

assessor An assessor may be: * ''Assessor'' (fish), a genus of fishes * Assessor (law), the assistant to a judge or magistrate * Assessor (Oxford), a senior officer of the University of Oxford * Assessor (property), an expert who calculates the value of pr ...

Eiler Jacobsen Eilert, the owner of neighboring

. He had previously also been the owner of Tårnborg at

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 ...

from 1692 to 1699, In 1719,Eilert sold Merløsegaard to Poul Sadolin. After just four years, he sold the estate to district judge Johannes Christiansen who soon thereafter sold it to Johannes Winckler. He was already leasing Skjoldenæsholm. In 1727, Merløsegaard was acquired by count

Ferdinand Anton Danneskiold-Laurvig Ferdinand Anton Danneskiold-Laurvig (or Laurwigen; 1 July 1688 – 18 September 1754), count of Larvik, ''Gehejmekonferensråd'' ( Privy Councillor) and director of the Danish West India Company from 1723. Early life and education The son of Ul ...

. Merløsegaard was after his death in 1754 passed on to his son Frederik Ludvig Danneskiold-Laurvig.

Neergaard family

Danneskiold-Laurvig's heirs sold the estate to War Councillor Peter Johansen Neergaard in 1763. He was succeeded on the estate by his youngest son Johan Thomas de Neergaard. His son, Peter Johansen Neergaard, passed it on to his nephew, Tønnes Christian Bruun de Neergaard.

Moltke and Knuth

In 1706, Merløsegaard was sold to Frederik Knuth. He soon thereafter sold the estate to Count Adam Wilhelm Moltke of Bregentved. He served as the first Prime Minister of Denmark in the new

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

from 1848 to 1852.

Suhr family

Johannes Theodorus Suhr Johannes Theodor(us) Suhr (2 April 1792 – 10 November 1858) was a Danish merchant and industrialist. He owned the Suhr House at Gammeltorv in Copenhagen as well as Sølyst north of the city and was the founder of the foundation Den Suhrske St ...

, a wealthy merchant from Copenhagen, purchased the estate in 1858. Suhr ceded Merløsegaard and Bonderup to a new family trust, Den Sturhske Stiftels.

Architecture

The current main building was constructed after a fire in 1928. It is a one-storey, white-washed building with a half-hipped

Mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...

clad with red tile. It is set in a park with 300-years old oak trees, mirror pond and rose garden.

Today

Merløsegaard and Bonderup are still owned by Den Suhrske Stiftelse. The two estates have a combined area of 1,310 hectares. Merløsegaard's main building is operated as a seven-room hotel and event venue by a tenant. The hotel is a member of

Small Danish Hotels Small Danish Hotels is the largest hotel chain in Denmark, consisting of approximately 80 privately owned inns, hotels, castles and manor houses scattered throughout Denmark. The chain is a member of the Global Alliance of Private Hotels. Hist ...

List of owners

* (1678- ) Lauritz Munk * ( -1719) Eiler Jacobsen Eilert * (1719-1723) Poul Sadolin * (1723) Johannes Christensen * (1723-1727) Johannes Winckler * (1727-1754)

* (1754-1763) Frederik Ludvig Danneskiold-Laurvig (* 1763-1772) Peter Johansen Neergaard * (1772-1795) Johan Thomas Petersen de Neergaard * (1795-1796) Peter Johansen Neegaard * (1797-1807) Tønnes Christian Bruun de Neergaard * (1807- ) Frederik Knuth * ( -1858) Adam Wilhelm Moltke * (1858)

* (1858- ) Den Suhrske Stiftelse

References

{{reflist

Rxternal links

Merløsegaard Hotel

Source
Manor houses in Holbæk Municipality Hotels in Denmark Buildings and structures associated with the Neergaard family Buildings and structures associated with the Suhr family 1678 establishments in Denmark Houses completed in 1928