Bregentved is a

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 ...

located 3 km east of

Haslev Haslev, the largest town in Faxe municipality, lies in the southern part of Zealand, Denmark. About from Copenhagen, it has a population of 12,119 (1 January 2022).

on the Danish island of Zealand. It has been owned by the

Moltke The House of Moltke is the name of an old German noble family. The family was originally from Mecklenburg, but apart from Germany, some of the family branches also resided throughout Scandinavia. Members of the family have been noted as pigfa ...

family since the middle of the 18th century.

History

Early history

The first known reference to Bregentved is from 1319 when King Eric VI of Denmark passed the estate to Roskilde Abbey. From the end of the 14th century the property was owned by a succession of aristocratic families, including that of Krognos in the 16th century, until 1718 when it was acquired by King Frederick IV. In the eighteenth century Bregentved was in consecutive Birks, so had separate legal jurisdiction from Haslev Sogn (parish) and old Ringsted Herred (hundred). The north wing still extant in the early 21st century was built 1731-36 by architect Lauritz de Thurah and has a black-tiled, hipped roof. It contains a chapel on the first floor.

Moltke era

In 1746, King Frederick V granted the Bregentved estate to Adam Gottlob Moltke, one of his closest companions who was at the same time made

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 c ...

and a count. Over the next few years, Moltke adapted the two remaining wings with the assistance of the architects G.D. Anthon and Nicolai Eigtved. Moltke also commissioned Eigtved to build him a large mansion in Copenhagen, the south-western of the four Amalienborg Palaces, which was completed in 1754. At Bregentved, Moltke introduced several agricultural reforms to the management of the estate with inspiration from Holstein. A. G. Moltke died at Bregentved on 25 September 1792, passing his estates to his oldest son,

Joachim Godske Moltke Joachim Godske von Moltke (25 July 1746 – 5 October 1818) was the Prime Minister of Denmark from 1814 to 1818. He was also father of Prime Minister Adam Wilhelm Moltke and the son of Danish diplomat Adam Gottlob Moltke. Early life Joachim Godske ...

, who ceded their mansion in Copenhagen to the royal family after the fire of

Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...

in 1794. As a replacement, Adam Wilhelm Moltke, who had just left office as the first

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

under Denmark's 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 ...

, acquired a new mansion which became known as Moltke's Mansion. After the harvests at Bregentved Manor and other family holdings, he would move his entire household to Copenhagen. In the 1880s, Count

Frederik Christian Moltke Frederik Christian Moltke (20 August 1854 - 23 October 1936) was a Danish politician and landowner. Early life and education Moltke was born on 20 August 1854 at Turebyholm, the eldest son of chamberlain Frederik Georg Julius Moltke (1825–75) ...

decided to modernize the house. He demolished the two Eigtved wings and replaced them with two new wings which were completed in 1891 to the design of the architect Axel Berg.

Architecture

The main east wing and the south wing of the present three-winged building date from Axel Berg's 1891 rebuilding and stand on Eigtved's foundations. They are designed in the

Neo-Rococo The Rococo Revival style emerged in Second Empire France and then was adapted in England. Revival of the rococo style was seen all throughout Europe during the 19th century within a variety of artistic modes and expression including decorative ...

style and are topped by a

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. Th ...

in copper and tile. The east wing has a three-bay risalit with pilasters and a triangular pediment, and a two-bay corner risilit at each end with segmental pediments. The entrance tower also dates from Berg's expansion. The north wing was built 1731-36 by Lauritz de Thurah and has a black-tiled, hipped roof. It contains a chapel on the first floor which has sculptor Johann Friedrich Hännel.

Gardens

In the 1760s, A. G. Moltke commissioned

Nicolas-Henri Jardin Nicolas-Henri Jardin (22 March 1720 – 31 August 1799) was a French architect. Born in St. Germain des Noyers, Seine-et-Marne, Jardin worked seventeen years in Denmark–Norway as an architect to the Danish royal court. He introduced neoclassic ...

to create a garden in the

French formal garden 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 ...

style but it was adapted into a

landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

in 1835. Some features have been retained from Jardin's garden, including avenues, and traces of a

parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...

surrounded by canals and a system of fountains, which was restored in 1994. Some vases and Frederik V's Obelisk (1770) by

Johannes Wiedewelt Johannes Wiedewelt (1 July 1731 – 17 December 1802), Danish neoclassical sculptor. He became a court sculptor, introducing neoclassical ideals to Denmark in the form of palace decorations, garden sculptures and artifacts and, especially, m ...

also date from this garden as does a copy of a statue by

Giambologna Giambologna (1529 – 13 August 1608), also known as Jean de Boulogne (French), Jehan Boulongne (Flemish) and Giovanni da Bologna (Italian), was the last significant Italian Renaissance sculptor, with a large workshop producing large and small ...

. The garden also features a statue of A. W. Moltke by

Herman Wilhelm Bissen Herman Wilhelm Bissen (13 October 1798 – 10 March 1868) was a Danish sculptor. Biography Bissen was born at Schleswig in the Duchy of Schleswig. He was the son of Christian Gottlieb Wilhelm Bissen (1766-1847), a farmer, and Anna Margreth ...

in 1858-59.

Bregentved today

Bregentved-Turebyholm covers 6,338 hectares of which just over half consist of agricultural land and the rest of forest. A total of 163 houses also belongs to the estate, including Turebylille, Holtegård, Eskilstrup, Rødehus, Sofiendal, Sprettingegård, Storelinde Overdrevsgård, Ulsegård and Statafgård. The estate maintains a staff of 40 and has a yearly turnover of approximately DKK 60 million. Apart from agriculture and forestry, the revenues derive from house rental, hiring-out of hunting areas, hiring-out of storage facilities and machine pool services. There is no public access to the house but the park is open to the public on Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Admission is free of charge.

List of owners

* ( -1319) The Crown * (1319- ) Ringsted Abbey * ( -1364) Hesso Hvittensee * ( -1364) Karl Nielsen * (1364-1382) St. Clare's Priory, Roskilde * (1382- ) Oluf Grubbe * ( - ) Margrethe, gift (1) Grubbe (2) Bydelsbak * ( -1414) Erik Bydelsbak * (1414-1433) Laurids Eriksen Bydelsbak * (1433-1456) Niels Pedersen Gyldenstjerne * (1456-1504) Mourits Nielsen Gyldenstjerne * (1504-1506) Oluf Stigsen Krognos * (1506- ) Anne Mouritsdatter Gyldenstjerne, gift 1) Krognos, 2) * Podebusk * ( -1541) Predbjørn Podebusk * (1541-1545) Anne Mouritsdatter Gyldenstjerne, gift 1) Krognos, 2) Podebusk * ( - ) Anders Bentsen Bille * ( - ) Bent Andersen Bille * (1545-1550) :da:Mourits Olufsen Krognos * (1550-1563) Eline Gøye, gift Krognos * (1563-1573) Oluf Mouritsen Krognos * (1573-1575) Anna Hardenberg * (1575-1581) Christoffer Gøye * (1581-1630) Steen Brahe * (1630) Erik Steensen Brahe * (1630) Falk Gøye * (1630-1658) Frederik Knudsen Urne * (1658-1668) Karen Hansdatter Arentfeldt, gift Urne * (1668-1682) Ove Juul * (1682-1709) Frederik Gabel * (1709-1718) Christian Carl Gabel * (1718-1731) The Crown * (1731-1740)

Poul Vendelbo Løvenørn Poul Thomsen Vendelbo de Løvenørn, born Poul Thomsen (5 April 1686 – 27 February 1740) was a Danish military officer, diplomat and landowner. He served as Secretary of War and Minister of the Navy in the 1730s and was the owner of Bregentved ...

* (1740) Frederik Poulsen de Løvenørn * (1740-1746) The Crown * (1746-1792) Adam Gottlob Moltke * (1792-1818)

* (1818-1864) Adam Wilhelm Moltke * (1864-1875) Frederik Georg Julius Moltke * (1875-1936)

* (1936-1968) Christian Frederik Gustav Moltke * (1968-1995) Hans Hemming Joachim Christian Moltke * (1995-2017) Christian Georg Peter Moltke * (2017-2019) Frederik Christian Adam Moltke / Christian Georg Peter Moltke * (2019-) Christian Georg Peter Moltke

References

External links

Official website Source
{{Denmark castles and manor houses Manor houses in Faxe Municipality Houses completed in 1736 Houses completed in 1891 Baroque Revival architecture Listed buildings and structures in Faxe Municipality Listed castles and manor houses in Denmark Buildings and structures associated with the Bille family Buildings and structures in Denmark associated with the Løvenørn Buildings and structures in Denmark associated with the Moltke family Tourist attractions in Region Zealand Parks in Denmark