Blekhem 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 ...

Västervik Municipality Västervik Municipality () is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Kalmar County, south-eastern Sweden, with its seat in the city status in Sweden, city of Västervik. The present municipality was created in 1971, when the former ''City of ...

, Sweden. The history of the estate goes back to the 14th century. It was owned by the Soop family until 1562, when it was sold to

King Eric XIV King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by fi ...

. It remained a royal estate until 1612, when

Johan Skytte Johan Skytte (1577, in Nyköping – 15 March 1645, in Söderåkra, Sweden) was a Swedish statesman, and the founder of the ''Academia Gustaviana'' (today's University of Tartu in Estonia), in 1632. He was a son of the mayor of Nyköping, Beng ...

acquired it from the Crown. It has thereafter belonged to various Swedish aristocratic and other families, e.g. Gyllenstierna, Posse, Lewenhaupt and Hamilton. The present main building was built in 1838-42 during the ownership of baron

Johan Nordenfalk Johan Nordenfalk (9 September 1796 – 9 March 1846) was a Swedish politician, ''friherre'' and government official, who served as Prime Minister for Justice between 1844 and 1846. Biography Nordenfalk was born into wealthy family of landowners ...

. It is still owned by the Nordenfalk family.

References

External links

Official webpage
{{coord, 57, 49, 21, N, 16, 25, 40, E, type:landmark_region:SE, display=title Manor houses in Sweden Västervik Municipality Buildings and structures in Kalmar County