Gammel Estrup Manor (''Danish: Gammel Estrup'') is a red-brick

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

manor house some east of

Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is List of cities and towns in Denmark, Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 64,511 ().Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

, Denmark. The manor as we know it today can be traced back to 1490. But excavations have revealed evidence of earlier constructions also mentioned in texts under the name ''Essendrup'' dating back to 1340.

History

The construction of Gammel Estrup was started around 1490 by nobleman Lave Eskesen Brock (died 1503) who built a moated fortress on the site. But it was his great-grandson, Eske Brock (1560-1625) who rebuilt and modernized the manor. Eske Brock was a nobleman and close friend of King

Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is the longest in Scandinavian history. A member of the H ...

to whom he also served as a minister. Through Brock's detailed diaries we know a great deal about how a rich nobleman lived at that time. The Brock family, who owned the manor until 1625, also had a number of other estates in the area. The building then passed into the hands of the equally rich Skeel family who maintained ownership until 1926.

Museum

Since 1930 the manor has been a museum, showing the development of Danish nobility through the ages. The rooms are furnished as they might have been in past centuries. There is also an exhibition depicting the conditions under which the servants and household staff used to live. The surrounding buildings support the museum, the nearby apple plantation and a horticulture research center. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day from mid-April to mid-October and on most days the rest of the year except January when it is closed.

References

External links

Gammel Estrup Manor (official website)
{{Authority control Castles in Denmark Museums in Denmark Buildings and structures completed in 1490 Houses completed in the 15th century Listed buildings and structures in Randers Municipality Listed castles and manor houses in Denmark Renaissance architecture in Denmark Tourist attractions in the Central Denmark Region Buildings and structures of the Estrup family Buildings and structures of the Skeel family