Constantin Marselis, or Constantijn Marselis (28 November 1647 - 16 June 1699), was a nobleman of the wealthy Dutch

Marselis Marselis is a Dutch surname, given to the wealthy Marselis family. Notable people with this surname include: *Gabriel Marselis, Dutch tradesman and landowner *Constantin Marselis, Dutch nobleman *Selius Marselis, Dutch-Norwegian tradesman * Gabriel ...

family.

Biography

Constantin Marselis was born in Amsterdam as the younger son of Gabriel Marselis (1609–1673) and Isabeau van Straaten. He had an elder brother Vilhelm Marselis (1643-1683) who was fief baron of Güldencrone. In 1667, the King of Denmark Frederik III sent for both Constantin and Vilhelm, to take over two of their father's Danish estates near

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

; ''Stadsgård'' and ''Havreballegård''. At the same time, they were appointed as Junkers of the Danish court. In 1668 they were appointed as

Kammerjunker ''Valet de chambre'' (), or ''varlet de chambre'', was a court appointment introduced in the late Middle Ages, common from the 14th century onwards. Royal households had many persons appointed at any time. While some valets simply waited on ...

s. Shortly after the King's death in February 1670, Constantin Marselis married Sophie Elisabeth Charisius (1647-1706). He and his wife took residence on Stadsgård. After years of neglect from his father and damages from the constant wars with

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

in the

Second Northern War The Second Northern War (1655–60), (also First or Little Northern War) was fought between Sweden and its adversaries the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1655–60), the Tsardom of Russia (Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658), 1656–58), Brande ...

, Constantin renovated Stadsgård extensively. When the manor was finished in 1677, he renamed it to Constantinsborg, a name it retains to the present. In 1680, he became a

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

of the Havreballegård estate just south of

and at the same time renamed the manor ''

Marselisborg Marselisborg is a small borough of Aarhus, Denmark. Being small and situated just south of Frederiksbjerg, Marselisborg is often considered part of Frederiksbjerg. History Like most of the boroughs outside the Midtbyen (Aarhus), inner city of A ...

''. Constantin died childless in 1699, and the barony of Marselisborg went to the Crown. After his death, his widow Sophie initiated a sepulchral for him, herself and her new husband Peter Rodsteen in the Aarhus Cathedral and a richly decorated epitaph can be seen here today.

Constantinsborg

Constantinsborg Manor house is situated just south of the new lake of

Årslev Engsø Brabrand Lake ( da, Brabrand-søen or Brabrand Sø) is a lake in the district of Brabrand (Gellerup), west of Aarhus city, Denmark. The Aarhus River passes through Brabrand Lake and it is possible to canoe all the way to the inner city from here. ...

, a few kilometres west of Aarhus. It is still a manor for the Constantinsborg Estate and is currently owned by the Holch Povlsen family. The estate is part of the Global Gap certified food production company ''De 5 Gaarde'' (lit.: The 5 Farms), in collaboration with four other Danish Estates.GLOBAL G.A.P.
/ref>

References

Other Sources

* Harris, Poul: ''Marselis-slægten, blade af dens historie'' Viby J, Centrum 1980. * Lauridsen, John T.: ''Marselis konsortiet: En studie over forholdet mellem handelskapital og kongemagt i 1600-tallets Danmark'' Aarhus, Jysk Selskab for Historie 1987 (disputats). * Jensen, Bernhardt og Peder Jensen: ''Marselisborgskovene'' Aarhus, Universitetsforlaget Aarhus 1974. 1647 births 1699 deaths Nobility from Amsterdam People from Aarhus Barons of Denmark 17th-century Danish landowners {{denmark-bio-stub