Saltø is a manor house and estate located west of

Næstved Næstved () is a town in Næstved Municipality, the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand in Denmark. Næstved has several adult education centers, five Primary education, elemen ...

in southeastern

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 was acquired by

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 1725 and had been owned by the von Plessen family since then. The main building from the second half of the 16th century and two half-timbered buildings from the second half of the 18th century were listed on the Danish registry of protected buildings and places in 1918. The estate covers .

History

In the

Danish Census Book The Danish Census Book or the Danish book of land taxation (, ) dates from the 13th century and consists of a number of separate manuscripts. The original manuscripts are now housed in the Danish National Archives (''Rigsarkivet'') in Copenhage ...

, the land is listed as crown land. The first known owner of Saltø was Jacob Fleb. He had most likely acquired it from Peder Nielsen Joseøl. After his death in 1351, his children sold it to Nicolaus af Jura. In 1353, Nicolaus af Jura's son sold the estate to their relative Herman af Jura. Shortly thereafter, he sold a stake in the estate to Benedict von Ahlefeldt. In 1377, Saltø was acquired by Count Ernst af Gleichen. In 1386, he sold Saltø to

Margaret I Margaret I may refer to: * Margaret I, Countess of Flanders (died 1194) * Margaret I of Scotland (1283–1290), usually known as the Maid of Norway * Margaret I, Countess of Holland (1311–1356), Countess of Hainaut and Countess of Holland * Ma ...

. In 1393, she granted to the Diocese of Toskilde. After the Reformation, in 1536, it was confiscated by the crown along with all other church property. It was then administrated as a royal fief. In 1646,

Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is the longest in Scandinavian history. A member of the H ...

ceded it to his son by

Kirsten Munk Kirsten Munk (sometimes "Christina Munk"; 6 July 1598 19 April 1658) was a Danish noblewoman, who became the second spouse of King Christian IV of Denmark, and the mother of twelve of his children. Early life and morganatic marriage Kirsten Mu ...

, Valdemar Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, in exchange for other property. Shortly thereafter, possibly already the same year, he sold it to his brother-in-law,

Corfitz Ulfeldt Count Corfits Ulfeldt (10 July 1606 – 20 February 1664) was a Danish statesman known for his collaboration with Sweden during and after the 1657-1658 Dano-Swedish War, for which he is considered one of the most notorious traitors in Danish ...

, who then served as Steward of the Realm. After Ulfeldt's fall from power, in 1651, Saltø was confiscated by the crown along with his other holdings. In 1858, he entered Swedish service and the Swedish king gave him his Danish estates back. In 1661, he lost his Danish estates again when he sought amnesty but was imprisoned in Gammerhus on

Bornholm Bornholm () is a List of islands of Denmark, Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. I ...

. After living for a time in concealment at

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, Ulfeldt moved to

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...

Swedish Pomerania Swedish Pomerania (; ) was a dominions of Sweden, dominion under the Sweden, Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish-Swedish War, Polish War and the Thirty Years' War ...

. In 1657, King

Charles X of Sweden Charles X Gustav, also Carl X Gustav (; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. After his father's ...

invaded Denmark. In July 1657, Ulfeldt responded to the King's invitation to enter his service. Sweden was Denmark's deadliest foe. Ulfeldt's purpose was twofold: humiliate his monarch and secure a personal fortune. He persuaded the commandant of

Nakskov Nakskov is a market town on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. The town has a population of 12,200 (1 January 2025) and is the largest town on the island of Lolland. It is located in Lolland municipality in Region Sjælland. Nakskov is situ ...

(a strategically crucial fortress) to surrender to Charles X, and did his best to convince his countrymen that resistance was useless. He even loaned the Swedish king a fortune to finance the war with money that, it is believed, was embezzled from the Danish state. Finally, as one of the Swedish negotiators at the

Treaty of Taastrup The Treaty of Taastrup (''Freden i Høje Taastrup Præstegård'') was a preliminary accord signed on 11 February 1658 between King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and King Frederick III of Denmark and Norway. The treaty was signed at the Høje Taastrup ...

, he was instrumental in assuring the humiliation of his native land. Ulfeldt's treason was rewarded by Charles X of Sweden with ennoblement as the

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Sölvesborg Sölvesborg is a locality and the seat of Sölvesborg Municipality in Blekinge County, Sweden with 10,024 inhabitants in 2013. Sölvesborg is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still referred to as a ''city''. Statis ...

Blekinge Blekinge () is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second-smallest provin ...

and he was in the same time given his Danish holdings back. He later returned to Copenhagen to try to make his peace with his lawful sovereign, who promptly imprisoned him and his wife. In the summer of 1660 they were conveyed to

Hammershus Hammershus is a medieval era fortification at Hammeren on the northern tip of the Danish island of Bornholm. The fortress was partially demolished around 1750 and is now a ruin. It was partially restored around 1900. History Hammershus was Sc ...

, as prisoners of state. In 1661, he gave up his Danish estates in exchange for his release. In 1668, Saltø was sold to Otto Pogwisch. He held several high offices but was heavily indebted. In 1681, he had to sell Saltø to

Knud Thott Knut ( Norwegian and Swedish), Knud ( Danish), or Knútur ( Icelandic) is a Scandinavian and German first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used which c ...

. He was already owner of

Gavnø Gavnø is a small island off the west coast of Zealand in Næstved Municipality, Denmark. Located some 6 km south-west of Næstved, it has an area of 5.6 km2, and, as of 1 January 2010, it has a population of 57. The name comes from ...

and Knudstrup. In 1693, he sold Saltø to Matthias Numsen. He had a military background and had served in the

Scanian War The Scanian War (; ; ; ) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg and Swedish Empire, Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish ...

. He was married to one of

Ole Worm Ole Worm (13 May 1588 – 31 August 1654), who often went by the Latinized form of his name Olaus Wormius, was a Danish physician, natural historian and antiquary. He was a professor at the University of Copenhagen where he taught Greek, Latin ...

's daughters. In 1701 he also purchased Fuglebjerggaard.

In 1725, Saltø was acquired by Carl Adolf von Plessen. Plessen had close ties to Frederik IV's brother, Prince

Carl Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

, and was a member of the government (''Gehejmekonseillet'') from 1730. He was one of the largest landowners in the country. His other estates included Førslevgaard, Harrestedgård, Gunderslevholm, Kastrupgård, Fuglebjerggaard, Fodbygaard and Dronningelund. He was known for his many initiatives to improve the living conditions for the peasants on his estates, for instance by establishing numerous schools. Having no children, he placed his estates in a foundation, De plessiske fideikommisgodser. After his death in 1758, De plessiske fideikommisgodser was divided in two. One of them passed to his nephew Frederik Christian von Plessen and the other went to the three sons of his brother Mogens Scheel von Plessen. Frederik Christian von Plessen, who had no children, in 1763, ceded his estates to the four grand-nephews of the other line. In 1771, Saltø passed to Christian Ludvig Scheel von Plessen. He was already the owner of Fusingø and Lindholm and

Selsø Selsø (''Selsø Slot'') is a historic manor house located near Skibby, on the Hornsherred peninsula, Frederikssund Municipality, some west of Copenhagen, Denmark. The estate traces its history back to the 13th century. The current main building ...

. The estate has later passed through the Scheel-Plessen line of the Plessen family.

Architecture

The main building is a two-storey, two, winged complex. The eastern part of the north wing dates from the late Middles Afes. The east wing and the western part of the north wing date from the second half of the 16th century. The main building and two half-timbered buildings from the second half of the 18th century were listed on the Danish registry of protected buildings and places in 1918.

Today

The current owner of Saltø is Carl-Alexander M. H., Count Plessen. The estate covers 1,050 hectares of land.

Cultural references

Saltø was used as a location in the 1961 film '' Landsbylægen''.

List of owners

* (1330) Jacob Fleb * (1351) Jacob Flebs børn * (1351- ) Nicolaus af Jura * ( -1353) Nicolaus af Juras søn * (1353-1377) Herman af Jura * (1377-1386) Grev Ernst af Gleichen * (1386-1396) The Crown * (1396-1536) Roskilde Bispestol * (1536-1646) Rge Crown * (1646) Valdemar Christian of Schleswig-Holstein * (1646-1661)

* (1661-1668) The Crown * (1668-1684)

Otto Pogwisch Otto Pogwisch (c. 1610–9 February 1684) was a Danish government official who held a number of important offices during the reign of Christian V. Career Pogwisch served as general war commissioner () from 1661 to 1674 with responsibility for th ...

* (1684-1686) Estate of Otto Pogwisch * (1686-1693)

* (1693-1725) Mathias Numsen * (1725-1758)

* (1758-1763) Frederik Christian von Plessen * (1758-1771) Hairs of Carl Adolph von Plessen * (1771-1801) Christian Ludvig Scheel von Plessen * (1801-1819) Mogens Scheel von Plessen * (1819-1853) Mogens Joachim Scheel-Plessen * (1853-1892) Carl Theodor August Scheel-Plessen * (1892-1924) Wulf Christian August von Plessen * (1924) Gustav Friedrich Hugo von Plessen * (1924-1949) Magnus Carl August Wilhelm Otto von Plessen * (1949- ) C.A.M.H.E. Scheel-Plessen * ( -present) Carl-Alexander M. H. Plessen

References

Works cited

External links

{{Commons
Source
Manor houses in Næstved Municipality Listed buildings and structures in Næstved Municipality Listed castles and manor houses in Denmark Buildings and structures of the Plessen family