Skjoldenæsholm Castle ( Danish: ) 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 usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

located 11 kilometres north-east of

Ringsted Ringsted is a city located centrally in the Danish island of Zealand. It is the seat of a municipality of the same name. Ringsted is situated approximately from Copenhagen. History Ringsted was the site of ''Sjællands Landsting'' (lit. ''Z ...

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 ...

, standing on the west side of one of the many lakes which dominate the area. The Neoclassical main building, possibly by

Philip de Lange Philip de Lange (c. 1705 – 17 September 1766) was a leading Dutch-Danish architect who designed many different types of building in various styles including Dutch Baroque and Rococo. Early life and family Philip de Lange was probably born ...

, is now run as a hotel and conference centre while the grounds play host to both the Skjoldenæsholm Tram Museum (''Sporvejsmuseet Skjoldenæsholm'') and a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

. The rest of the land is mostly

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

ed.

History

The first castle

Originally located to the south of the current house, Skjoldenæs is first recorded in the 1340s when it was owned by the crown and referred to as a "castle of considerable size". King Christopher II mortgaged the estate to

John III, Count of Holstein-Plön John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

(''Johan den Milde''). King

Valdemar IV Valdemar IV Atterdag, Valdemar Christoffersen or Waldemar (24 October 1375) was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375. He is mostly known for his reunion of Denmark after the bankruptcy and mortgaging of the country to finance wars under previous rul ...

can with certainty be linked to the locale, in either 1346 or 1348, when he besieged the castle.

Müller's house

The medieval castle was demolished in 1567 but a

castle bank Castle Bank is a fossil deposit in Wales that is 462 million years old and dates from the middle Ordovician period when Mid Wales was covered by an ocean basin. Fossil discoveries When 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns prevented Llandrindod residents an ...

surrounded by

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

s can still be seen at the site today. The estate was crown land for an extended period of time, held in fee by various members of the Danish nobility until 1662 when it was ceded to the King's ''rentemester'' Henrik Müller (1609-1692). Over the next few years, between 1663 and 1666, Müller completed a new manor house, half-timbered and in one storey, at the site of the current main building.

Danneskiold-Laurvig era

After Müller's death in 1682, the estate was reacquired by the 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 ...

and presented to his half-brother

Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve, Landgrave of Laurvig (20 July 1638 – 17 April 1704) was the illegitimate son of Frederick III of Denmark-Norway. A good relationship to his half brother, Christian V, secured him a position as one of the leading stat ...

. He also owned the Gyldenløve Mansion in

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 ...

as well as several other estates in Denmark and Norway. After his death, Skjoldenæsjolm passed to his son

Ferdinand Anton Danneskiold-Laurvig Ferdinand Anton Danneskiold-Laurvig (or Laurwigen; 1 July 1688 – 18 September 1754), count of Larvik, ''Gehejmekonferensråd'' ( Privy Councillor) and director of the Danish West India Company from 1723. Early life and education The son of Ulri ...

. He remained the owner of the estate until his own death in 1754. It was then passed to his son Frederik Ludvig Danneskiold-Laurvig. His widow Anna Joachimine Danneskiold-Laurvig (née Ahlefeldt, 1717–1795) kept the estate after her husband's death. She replaced the old main wing with the one seen today in 1766.

Bruun de Neergaards era

AIn 1794, Joachimine Danneskiold-Laurvig sold the estate to Anna Marie Bruun de Neergaard (née Møller). Sje was the widow of Jens Bruun de Neergård (1742-1778). She had until then lived at Svenstrup Manor. Skjoldenæsholm was after her death passed to their son Johan Andreas Bruun de Neergaard (1770-1836). It was after his own death passed to his son Andreas Theodor Bruun De Neergaard (1808-1891) and then to his grandson Poul Johan Carl Bruun de Neergaard (1751-1832). In 1914, Poul Bruun de Neergaard ceded the estate to his son Henri Bruun de Neergaard. Skjoldenæsholm has remained in the ownership of members of the Bruun de Neergaard family.

Today

The main building was in 1971 converted into a conference centre. The estate covers of land, including

Skjoldenæsholm Tramway Museum Skjoldenæsholm Castle (Danish language, Danish: ) is a manor house located 11 kilometres north-east of Ringsted, Denmark, standing on the west side of one of the many lakes which dominate the area. The Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical main ...

which was founded in 1978 and a golf course. The rest consists mainly of forest. In 1998, the castle was setting for

Thomas Vinterberg Thomas Vinterberg (; born 19 May 1969) is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production. He is best known for the films '' The Cele ...

's film ''

The Celebration ''The Celebration'' () is a 1998 Danish black comedy-drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg and produced by Nimbus Film. It tells the story of a family gathering to celebrate their patriarch's 60th birthday, during which a family secret is ...

'', one of the central works of the Danish

Dogme 95 Dogme 95 (; Danish for "Dogma 95") was a Danish avant-garde filmmaking movement founded by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vows of Chastity" (). These were rules to create films based on the t ...

group.

Architecture

The sober Neoclassical main wing from 1766 stands in washed, yellow brick. The architect is not known but may have been

. Originally, the red

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including Tented roof, tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other ve ...

also covered the three-bay median risalits, found on both sides of the main wing, which received their triangular pediment in connection with a major renovation in 1703. The renovation also added a new east wing and gave the old half-timbered west wing a new facade in masonry towards the courtyard, which matched it. The east wing is connected to a surviving part of Müller's half-timbered timber-framed house. The interior displays several fine examples of 18th-century period decorations.

List of owners

* ( -1364) Kronen * (1364-1378) Peder Nielsen Jernskæg * (1378-1385) Anne Pedersdatter Jernskæg, gift 1) Lunge, 2) Rud * (1385-1401) Mikkel Rud * (1401-1429) Jørgen Rud * (1429-1662) Kronen * (1662-1682) Henrik Müller * (1682-1683) Kronen * (1683-1696) Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve * (1696-1703) Christian Gyldenløve * (1703-1720) Frederikke Louisa Danneskiold-Samsøe, gift Augustenborg * (1720) Christian af Augustenborg * (1720-1754) Ferdinand Anton Danneskiold-Laurvig * (1754-1762) Frederik Ludvig Danneskiold-Laurvig * (1762-1794) Anna Joachimine Ahlefeldt, gift Danneskiold-Laurvig * (1794-1796) Anna Marie Møller, gift Bruun de Neergaard * (1796-1846) Johan Andreas Bruun de Neergaard * (1846-1891) Andreas Theodor Bruun de Neergaard * (1891-1914) Poul Johan Carl Bruun de Neergaard * (1914-1935) Henri Bruun de Neergaard * (1935-1960) Ejler Bruun de Neergaard * (1960-2001) Vilhelm Bruun de Neergaard * (1993-2005) Pensionskassen Pen-Sam * (2001-2005) Boet efter Vilhelm Bruun de Neergaard * (2005- ) Susanne Bruun de Neergaard (kun hovedbygning)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skjoldenaesholm Castle Manor houses in Ringsted Municipality Hotels in Denmark Listed castles and manor houses in Denmark Listed buildings and structures in Ringsted Municipality Houses completed in 1766 Timber framed buildings in Ringsted Municipality