The Berritzgaard estate and

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 usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

is one of the largest and best preserved

s on the island of

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the List of islands of Denmark#List of 100 largest Danish islands, fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Kattegat, Belts and Sund area, it is part of Re ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. The estate can be traced back to 1382, to its first owner, Markvard Pøiske. The estate developed from a village called "Berith", situated where the Berritzgaard

now stands. Later, the Huitfeldt family purchased the estate. Jacob Huitfeldt and his wife Lisebeth Friis built the present

that was constructed by

Hans van Steenwinckel the Elder Hans van Steenwinckel the Elder (c. 1550 – 10 May 1601) was a Flemish-Danish architect and sculptor. He worked on a large number of the most important Danish buildings of his time, although the exact scope of his contributions in many cases re ...

. Lisebeth Friis was widowed before the house was finished in 1586. The style of the house is in the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

Renaissance architectural style and Berritzgaard is considered to be the most unspoiled example of a

from this style period in

History

Ownership by the Huitfeldt Family, Sale to Abraham Lehn

In 1654, Joachim Gersdorff, the widower after Huitfeldt, sold the Berritzgaard estate to Hans Wilhelm von Harstall, who was the "Chosen Prince Christian's" stable master. His son, Christian Ulrich von Harstall, became

King Christian V Christian V (15 April 1646 – 25 August 1699) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the de ...

's Master of the Royal Stables. Because of his service to the Kingdom, he was given additional land to add to the Berritzgaard estate. This was the only time in the history of Berritzgaard that the estate was expanded by royal gift. After being widowed, his daughter sold Berritzgaard to Abraham Lehn (the Younger) in 1729. Johan Lehn, Abraham's the Elder's father, had emigrated to

from the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The Lehn family made their fortune in the

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

trade, grocery trade and in the

shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

business, with Abraham Lehn the Elder being the director of the

Danish East India Company The Danish East India Company () refers to two separate Danish-Norwegian chartered company, chartered companies. The first company operated between 1616 and 1650. The second company existed between 1670 and 1729, however, in 1730 it was re-founde ...

. Their primary import product was

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

from

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Creation of the Barony of Guldborgland

Abraham Lehn the Younger's son,

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

, created the

Barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

of Guldborgland from his holdings at Berritzgaard and the purchase of the Oreby Estate in 1775, combining all of his possessions northwest of

Sakskøbing Sakskøbing (), previously spelled Sakskjøbing, is a town on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. It has a population of 4,514 (1 January 2025).German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...

who brought knowledge on farming and crop rotation to the estate, including the use of clover as a rotation crop. His plans for the gardens at Berritzgaard won national prizes in

. According to tradition, Poul Lehn's only son out of his four children died when he fell out of a window at the Berritzgaard house, so the Guldborgland

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

later went to Poul Lehn's granddaughter. She was Christiane Henriette von Barner, who after a short and very happy, but childless

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

, was widowed in 1811. In 1820 she remarried

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Henrik Christian Rosenoern. Now in possession of the Guldborgland

Henrik Christian Rosenoern was given the title "

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

" with the name Rosenoern-Lehn for him and his descendants to bear.

Abandonment of the House as a Family House

Christiane Henriette had previously decided to move the headquarters of the

of Guldborgland to the more beautifully situated Oreby Estate and to restore the rather rundown castle there. To carry this out, Poul Lehn's

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, in which he had set aside a considerable sum of money to restore Berritzgaard's big detached wing, had to be changed. This was successful and Berritzgaard was abandoned in 1810 as living quarters for the Rosenoern-Lehn family and was not used as a family house for the next 160 years. The house was left only partly furnished, now and then occupied by staff in the lower part of the house. The run down wing that was supposed to be restored was instead demolished, and Hans van Steenwinckel's fine house was allowed to stand untouched by changing architectural fashions. Occasionally the house was used for other purposes. In 1864 it was used as a hospital during the Danish-Prussian War, and just after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

it was used as a refugee camp. In 1940-1943 the Danish army had a garrison that was taken over by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

occupation forces. From 1945 to 1949 the house and the grounds were used as a refugee camp for

East Germans East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. In the 1950s, a rug factory was operated on the grounds. Much of the land surrounding the estate were lost in the land redistribution in

that took place in 1919-1921. Many large estates were broken into small plots and leased to farmers through the

Danish government The Cabinet of Denmark (), officially the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark (), is the national cabinet of the Kingdom of Denmark. It has been the chief executive body and the government of the Danish Realm—Denmark proper together with the F ...

Renovations of the House and Grounds

One of the larger known renovations of Berritzgaard was in the 1890s where the existing leaded lights were added to mimic the

Rosenborg Castle Rosenborg Castle () is a renaissance castle in Copenhagen, Denmark. The castle was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IV's many architectural projects. It was built in the Dutch Renaissance style, t ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and the windows on the first floor were shortened so they would "stand" on the decorative limestone border, which is set into the redbrick wall all around the house. During the same renovation, several blinded windows were re-established. The house was kept in basic repair until 1970 where Christiane Henriette's great-great grandchild (the present owner) converted the house to his private residence with a general restoring and refurnishing of the house. In the 1950s the public road "Kogangen" was moved from its immediate position north of the house to its present southern location between the house and the farm-building complex thus combining the gardens north and south of the house. At the same occasion the fragmented moat system was cleaned up and extended and a new moat was dug where the public road had run, thus combining the fragments. The old

Baroque garden The Baroque garden was a style of garden based upon symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. The style originated in the late-16th century in Italy, in the gardens of the Vatican and the Villa Borghese gardens in Rome and in the ...

north of the house was cleared of younger tree avenues and a fruit garden thus making room for the original double driveway avenue of lime trees planted sometimes in mid-18th century. This avenue frames the garden room beautifully and by making a "false" perspective gives an impression of a far view in an otherwise completely flat landscape.

Complete Renovation and Reestablishment as a Private Residence

The tiled roof was restored in the mid 1970s and during the last 30 years the house has been fully restored in respect to the national listing of historic places underwhich the house is placed. The house is a private residence and is not open to the public.

Cultural references

In 1950 a film was made on the property entitled "Historien om Hjortholm."

List of owners

* (1300- ) Slægten Pøiske * (1382- ) Markvard Pøiske * (1400- ) Hartvig Pøiske * (1417-1478) Hans Pøiske * (1478-1479) Karen Andersdatter Jernskæg, gift 1) Pøiske * (1479-1502) Markvard Pøiske * (1502- ) Erik Olufsen Blaa * ( -1529) Otto Clausen Huitfeldt * (1529-1559) Christopher Ottosen Huitfeldt * (1559-1583) Jacob Christophersen Huitfeldt * (1583-1631) Lisbeth Friis, gift Huitfeldt * (1631-1652) Henrik Jacobsen Huitfeldt * (1652-1654) Øllegaard Huitfeldt, gift Joachim von Gersdorff * (1654-1680) Hans Vilhelm von Harstall * (1680-1719) Christian Ulrich von Harstall * (1719-1724) Dorothea von Harstall og Sophie Charlotte von Harstall, gift * von Körbitz * (1724-1726) Johan Christoph von Körbitz * (1726-1729) Sophie Charlotte von Harstall, gift von Körbitz * (1729-1757) Abraham Lehn * (1757-1804)

* (1804-1809) Christiane Henriette Hartvigsdatter von Barner, gift 1) Kaas, 2) Rosenørn * (1809-1811) Otto Ditlev Kaas-Lehn * (1811-1820) Christiane Henriette Hartvigsdatter von Barner, gift 1) Kaas, 2) Rosenørn * (1820-1847) Henrik Christian Rosenørn-Lehn * (1847-1860) Christiane Henriette Hartvigsdatter von Barner, gift 1) Kaas, 2) Rosenørn * (1860-1892) Otto Ditlev Rosenørn-Lehn * (1892-1899) Christian Conrad Sophus Rosenørn-Lehn * (1899-1935) Frederik Marcus Rosenørn-Lehn * (1935-1970) Christian Carl Otto Rosenørn-Lehn * (1970- ) Fredrik Andreas Rosenørn-Lehn

References

External links

Denmark's Castles and Manor Houses (in Danish)
{{coord, 54, 49, 17, N, 11, 39, 56, E, source:dawiki_region:DK_type:landmark, display=title Manor houses in Guldborgsund Municipality Listed buildings and structures in Guldborgsund Municipality Buildings and structures of the Huitfeldt family Lehn family 1880s architecture in Denmark