Tryggevælde is a manor house and estate in

Faxe Municipality Faxe Municipality () is a '' kommune'' in Denmark in the Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand. The municipality covers an area of 406 km2 and has a population of 37,820 (2025). Its mayor as of January 2018 is Ole Vive. He is a member o ...

, some fifty kilometres southwest 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 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 a royal fief until the middle of the 18th century and was later owned by the Moltke family at Bregentved from 1751 to 1937. The current main building is from 1849. The

Tryggevælde Runestone Tryggevælde Runestone, designated as DR 230 under Rundata, is a runestone housed in the National Museum of Denmark, in Copenhagen. It is classified as being carved in runestone style RAK, and is dated to about 900 CE. Description In 1555, the ...

was from some time during the 16th century to 1810 located in the central courtyard of the old main building.

History

Crown land, 1355–1670

The name Tryggevælde is first mentioned in 1261. The next time it is mentioned is in 1355 when the brothers Bent, Jon and Esbern Grubbe ceded it to

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 ...

. They had most likely inherited it from their father, Bo Jensen Grubbe, who had been killed on his way home from the Holy Land in 1349. The brothers had also inherited Alslevgaard which would remain in the hands of the family for more than 300 years. Tryggevælde was then managed as a royal fief until 1670. Chancellor Evert Grubbe was

lensmann in modern Norwegian or in Danish and older Norwegian spelling (; ) is a term with several distinct meanings in Nordic history. The Icelandic equivalent was a . Fief-holder The term traditionally referred to a holder of a royal fief in Denmark ...

of Tryggevælde from 1470 to 1489. He was succeeded by Christian Nielsen Dyre (1503-1505) and Gunde Hansen Lange, but then it returned to the Grubbe family. In 1568, Tryggevælde was incorporated in the Fief of Copenhagen (Københavns Len). In 1672 it was again disjoined from the Fief of Copenhagen and expanded with several estates and former church land. The new lensmann of Tryggevælde was

Eiler Grubbe Eiler Grubbe (28 March 1532 – 20 November 1585) was a Danish statesman. He became Master of Finances in 1560 and Chancellor of Denmark and member of the Council of the Realm in 1570. He was also fiefholder of Tryggevælde, Vordingborg and Jung ...

, Chancellor of the Realm. He was after his death in 1585 succeeded by

Arild Huitfeldt Arild Huitfeldt (Arvid) (11 September 1546 – 16 December 1609) was a Danish historian and state official, known for his vernacular Chronicle of Denmark. Life Huitfeldt was born on 11 September 1546, into an aristocratic family from Scania, pa ...

. He relocated to

Vordingborg Castle The Vordingborg Castle ruins (''Vordingborg Slotsruin'') are located in the town of Vordingborg, Denmark and are the town's most famous attraction. History The castle was built in 1175 by King Valdemar I of Denmark as a defensive fortress, and ...

in 1596 and later to Dragsholm.

Changing owners

In 1670, Tryggevælde was sold to Otte Skeel. His son, Christen Skeel, bought the smaller manor of Alslevgaard and converted it into a tenant farm under Tryggevælde. In 1710, Tryggevælde was acquired by

Peder Benzon Peder Benzon (26 July 1684 – after 13 May 1735) was a Denmark, Danish landowner and Supreme Court justice. He was the owner of seven manors on Zealand at the time of his death in 1735. Early life Bentzon was born in Copenhagen, the son of Danis ...

. He ceded it to the crown two years later in exchange for Vibygård and it was then included in one of the 12 cavalry districts. In 1747, Tryggevælde was sold to Peter Johansen Neergaard,

The Moltke family

In 1751, Tryggevælde was acquired by

Adam Gottlob Moltke Count Adam Gottlob von Moltke (10 November 171025 September 1792) was a German-born Danish courtier, politician and diplomat who was a favourite of Frederick V of Denmark, Frederick V of Denmark-Norway. Moltke was born at Walkendorf, Riesenhof ...

. He had the previous year established the Countship of Bregentved but Tryggevælde (with Alslevgaard) remained an unentailed estate. The Countship of Bregentved was as a result of the ''lensafløsningsloven'' dissolved in 1922 and Count Moltke was in the same time required to pay a special tax to the government. 16 smallholdings was in this connection sold off in lots to raise the necessary money for the tax.

The Lemvigh family

Aage Lemvigh, the owner of A. C. Lemvigh-Müller, purchased the remains of the Tryggevælde estate from Moltke in 1937. He was in 1959 succeeded by his son Axel Jørn Lemvigh. He passed it on to his son Jørn Lemvigh.

Architecture

The main building is from 1849. The facade features a gabled median risalit. The

was for hundreds of years situated in the courtyard of the old main building. It was probably brought to the site from a local hilltop by one of the king's vassals some time during the 16th century. In 1810, it was moved to a site in the former graveyard next to

Trinitatis Church The Trinitatis Church (''Trinitatis Kirke'') is located in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is part of the 17th century Trinitatis Complex, which includes the Rundetårn astronomical observatory tower and the Copenhagen University Library, in ad ...

in Copenhagen. It is now located in the

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

Today

The Tryggevælde estate has since 1996 been owned by Christian Ivar Schou Danneskiold Lassen.

List of owners

* ( -1349) Bo Jensen Grubbe * (1349-1355) Bent Grubbe * (1349-1355) Jon Grubbe * (1349-1355) Esbern Grubbe * (1355-1670) The Crown * (1670-1695) Otto Skeel * (1695-1709) Christen Skeel * (1709-1716) The heirs of Christen Skeel * (1716-1718)

* (1718-1747) The Crown * (1747-1751) Peter Johansen Neergaard * (1751-1792)

* (1792-1818) Joachim Godske Moltke * (1818-1864) Adam Wilhelm Moltke * (1864-1875) Frederik Georg Julius Moltke * (1875-1936) Frederik Christian Moltke * (1937-1959) Aage Lemvigh * (1959-1980) Axel Jørn Lemvigh * (1980-1996) Jørn Lemvigh * (1996- ) Christian Ivar Schou Danneskiold

References

{{Faxe Municipality Manor houses in Faxe Municipality Houses completed in 1849 Buildings and structures of the Grubbe family Buildings and structures of the Skeel family Buildings and structures of the Benzon family Buildings and structures of the Moltke family