Gjorslev is a cruciform medieval

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

located 17 km south-east of

Køge Køge (, older spelling ''Kjøge'') is a Danish seaport on the coast of Køge Bugt (''Bay of Køge'') 39 km southwest of Copenhagen. It is the principal town and seat of Køge Municipality, Region Sjælland (Zealand), Denmark. In 2025, the ...

, on the Stevns Peninsula,

Stevns Municipality Stevns Municipality () is a '' kommune'' in the Region Sjælland on the southeast coast of the island of Zealand in south Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 23,612 (1 January 2025). The municipality covers most ...

, some forty kilometres south of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. Originally owned by the

Bishop of Roskilde The former Diocese of Roskilde () was a diocese within the Roman-Catholic Church which was established in Denmark some time before 1022. The diocese was dissolved with the Reformation of Denmark and replaced by the Protestant Diocese of Zealand ...

, it is considered one of the most well-preserved examples of

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

secular architecture in Denmark.

History

Early history

Gjorslev was built in about 1400 by Peder Jensen Lodehat,

. It remained in the possession of the Roskilde bishops until the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

which led to its confiscation in 1537. It was sold in 1540 and was then in the possession of changing owners until 1678 when it came under the Crown once again.

Lindencrone

In 1743, Christen Lindencrone purchased the estate. He had made a fortune as a

supercargo A supercargo (from Italian or from Spanish ) is a person employed on board a vessel by the owner of cargo carried on a ship. The duties of a supercargo are defined by admiralty law and include managing the cargo owner's trade, selling the mer ...

on ships owned by the

Danish Asiatic Company Danish Asiatic Company (Danish language, Danish: Asiatisk Kompagni) was a Denmark-Norway, Danish trading company established in 1730 to revive Danish-Norwegian trade on the Danish East Indies and China following the closure of the Danish East Ind ...

. In 1756, he was raised to the peerage under the name Lindencrone. He also constructed the

Lindencrone Mansion The Lindencrone Mansion (Danish language, Danish: Lindencrones Palæ) is a historic building located on the corner of Bredgade and Sankt Annæ Plads in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Completed in 1753, it is one of many town mansions which were buil ...

at the corner of

Sankt Annæ Plads Sankt Annæ Plads (English language, English: St. Ann's Square) is a Town square, public square which marks the border between the Nyhavn area and Frederiksstaden neighborhoods of central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a long narrow rectangle which e ...

and

Bredgade Bredgade (literal translation, lit. "Broad Street") is one of the most prominent streets in Copenhagen, Denmark. Running in a straight line from Kongens Nytorv for just under one kilometre to the intersection of Esplanaden, Copenhagen, Esplanaden ...

in Copenhagen. Limestone from his estate on Stevns was used in the construction of his town mansion. The Gjorslev estate was after Lindencrone's death passed to his son Johan Frederik Lindencrone.

Scavenius family

In 1793,

Jacob Brønnum Scavenius Jacob Brønnum Scavenius (2 April 1749 – 20 June 1820) was a Danish landowner. Early life and career Scavenius was born in Skagen in 1749 as the 9th of 11 children of merchant Peder Christensen Brønnum (or Brøndum) and Anne Ibsdatter. He gr ...

purchased the estate. His widow kept the estate for five years after her husband's death. In 1825, it passed to their son

Peder Brønnum Scavenius Peder Brønnum Scavenius (6 January 1795 - 4 December 1868) was a Denmark, Danish landowner and politician. He was the owner of Gjorslev on the Stevns Peninsula, Klintholm Manor, Klintholm on Møn and Petersgaard at Vordingborg. He was an also inv ...

. It was after his death owned by his son Jacob Frederik Brønnum Scavenius until 1915 and then by his grandson (1915–1923) Frederik Scavenius until 1922.

Tesdorpf family

In 1925, Adolph Tesdorpf purchased the estate. It has remained in the possession of the Tesdorpf family since then. In January 2018, Peter Henrik Tesdorpf sold Gjorslev to his son Jens Edward Tesdorpf. In 202021, he gave up milk production on the estate.

Architecture

Gjorslev is surrounded by moats and built to a cruciform design in the

style. The building materials are a combination of local limestone from the Cliffs of Stevns and large bricks (Danish "monk stones"). The central tower is just under 30 m tall and has seven storeys. The south arm of the cross is slightly longer than the other three. A lower north wing was added in 1638. Access to the main building was originally through the cellar from an entrance below the bishop's chapel which was located on the east side of the southern cross arm. From the vaulted cellar below the tower, a flight of stairs led to the domed hall in its ground floor. This arrangement was altered by

Ewert Janssen Ewert Janssen or Evert Janssen (died c. 1692) was a Danish architect who became a royal masterbuilder in 1668. His greatest achievement was Charlottenborg Palace in Copenhagen. Life and achievements Ewert Janssen, along with Ernst Brandenburge ...

between 1665 and 1676. The chapel was demolished and the entrance moved to the eastern cross arm which was also given a new facade and an internal staircase in the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style. The design of the roof was adapted in 1748 when the original

crow-stepped gable A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building. The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in ...

with blank arches were replaced by

hipped roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other vertical sides ...

s and a pyramidal roof on the tower. The last time the building was altered was in 1843 when a long south wing was added. The castle stands at the end of a street known as "Broad Street" which is lined by red timbered farm buildings from 1713.

Estate

Gjorslev Beech Forest (''Gjorslev Bøgeskov'') belongs to the estate. The forest contains a small lake, Møllesøen ("The Mill Lake"), which has a rich bird life. An observation tower has been built at the site. The forest also contains 55 burial mounds of which the longest, Fruehøj, is 51 metre long. Access to the forest is from Traktørstedet Gjorslev Bøgeskov, a restaurant.

List of owners

* (?–1294)

Rane Jonsen Rane Jonsen (died 1294) was a Danish esquire and ''camerarius'', known for his role in the murder of Eric V of Denmark. He is mentioned in a traditional Medieval ballad as the traitor "warding his master with deceit". He owned Gjorslev Manor on t ...

* (?–1536) Roskilde Bispestol * (1536–1540) Kronen * (1540–1552) Peder Svave * (1552–?) Else Mouritzdatter Svave * (?–1606) Elsebe Pedersdatter Svave, gift Juel * (1606–1612) Peder Vincentsen Juel * (1612–1619) Ellen Vincentsdatter Juel, gift Bille * (1619–1630) Vincents Jensen Bille * (1630–1646)

Just Høg Just Høg (8 September 1584 – 25 May 1646) was a Danish statesman and landowner. He served as the first '' Hofmeister'' of Sorø Academy from 1629 to 1640 and then as Chancellor of the Realm from 1640 to 1646. He was the owner of Ghorslev Man ...

* (1646–1664) Stygge Høg * (1664–1675)

Joachim Irgens von Westervick Joachim Irgens von Westervick ( Danish: ''Joachim Irgens von Westervick''; spelled also ''af Westervig'' and ''af Vestervig'') (19 May 1611 - 29 August 1675), born as ''Jochum Jürgens'', was a Dano- Norwegian nobleman, a Danish official and an ...

* (1675–1678) Cornelia Bicker, gift Irgens * (1678) Handelshuset Schardinell * (1678–1743) Kronen * (1743–1772) Christen Lindencrone * (1772–1793) Johan Frederik de Lindencrone * (1793–1820)

* (1820–1825) Karine Lucie Debes, gift Scavenius * (1825–1868)

* (1868–1915) Jacob Frederik Brønnum Scavenius * (1915–1923) Frederik Scavenius * (1923–1925) Else Haxthausen, gift Scavenius * (1925–1929) Adolph Tesdorpf * (1929–1940) Agnete Tesdorpf née Brun * (1940–1970) Edward Tesdorpf * (1970–2018) Peter Henrik Tesdorpf * (2018- ) Jens Edward Tesdorpf

References

External links

Official website
(in Danish)

{{Castles in Denmark Houses completed in 1588 Castles in Denmark Listed buildings and structures in Stevns Municipality Manor houses in Stevns Municipality Gothic architecture in Denmark Castles in Region Zealand Limestone buildings in Denmark Buildings and structures of the Scavenius family Buildings and structures of the Tesdorpf family