The Bjurum manor, also known as ''Stora Bjurum'' (Grand Bjurum) or ''Stora Bjurum herrgård'' (Grand Bjurum manor), is a Swedish manor located in

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...

. It is one of the largest in the country. Renowned lake Hornborgasjön is located in the manor's lands. The

Falköping Falköping () is a locality and the seat of Falköping Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 16,350 inhabitants in 2010. History The town of Falköping was first spoken of in the Icelandic ''Rimbegla'' (around 1100 A.D.), ...

town is some 11 kilometers south from Bjurum. Earlier the manor contained the area of a whole parish, now some 2500 hectares. It has a long history as an established entity, starting from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. The original manor consisted of four separate wings centered on a square. Three of the wings burned down in the 1750s and the remaining wing was expanded to a single manor house by major Carl Georg Lillie. The current main building is a stone building from 1870, drawn by

Helgo Zettervall Helgo Nikolaus Zettervall, older spelling ''Zetterwall'', (21 November 1831 – 17 March 1907) was a Swedish architect and professor of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. He is best known for his drastic restorations of churches and other ...

. It is surrounded by a garden and a park.

History

Stora Bjurum was originally known as ''Byurum'' and ''Biureem''; from ''biur'', an old word for

beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

. The manor is mentioned in 1431, when it was owned by the ''

riksråd Riksrådet (in Norwegian and Swedish) or Rigsrådet (in Danish or English: the Council of the Realm and the Council of the State – sometimes translated as the "Privy Council") is the name of the councils of the Scandinavian countries that ...

'' and nobleman Karl Ormsson Gumsehuvud, father-in-law of

Charles VIII of Sweden Karl Knutsson Bonde ( 1408–1470), also known as Charles VIII and called Charles I in Norwegian contexts, was King of Sweden (1448–1457, 1464–1465 and 1467–1470) and King of Norway (1449–1450). He rose in Swedish politics beca ...

, who left it to his grandchild princess Magdalena of Sweden. Being without own surviving children, she ceded the property in 1491 to her niece, lady Kerstin Eriksdatter Gyldenstierne, a half-Danish, surpassing all her brothers. Lady Kerstin was married with lord Hans Aagesen Thott, another Danish-born noble. The couple's son Lord

Åke Hansson Tott Åke is a masculine Swedish given name, possibly derived from the medieval Germanic name ''Anicho'', derived from ''ano'' meaning "ancestor". In Sweden, May 8 is the Name day for Åke. There are variant spellings, including the Danish/ Norweg ...

, marshal of Sweden, was the next owner. He was executed in 1510 by the king of Denmark. Through his sister, the manor passed to the Soop family and, in the late 17th century, to the Stenbock family. In the 1730s, the manor was owned by count Erik Fredrik Stenbock (1686-1739) and came to be infamous in contemporary Sweden as the scene of the ''

Passionsspelen på Stora Bjurum The Passionsspelen på Stora Bjurum (The Passion Plays at Stora Bjurum) is a name for a famous incident in Sweden in 1738–1741, when the manor Bjurum in Västergötland became the center of a religious dissident sect. The dissident group was giv ...

'', supported by his wife Eva Margareta Clerck. Shortly thereafter, it came to be owned by major Carl Georg Lillie, who had the manor reconstructed in the 1750s. His son Brynte Lillie sold Stora Bjurum to majoren G. Soop in 1807. The manor changed ownership numerous times during the 19th century.

References

* Stora Bjurum i Nordisk familjebok (andra upplagan, 1918) {{Coord, 58, 15, 46, N, 13, 28, 34, E, region:SE_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Västra Götaland County Manor houses in Sweden Falköping Municipality