Fritzøehus is a private estate and palace located in

Larvik Larvik () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Larvik (town) ...

, Norway. It is the largest privately owned estate in Norway.

History

The estate has traditionally been associated with various members of the Treschow family. Fritzøehus was built for Michael Treschow (1814-1901) during the years 1863–1865. Michael Treschow was one of the country's most important industrialists in the mid-19th century. He owned Fritzøe Jernverk, an ironworks together with sawmills and sizable forest properties in Larvik. Fritzøehus was designed in

Renaissance Revival architecture Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...

by architect

Jacob Wilhelm Nordan Jacob Wilhelm Nordan (23 February 1824 – 11 April 1892) was a Danish-born, Norwegian architect. During his career, he was one of the most prolific church architects in Norway. Biography Nordan was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and came to Nor ...

(1824–1892). The manor house was expanded in 1885–1889 and 1897–1898. The total floor area includes 75 rooms plus 21 basement rooms, making it the largest private residence in Norway.

Fritzøehus Park

Fritzøehus is located in Fritzøehus park, which today is a designated conservation area for the purpose of preserving the large

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

forests and the distinctive landscape. In the park there are also walnut, fir, and spruce trees. The park was built in the English style in the 1860s. In the courtyard stands a water fountain and a sculpture of a bear by sculptor

Anne Grimdalen Anne Grimdalen (1 November 1899 – 3 October 1961) was a Norwegian sculptor. She was born on the mountain farm Grimdalen in Skafså, Telemark, and later also lived and worked in the so-called ''Kunstnerdalen'' in Asker. She worked mainly ...

(1899–1961). The park includes a collection of

fallow deer Fallow deer is the common name for species of deer in the genus ''Dama'' of subfamily Cervinae. There are two living species, the European fallow deer (''Dama dama''), native to Europe and Anatolia, and the Persian fallow deer (''Dama mesopotamic ...

and

mouflon The mouflon (''Ovis gmelini'') is a wild sheep native to Cyprus, and the Caspian region, including eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran. It is also found in parts of Europe. It is thought to be the ancestor of all modern domest ...

from the Mediterranean. The owner of Fritzøehus was

Mille-Marie Treschow Mille-Marie Treschow (3 April 1954 – 29 September 2018) was a Norwegian landlord and businessperson. She was known for her previous marriage to Stein Erik Hagen, well known as "Rimi-Hagen", being the former owner of the Rimi chain of low-cost ...

until her death in 2018.

References

{{reflist Palaces in Norway Buildings and structures in Larvik Manor houses in Norway