Sandbjerg is a former estate and manor house north of

Sønderborg (; german: Sonderburg ) is a Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 27,766 (1 January 2022),Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

, Denmark. The estate dates from 1571, but today's house was built in 1788. Since 1959, the estate has been used by

Aarhus University Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Gr ...

for teaching and research. Today it is the university's conference centre.

History

Sandbjerg is mentioned for the first time around 1500. In 1564, King Frederick II transferred a third of his properties, including Sandbjerg, to his brother

John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg John the Younger or John of Denmark ( da, Hans; german: Johann; 25 March 1545 – 9 October 1622) was the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg. Biography John was born on 25 March 1545 in Haderslev in the Duchy of Schleswig as the fourth chi ...

. It remained in the hands of the House of Sonderburg until Christian Adolf's bankruptcy in 1667, when it was returned to the Crown. In 1668 it was sold to the statesman Conrad Reventlow, who established the

fiefdom A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form o ...

of Reventlow-Sandbjerg. In 1788, Conrad Georg Reventlow (1749–1815) commissioned Christian August Bohlsmann to build a mansion overlooking the

Alssund The Alssund is the narrow strait between Als island and the mainland of Jutland, in Denmark. External links * See also *Geography of Denmark Denmark is a Nordic country located in Northern Europe. It consists of the Jutland Peninsula and ...

on the east side of Mølle Sø. The park and the tenancy buildings and the mansion now form the Sandbjerg Estate. After retiring from the navy in 1795, Reventlow spent extended periods at Sandbjerg where he enjoyed good food and drink prepared by his French chef, Charles Maton. Among his guests were the poets

Jens Baggesen Jens Immanuel Baggesen (15 February 1764 – 3 October 1826) was a major Danish poet, librettist, critic, and comic writer. Life Baggesen was born at Korsør on the Danish island of Zealand on February 15, 1764. His parents were very poo ...

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 ...

. In the 1850s, General Frederk Bülow who was victorious at the

Battle of Fredericia The Battle of Fredericia was fought between soldiers of Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark on 6 July 1849 at Fredericia in Denmark. The battle was a part of the First Schleswig War, which was a conflict between Schleswig-Holstein, supported by sever ...

in 1849, spent several summers on the estate, where he died in 1858. The last of the Reventlows died in 1929. In 1930 the estate was sold to Knud Dahl, a lawyer, and his wife Ellen,

Karen Blixen Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke (born Dinesen; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962) was a Danish author who wrote works in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, used in English-speaking countrie ...

's sister. After her husband died 1945, Ellen Dahl opened the residence to cultural and scientific figures and, in 1954, gave it to

. On her death in 1959, the university took full possession of the estate.

Mansion

The two-storey

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

mansion completed in 1788 is a listed building. With a lesene-decorated facade and tall hipped roof, its rooms include a library, dining room and conservatory and three historic bedrooms.

References

*''Note: Here "gods" is Danish for "goods, property".''

Literature

*, in Danish

External links

Sandbjerg Gods website
{{Commons category, Sandbjerg Gods Houses completed in 1788 Listed buildings and structures in Sønderborg Municipality Buildings and structures in the Region of Southern Denmark Listed castles and manor houses in Denmark Rococo architecture in Denmark Tourist attractions in the Region of Southern Denmark Aarhus University 1788 establishments in Denmark Buildings and structures associated with the Reventlow family