Selsø (''Selsø Slot'') is a historic manor house located near

Skibby Skibby is a town with a population of 3,135 (1 January 2025),Hornsherred Hornsherred () is a peninsula between Roskilde Fjord and Isefjord on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. It falls within the expanded Frederikssund municipality and includes Jægerspris and Skibby and before 1 January 2007 a part of Bra ...

peninsula,

Frederikssund Municipality Frederikssund Kommune () is a municipality () on the shores of Roskilde Fjord in the northern part of the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. On 1 January 2007, the municipality was enlarged to include the old Jægerspris, Sl ...

, some west of

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 ...

, Denmark. The estate traces its history back to the 13th century. The current main building dates from 1576 but was renovated in the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style in 1734. The estate has been owned by the Scheel-Plessen family since 1721 but the recently restored main building and its immediate surroundings have been ceded to a self-owning foundation. The building is now operated as a museum and is also used as a venue for concerts and other events. The knight's hall is decorated with paintings by

Hendrick Krock Hendrick Krock (21 July 1671 – 18 November 1738) was a Danish history painter who, from 1706, was the court painter of Frederick IV as well as his successor Christian VI. Along with Benoit Le Coffre set the tone for history painting in Denmark ...

. The main building, a

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most ...

from 1734 and the east wing of the adjacent home farm (Avlsgården) were listed on the Danish registry of protected buildings and places in 1918.

History

Early history

Selsø is first mentioned in 1288 when bishop Ingvar of Roskilde granted it to

Jens Grand Jens Grand, ''the Firebug'' (Low German: ''Fürsate'', Swedish: ''Fursat''; about 1260 – 29 May 1327 in Avignon) was a Danish archbishop of Lund (1289–1302), titular Archbishop of Riga and Terra Mariana (1304–1310), and Prince-Archbishop ...

for life. On Grand's death in 1300, Selsø reverted to the Bishopric of Roskilde. The original Selsø was probably a defensive building located close to Selsø Church, overlooking the lake which was then part of Roskilde Fjord. Selsø was together with other property of the Catholic Church confiscated by the Crown during the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. In 1756,

Christian III Christian III (12 August 1503 – 1 January 1559) reigned as King of Denmark from 1534 and King of Norway from 1537 until his death in 1559. During his reign, Christian formed close ties between the church and the crown. He established ...

ceded the estate to Andreas von Barby, one of his favourites, who had already been granted a number of fiefs. Barby was the following year granted royal permission to turn the estate into a ''stamhus'' for his nephew Hans von Barby. Hans von Barby had no interest in the Danish estate and sold it when his uncle died two years later.

Ulfeldt family

The new owner of the estate was Corfitz Knudsen Ulfeldt. He was already the owner of Ulfeldtsholm at

Nyborg Nyborg is a city in central Denmark, located in Nyborg Municipality on the island of Funen and with a population of 17,990 (2025). It is the easternmost settlement on Funen. By road, it is located 34 km east of Odense, 35 km north of ...

on the island of

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

and had also been granted a number of royal fiefs. He was now also granted Eskildsø in Roskilde Fjord, initially as a fief but after a while as his property in exchange for other land. In 1562, Ulfeldt was sent by the king on a diplomatic mission to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. He fell seriously ill on the way home, and died at Hillerødsholm in 1563. He had never married, and Selsø and his other estates were therefore passed to his brother Jacob Ulfeldt. The Selsø estate comprised 50 farms, six village houses without land, a windmill and a watermill. Jacob Ulfeldt completed a new main building in 1576, using half a million bricks from the abandoned St. Clare's Priory in Roskilde. The new building was apparently designed by a Dutch architect, most likely

Hans Hendrik van Paesschen Hans Hendrik van Paesschen (c. 1510–1582) was a Flemish architect, based in Antwerp, who designed high-style classical buildings in many countries of Northern Europe. Life and times While Italy had the architecture of Andrea Palladio and F ...

(c. 1510–1582). After Jacob Ulfeldt's death, Selsø was handed down to his son Mogens Ulfeldt. He was appointed as Admiral of the Realm in 1610. An action committed by his wife, Anne Munk, prompted him with the king's permission to imprison her at Selsø and her full freedom was not restored until 1624. On Mogens Ulfeldt's death in 1616, Selsø was handed down to their four children.

Changing owners, 1624–1720

In 1624, King

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 ...

wrote to the three Ulfeldt brothers, encouraging them to travel abroad. In order to cover travel expenses, they had to sell Selsø. The buyer was Ernst Normand, Christian IV's former servant, who had already acquired the estate Palsgård in Jutland through his marriage to Ingeborg Arenfeldt. On his widow's death, Pelsgaard was passed down to their daughter while Selsø was sold to Joachim Frederik Pentz. in 1669, Selsø was ceded by Pentz to Erik Krag in exchange for Åstrup in Jutland. He was a major landowner, but lost most of his fortune though speculation. In 1682, Selsø was acquired by the enterprising noble lady

Berte Skeel Berte Skeel (26 March 1644 – 5 July 1720) was a Danish noble, philanthropist and estate owner. She was the owner of Selsø Manor and co-founder of the ''Roskilde Adelige Jomfrukloster'' at Roskilde Kloster. Early life and marriage Berte Skee ...

. She was also the owner of a town mansion on

Kongens Nytorv Kongens Nytorv (literal translation, lit. "The King's New Square") is a town square, public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the Pedestrian zone, pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was l ...

in Copenhagen. She administrated the estate with great skill for the next almost four decades. She also acquired the right of patronage of Skuldelev Church.

Scheel-Plessen family

Om 1821, Selsø was purchased by Christian Ludvig Scheel von Plessen (1702–1752), one of the country's most prosperous landowners. From 1728 to 1734, the Renaissance manor was adapted to the Baroque style and has not been substantially altered since. In 1728, Plessen also purchased the nearby manor of Lindholm. By testament, Plessen created a ''Fideikommis'' from the estate with the effect that it could neither be sold or divided between heirs. After Christian Ludvig Scheel von Plessen's death in 1752, Selsø and Lindholm were handed down to his grandson Christian Ludvig Scheel-Plessen. In 1829, the last occupant of the property, Agathe von Qualen, Christian Ludvig Scheel von Plessen's widow, died. As her heirs were not interested in the estate, the manor's furniture was auctioned off and the house was left unattended for 144 years. The building soon fell into a sorry state as uninvited visitors plundered its remaining assets. Even the magnificent reception hall was used as storage space for corn. Salvation came in 1972 when the writers Grethe and Bernhard Linder initiated the manor's restoration. The restoration work was successfully conducted over the following 25 years, earning them wide recognition including the

Europa Nostra Europa Nostra (Latin for "Our Europe") is a pan-European Federation for cultural heritage, Cultural Heritage, representing citizens' organisations that work on safeguarding Europe's cultural and natural heritage. It is the voice of this movement ...

award. Known as the Selsø-Lindholm estate (''Selsø-Lindholm Gods''), the property now belongs to the Plessenske Selsø Foundation (''Den Plessenske Selsø Fond'').

Architecture

The main building is a simple two-storey building constructed in red brick. The roof is clad with red tiles. The gatehouse is from 1734.

Today

The manor is operated as a museum by the Pklessenske Selsø Fond. It is open to visitors from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day except Monday from May to mid-September. Selsø also arranges a series of events and festivities throughout the year. Concerts are also held in the main hall. The Selsø-Lindholm estate is owned by M. E. U. von Malsen-Ponikau and J.-H. Malsen-Plessen. It has a total area of 974 hectares, of which Selsø accounts for 296. hectares.

List of owners

* ( -1536) Bishopric of Roskilde * (1536-1556) The Crown * (1556-1559) Andreas von Barby * (1559) Hans von Barby * (1559-1563) Corfitz Ulfeldt * (1563-1593) Jacob Ulfeldt * (1593-1616) Mogens Ulfeldt * (1616-1624)

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 ...

/ Jacob Ulfeldt / Christian Ulfeldt / Anne Ulfeldt * (1624-1643) Ernst Normand * (1643-1658) Ingeborg Arenfeldt, gift Normand * (1663-1669) Joachim Frederik Pentz * (1669-1679) Erik Krag * (1679-1682) Vibeke Rosenkrantz, gift Krag * (1682-1720)

* (1720-1752) Christian Ludvig von Plessen * (1752-1801) Christian Ludvig Scheel von Plessen * (1801-1819) Mogens Scheel von Plessen * (1819-1856) Magnus Joachim Scheel-Plessen * (1856-1892) Carl Theodor August Scheel-Plessen * (1892-1932) Carl Gabriel Joachim Vilhelm Scheel-Plessen * (1932-1948) Magnus Carl August Wilhelm Otto Scheel-Plessen * (1948-1964) Victor Friedrich Carl Scheel-Plessen * (1964-1995) Marina Scheel-Plessen, gift von Malsen Ponickau * (1995- ) Den Plessenske Selsø Fond

References

External links

Selsø Slot official website

Source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selso Houses in Frederikssund Municipality Houses completed in 1576 Listed buildings and structures in Frederikssund Municipality Listed castles and manor houses in Denmark Baroque architecture in Denmark Tourist attractions in the Central Denmark Region Historic house museums in Denmark Buildings and structures of the Plessen family