Jomfruens Egede 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 w ...

located three kilometres north-west of

Faxe Faxe or Fakse is a town on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. It is located in Faxe Municipality in Region Zealand. The town is most known for the Faxe Brewery, Royal Unibrew, a relatively large brewery producing a range of beer and soft ...

, a small town some 40 km 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 ...

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. It owes its current appearance to

Sophie Amalie Moth Sophie Amalie Moth, Countess of Samsøe (28 March 1654 – 17 January 1719) was the officially acknowledged royal mistress of King Christian V of Denmark. Together they had six acknowledged illegitimate children, all of whom bore the surname G ...

who in the late 18th century altered it with the assistance of Caspar Frederik Harsdorff and

Joseph Christian Lillie Joseph Christian Lillie (20 March 1760 – 29 January 1827), also known as J.C. Lillie, was a Danish neoclassical architect and interior designer. His early career was in Denmark, where he is mainly known for his interior designs and furniture p ...

. The

National Museum of Denmark The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from Strøget ...

has described it as possibly the finest example from the period.

History

Early history

Jomfruens Egede traces its history back to 1346 when it was owned by Uffe Pedersen Neb, a loyal supporter of King Valdemar IV, and known as Egedegaard. Etymologically, Egede- derives from an old form 'large oak forest' while -gaard means 'farm' or 'manor'. Its name, which means 'Egede of the Lady' refers to two unmarried noble women, Ermegaard and Birgitte Bille, who in 1542 inherited the estate from their father.

Sophie Amalie Moth and the new house

In 1674 the estate was acquired by King Christian V's mistress,

, who received official recognition and was appointed Countess of Samsø on 31 December 1677. After Christian V's death in 1699 she retired to the estate where she led a quiet life until her own death in 1719. The property was then owned by their son,

Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve, Count of Samsø {{Infobox noble, type , name = Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve , title = Count of Samsø , image = Christian Ulrik Gyldenløve.JPG , caption = Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve, son of Christian V.The Por ...

. After different owners Jomfruens Egede came to Niels Schack-Rathlou, whose son Christian Schack-Rathlou in the 1790s carried out an expansion and adapted the design of the house with the assistance of the architects Caspar Frederik Harsdorff and

. In 1740, Jomfruens Egede was bought by Claus Benedix Beenfeldt who already owned nearby Lystrup Castle. Since that time the two estates have been under the same ownership.

Moltke era

In 1931 the estate was bought by Count

Adam Wilhelm Moltke Adam Wilhelm Moltke, 3rd Count of Bregentved (25 August 178515 February 1864) was a Danish nobleman, landowner, civil servant and politician, who in 1848-1852 was the first Prime Minister of Denmark under the new constitutional monarchy outline ...

who had inherited

Bregentved Bregentved is a manor house located 3 km east of Haslev on the Danish island of Zealand. It has been owned by the Moltke family since the middle of the 18th century. History Early history The first known reference to Bregentved is from 1 ...

from his father in 1818 and would later become the first Danish

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 i ...

after the adoption of the

Constitution of Denmark The Constitutional Act of the Realm of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Riges Grundlov), also known as the Constitutional Act of the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply the Constitution ( da, Grundloven, fo, Grundlógin, kl, Tunngaviusumik inatsit), is the c ...

in 1849. Moltke increased his holdings through several other acquisitions, acting as curator of

Vallø Vallø was a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in the former Roskilde County on the east coast of the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in East Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 84 km2, and had a total population of 10,337 (200 ...

and Vemmetofte and managing

Knuthenborg Knuthenborg is a manor house located north of Maribo on the Danish island of Lolland. Originally known as Årsmarke, it was first mentioned in 1372. Today's building was completed in 1866 to a design by Henrik Steffens Sibbern. The medieval mano ...

for Count Frederik Marcus Knuth, the underage nephew of his wife. As a result, he administrated one of the largest complexes of land in the country at the time. Jomfruens Egede gammelt tryk

When Christian Moltke inherited Lystrup and Jomfruens Egede from his father, he disrupted his diplomatic career which had brought him to both

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

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to concentrate on the management of his estates. Jomfruens Egede has remained in the possession of the Moltke family to this day.

Architecture

Designed in the Neoclassical style, Jomfruens Egede consists of two parallel wings which to the south border on the churchyard of Østre Egede Church. The house is particularly noted for its interiors which the

has described as "possibly the finest example of Danish interior design and furnishings of the late 18th century".

List of owners

* ( - ) Offe Pedersen Neb * ( - ) Peder Offesen Neb * ( -1391) Ingeborg Nielsdatter Panter * (1391-1424) Anders Jacobsen Lunge * (1424-1456) Eline Evertsdatter Moltke, gift 1) Lunge 2) Wardenberg * (1456-1465) Torben Bille * (1465-1503) Sidsel Ovesdatter Lunge * (1503- ) Arvinger efter Sidsel Ovesdatter Lunge * ( -1542) Hans Bille * (1542-1548) Inger Corfitzdatter Rønnow * ( -1559) Hans Barnekow * (1542-1587) Birgitte Hansdatter Bille * (1542-1587) Ermegaard Hansdatter Bille * (1559- ) Mette Oxe * (1587- ) Ingeborg Andersen Bille * ( -1631) Tage Andersen Thott * (1631-1632) Jens Sparre * (1632- ) Sidsel Nielsdatter Parsberg, gift Sparre * ( -1662) Christian Sparre * (1662-1674) Vincents Joachim Hahn * (1674-1719) Sophie Amalie Moth * (1719- ) Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve * ( -1721) Boet efter Ulrik Christian Gyldenløves * (1721-1735) Nicolas Esben Poulsen * (1735-1740) Enken efter Nicolas Esben Poulsen * (1740- ) Claus Benedix Beenfeldt * ( -1773) Thomas Holmsted Hjelmskiold * (1773-1776) Christine Ulrikke Beenfeldt * (1776-1786) Niels Rosenkrantz von Holstein-Rathlou * (1786-1828) Christian Frederik von Holstein-Rathlou * (1828-1831) Christiane Elisabeth Friis * (1831-1857)

* (1857-1918) Christian Henrik Carl Moltke * (1918-1943) Aage Vilhelm Christian Moltke * (1943-1957) Ivar Christian Eiler Moltke * (1957-1990) Norman Ivar Frederik Moltke * (1990- ) Joachim Godske Norman Moltke

References

External links

*
Official website
of Lystrup Gods (in Danish) {{Caspar Frederik Harsdorff Manor houses in Faxe Municipality Caspar Frederik Harsdorff buildings Neoclassical architecture in Denmark Listed buildings and structures in Faxe Municipality Buildings and structures associated with the Lunge family Buildings and structures associated with the Bille family Buildings and structures in Denmark associated with the Moltke family