Vemmetofte Convent ( da, Vemmetofte Adelige Jomfrukloster, Vemmetofte Kloster) is a former

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

Faxe Municipality Faxe municipality is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in Denmark in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand. The municipality covers an area of 406 km² and has a population of 35,418 (2008). Its mayor as of January 2018 is Ole Vive. H ...

south 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 ...

. It was turned into a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

Princess Sophia Hedwig of Denmark Princess Sophia Hedwig of Denmark and Norway (28 August 1677 – 13 March 1735) was a Danish princess, the daughter of King Christian V and his queen-consort, Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel. Biography Sophia Hedwig became the object of ma ...

in 1735. Since 1975 it has provided housing available to the general public.

History

Early history

The oldest known reference to Vemmetofte Manor dates back to 1320 when it was owned by Johannes Offesen, a brother-in-law of Stig Andersen Hvide who owned land both in

Skåneland Skåneland (Swedish and Danish) or Skånelandene (Danish) is a region on the southern Scandinavian peninsula. It includes the Swedish provinces of Blekinge, Halland, and Scania. The Danish island of Bornholm is traditionally also included.For p ...

and on

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

. Later it was owned by members of the aristocratic Brock family from 1464 to 1639. During this early stage of its history it was a strongly fortified house with a ring wall, double moats and draw bridges. After that it passed through the Brahe, Rosenkrandz and Krabbe families before it was bought by Queen Consort Charlotte Amalie in 1694 as part of a larger acquisition of land in the area. She had plans to turn the property into a convent but died in 1714 before they were carried out.

Prince Charles and Princess Sophie Hedvig

The next owner was

Prince Charles of Denmark Prince Charles of Denmark and Norway (26 October 1680 – 8 June 1729) was the fourth son of Christian V of Denmark and his consort Queen Charlotte Amalie, and thus a younger brother of King Frederick IV. He never married and had no children, no ...

, Charlotte Amalie's youngest son, who resided at

Jægerspris Castle Jægerspris Castle ( da, Jægerspris Slot), in Jægerspris on the Hornsherred peninsula west of Copenhagen, is a Denmark, Danish manor house. It has belonged to the Danish monarchs for most of its history which dates back to the 13th century. In ...

which he had been given by his brother, Frederick IV, who had become king in 1699. Prince Charles immediately embarked on a major renovation and expansion of his new property which it would take nine years to complete. When Frederick IV had

Anne Sophie Reventlow Anne Sophie von Reventlow ( da, Anna Sophie; 16 April 1693 – 7 January 1743) was Queen of Denmark and Norway from 1721 to 1730 as the second wife of Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway. Early life Countess Anna Sophie von Reventlow was born in ...

, his spouse by bigamy, crowned as his queen in 1721, it led to a breach between the two brothers, and Prince Charles and their sister, Princess Sophia Hedwig, showed their disapproval by turning their backs on the Court in Copenhagen and taking up residence at Vemmetofte. At Vemmetofte Manor, Charles and Sophie Hedvig maintained an extravagant household. They had a staff of 70 people supervised by their chamberlain,

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 ...

, who had been a close friend of Prince Charles since their youth

The convent

When Prince Charles died in 1729, he left Vemmetofte to Sophie Hedevig who provided that the estate should be turned into a

for unmarried women of noble descent on her death. The princess died on 13 March 1738 and Vemmetofte Convent was founded the same year with von Plessen as its first curator. From the beginning the convent suffered from a constrained economy and only survived due to considerable subsidies from von Plessen. Vemmetofte - moat with swans

The number of women it accommodated varied over the years but was generally 11. According to the charter they either had to be noblewomen or daughters of men from the three highest ranking classes.

Architecture

Vemmetofte's architecture is a result of a number of successive expansions and adaptions. The current main building was first built in 1500 and later expanded from 1600 to 1630. Prince Charles' expansion and redesign from 1714 to 1721 was undertaken with the assistance of

Johan Conrad Ernst Johan Conrad Ernst (16 June 1666 – 23 September 1750) was a Danish architect and royal master builder. He was the son of Johan Adolf Ernst, a successful linen merchant who had immigrated from Nuremberg and had a luxurious residence on Amagertor ...

. It adapted the main building to the

Baroque style 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 ...

and also added a number of new estate buildings as well as a Baroque garden to the premisses. In 1882 and 1883, the architect Theodor Zeltner carried out a rather rough renovation to a Historicist style which resulted in an unfortunate attempt to recreate a Renaissance castle. In 1907 Acel Berg undertook another major renovation which completely changed its appearance.

Today

Since a revision of its charter in 1975, Vemmetofte has been open to other tenants. The estate covering 2,293 hectares includes Højstrup Manor Marelundsgård.

Churchyard

Notable burials in the associated churchyard include: * Karen Bardenfleth (18921872), missionary * Christian Henrik Brasch (17111894), writer, clergy and historian * Carsten Friis Jespersen (19021988), engineer, CEO and philanthropist *

Maria Nielsen Maria Nielsen (1882–1931) was a Danish historian and headmistress. In 1919, she became one of the first women in Denmark to head a public high school when she was appointed rector of Rysensteen Gymnasium in Copenhagen. She was particularly att ...

(18821931), headmistress and historian

List of owners

* ( -1349) Johannes Offesen * (1349- ) Jens Lauridsen Panter * ( - ) Jens Andersen Brock * ( -1421) Iven Bryske * (1421- ) Johanne Nielsdatter Brock, gift 1) Bryske, 2) von Witzen, 3) Thott * ( -1456) Fikke von Witzen * (1456- ) Johanne Nielsdatter Brock, gift 1) Bryske, 2) von Witzen, 3) Thott * ( -1464) Oluf Axelsen Thott * (1464- ) Johanne Nielsdatter Brock, gift 1) Bryske, 2) von Witzen, 3) Thott * (1472-1504) Lave Brock * (1504-1529) Boet efter Lave Esgesen Brock * (1529-1534) Niels Brock * (1529-1545) Truid Gregersen Ulfstand * (1534-1541) Jytte Podebusk, gift 1) Brock, 2) Gyldenstierne * (1541-1544) Knud Gyldenstierne * (1544-1565) Lauge Brock * (1545-1559) Jens Truidsen Ulfstand * (1565-1595) Margrete Esgesdatter Bille, gift Brock * (1545-1566) Jens Ulfstand * (1566-1575) Niels Ulfstand * (1575-1590) Sophie Ulfstand, gift Podebusk * (1590-1599) Claus Podebusk * (1595-1625) Esge Brock * (1625-1640) Tyge Brahe * (1640-1641) Axel Brahe * (1641-1647) Holger Rosenkrantz * (1641) Palle Rosenkrantz * (1641-1662) Karen Krabbe, gift 1) Friis, 2) Rosenkrantz * (1662-1666) Iver Krabbe * (1647-1663) Niels Trolle * (1666-1680) Karen Marsvin, gift Krabbe * (1680-1694) Anne Sophie Krabbe, gift Urne * (1680-1694) Margrete Krabbe, gift 1) Ulfeldt, 2) Rosenkrantz * (1694-1714) Queen

Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel (27 April 1650 – 27 March 1714) was Queen of Denmark and Norway by marriage to King Christian V. Although she did not have much political influence, she was a successful businesswoman in her many estates and pro ...

* (1714-1729)

* (1729-1735)

* (1735- ) Vemmetofte Kloster

References

{{Authority control Manor houses in Faxe Municipality Castles in Region Zealand Religious buildings and structures in Denmark Lutheran women's convents