Søholt is a manor house located on the southern shore of the Maribo Lakes on

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of Region Sjælland (Region Zealand). As of 1 January 2022, it has 57,618 inhabitant ...

in southeastern

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 ...

. The main building is from 1804 but was adapted to the

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

style in the second half of the 19th century. The Baroque-style garden is open to the public.

History

Early history

The manor was established by Morten Venstermand in the middle of the 16th century. His widow, Anne Andersdatter Galt, brought Søholt into her second marriage to Falk Axelsen Brahe. He struggled with economic difficulties and therefore chose to sell Søholt to his brother-in-law Eiler Quitzow in 1618. Henrik Heest, a nobleman from Holstein, purchased Søholt from Quitzow in 1624. In 1637, it was sold by his nephew to Jobst Frederik von Papenheim. Papenheim had shortly after his arrival in Denmark won the favour of the king and had therefore been appointed as squire (''kammerjunker'') for crown prince Christian. He constructed a new main building in 1647. It consisted of two two-storey, half-timbered buildings. The one to the east was the main wing. The one to the west contained a scullery, washroom and residential quarters for staff.

Lützow family

Papenheim's widow Regitze Knudsdatter kept the estate after his death in 1649 but ravaging and looting Swedish troops left it in a poor condition after the

Swedish Wars This is a list of wars involving the Kingdom of Sweden. There are legendary accounts of Swedish kings well into prehistory and they are mentioned by Tacitus in his '' Germania'', but St. Olof Skötkonung (995–1022) was the first ruler docume ...

. The reconstruction was financed by pledging the estate. Henning Ulrich von Lützow, acreditor, took over the estate in 1790. Lützow expanded the main building into a three-winged complex in the fashionable Italian style. A chapel was in 1698 inaugurated by

Thomas Kingo Thomas Hansen Kingo (15 December 1634 – 14 October 1703 Odense) was a Danish bishop, poet and hymn-writer born at Slangerup, near Copenhagen. His work marked the high point of Danish baroque poetry. His father was a weaver of modest means ...

in the east wing. Lützow also adapted he garden to a more modern

garden à la française The French formal garden, also called the (), is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the l ...

design. In 1691, he was appointed as Prefect of Lolland Falster and County Governor of NyKøbing County. His luxurious lifestyle was later continued by his son, Christian Frederik von Lützow, who inherited Søholt in 1722.

The Krogh family

Lützow's wife, Anna Sophie Holsten, who became a widow in 1759, sold Søholt and the other estates to their son-in-la Hans von Krogh. Krogh had no children and in 1784 ceded Søholt to his nephew, Godske Hans von Krogh the Younger. After his early death, in 1790, Søholt passed to his brother, Caspar Hermann von Krogh, who would however only survive his brother by a year. On his death bed he married his late brother's fiancé, Elisabeth Catharina Lehn. She was a daughter of

Poul Abraham Lehn Poul Abraham Lehn (9 October 1732 – 24 October 1804), Baron of Lehn and Baron of Guldborgland, was a feudal baron of the Danish and Norwegian nobility and one of the greatest landowners of his time in Denmark. Biography His father was Abrah ...

, Baron of Hvidkilde and

Guldborgsund Guldborgsund is the strait between the Danish islands of Lolland and Falster. It connects Smålandsfarvandet in the north with the Bay of Mecklenburg in the south. The strait is about 30 kilometers long; its breadth varies from 150 meters at Gu ...

. A few years later, in 1796, she then married Julian Christian von Bertouch, but they would only have five years together since she died just 20 years old on a journey to

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

in October 1802.

The Bertouch family

Bertouch married Louise Juliane von Wallmoden in 1803. He constructed a new main wing between the two main wings in 1804. The couple would later gather many prominent artists and writers on the estate in the summer time, including BBertel Thorvaldsen and

Adam Oehlenschläger Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger (14 November 177920 January 1850) was a Danish poet and playwright. He introduced romanticism into Danish literature. He wrote the lyrics to the song ''Der er et yndigt land'', which is one of the national anthems ...

. Julian Christian and Louise Juliane von Bertouch died just two days apart in September 1831 and Søholt was then sold at auction.

Later history

The new owner was Laurits Kierkegaard. In 1852, Søholt was again sold at auction. The new owner was Laurits Jørgensen. He demolished the two side wings in 1853 and adapted the main wing the following year. He was after his death in 1889 succeeded by his son Henrik Jørgensen and then his grandson Poul Christian Clausen Jørgensen. In 1917, Søholt was acquired by the broker Peter Ole Suhr. He was hit by economic difficulties during the

economic crisis An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the p ...

and Søhholt was therefore, in 1937, taken over by Creditkassen for Landejendomme i Østifterne. The mortgage fund sold it to

Valdemar Henckel Valdemar Henckel (1 April 1877 – 16 January 1953) was a Danish businessman and real estate developer. He founded Kalundborg Shipyard in 1918. Early life and education Valdemar Petersen was born at Fødselsstiftelsen in Copenhagen. His father di ...

, the owner of Kalundborg Shipyard. In 1940, he sold it to Eiler Marcher (1904-1975).

Architecture

The main building is designed in the

style with Flammish gables. It is a whitewashed two-storey building with a short cross wing to the east and a short tower to the west.

Today

Søholt is today owned by Frederik von Lüttichau. The Engestofte-Søholt estate covers 937.50 hectares of land.

List of owners

* (1576-1610) Morten Venstermand * (1610-1616) Anne Andersdatter Galt, gift 1) Venstermand og 2) Brahe * (1616-1618) Falk Brahe * (1618-1624) Eiler Quitzow * (1624-1628) Henrik Heest * (1628-1636) Nevøer og niecer til Henrik Heest * (1636-1637) Benedict Heest * (1637-1649) Jobst Frederik von Papenheim * (1649-1679) Regitze Knudsdatter Urne, gift von Papenheim * (1679-1685) Georg von Papenheim * (1785) Thomas Groot * (1685-1690) Christian von Papenheim * (1685-1722) Henning Ulrik von Lützow * (1722-1730) Anna Magdalene von Hardenberg, gift von Lützow * (1735-1759) Christian Frederik von Lützow * (1759-1760) Anna Sophie Holsten, gift von Lützow * (1760-1784) Godske Hans von Krogh * (1784-1790) Godske Hans von Krogh den Yngre * (1790-1791) Caspar Hermann von Krogh * (1791-1796) Elisabeth Catharina Lehn, gift 1) von Krogh og 2) von Bertouch * (1796-1831) Frederik Julian Christian von Bertouch * (1831-1842) Laurits Kierkegaard * (1842-1852) Dødsboet efter Laurits Kierkegaard * (1852-1889) Laurits Jørgensen * (1889-1892) Henrik Jørgensen * (1892-1917) Poul Christian Clausen Jørgensen * (1917-1937) Peter Ole Suhr * (1937) Creditkassen for Landejendomme i Østifterne * (1937-1940)

* (1940-1975) Eiler Marcher * (1975-1995) Frants Marcher * (1994) William Erik Berntsen * (1994-1995) William Odd Berntsen * (1995-2003) Berntsen Fonden * (2003- ) Frederik von Lüttichau

References

External links

Source
{{Lolland Manor houses in Lolland Municipality Renaissance Revival architecture in Denmark da:Søholt (Krønge Sogn)