Jarlsberg was a former countship that forms a part of today's

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

county in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The name translates as "Earl's Hill". The former countships of Jarlsberg and

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) ...

were merged into a county in 1821. Jarlsberg and Larvik's County (''Jarlsberg og Larviks amt'') were renamed Vestfold in 1919. Created in 1673 as Griffenfeldt Countship (''Griffenfeld grevskap''), it was after a few years known as Tønsberg Countship (''Tønsberg grevskap'') until 1684, when the name became Jarlsberg. Dating to 1681, the countship was associated with members of the Dano- Norwegian noble family,

Wedel-Jarlsberg The Count of Wedel-Jarlsberg (also ''Wedel Jarlsberg'') is a title of the Norwegian nobility and of the Danish nobility. The family of Wedel-Jarlsberg is a branch of the larger family von Wedel, which comes from Pomerania, Germany. Family members ...

. The countship was abolished in 1893 in accordance with Norway's nobility law, but the manor is still in its own family.

House of Griffenfeld

Jarlsberg was originally created as a countship in 1673 for

Peder Schumacher Griffenfeld Count Peder Griffenfeld (before nobility, ennoblement Peder Schumacher) (24 August 1635 – 12 March 1699) was a Danish statesman and royal favourite. He became the principal adviser to King Christian V of Denmark from 1670 and the ''de facto'' ...

, a Danish statesman and Chancellor of Denmark during the reign of King

Christian V of Denmark Christian V (15 April 1646 – 25 August 1699) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the dec ...

. Schumacher received in 1671 an armorial grant with the name Griffenfeld. The creation involved that Count Griffenfeld, in addition to owning 14 percent of the countship's land, received large tax revenues and also the right to appoint all civil and ecclesiastical officials, including officers and judges, who would serve within the countship. * 1673-1676 Count Peder Schumacher Griffenfeld Count Griffenfeld coat of arms

House of
Gyldenløve Gyldenløve (; "Golden Lion") was a surname for several illegitimate children of Oldenburg kings of Denmark-Norway in the 17th century. Kings The surname Gyldenløve was given to the sons of the following Dano-Norwegian kings: * Christian IV ...

After Griffenfeld's arrest in 1676, in the aftermath of the

Scanian War The Scanian War (; ; ; ) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg and Swedish Empire, Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish ...

, his properties and the countship was renamed Tønsberg Countship and were transferred by King Christian V to

Ulrik Fredrik Gyldenløve Ulrik is a male name, a Scandinavian form of Ulrich. Ulrik may refer to: * Ulrik Frederik Christian Arneberg (1829–1911), Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party * Albert Ulrik Bååth (1853–1912), Swedish poet * Ulrik Balling (born 197 ...

, the Count of Larvik. Gyldenløve, an illegitimate son of King

Frederick III of Denmark Frederick III (; 18 March 1609 – 9 February 1670) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death in 1670. He also governed under the name Frederick II as diocesan administrator (colloquially referred to as prince-bishop) of the ...

, was the Viceroy (''Statholder'') of Norway. * 1676-1684 Count Ulrik Fredrik Gyldenløve

House of Wedel Jarlsberg

In 1683, Ulrik Fredrik Gyldenløve sold Tøsnberg countship to Gustav Frederik Wilhelm Wedel. Von Wedel was an ancient nobility from

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

, which received naturalization patent in 1681 as

Friherre (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in i ...

von Wedel by king

Christian V Christian V (15 April 1646 – 25 August 1699) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the de ...

. Field Marshal Wedel, who had become commanding General in Norway in 1681, received the title Lensgreve patent with the name ''Wedel af Jarlsberg'' in 1684 and introduced the name Jarlsberg, which translates as "Earl's Hill".Store norske leksikon: ''Wedel Jarlsberg''
/ref> * 1684-1718 Count Gustav Wilhelm von Wedel-Jarlsberg * 1718–1738 Count Frederik Anton Wedel Jarlsberg * 1738–1776 Count Frederik Christian Otto Wedel Jarlsberg * 1776–1811 Count Frederik Anton II Wedel Jarlsberg * 1811–1840 Count Johan Caspar Herman Wedel Jarlsberg * 1840–1893 Peder Anker Wedel Jarlsberg

References

Districts of Norway Norwegian nobility {{Norway-stub Norwegian noble titles Danish noble titles 1670s in Norway Former subdivisions of Norway 1673 establishments

House of Griffenfeld

House of Gyldenløve Gyldenløve (; "Golden Lion") was a surname for several illegitimate children of Oldenburg kings of Denmark-Norway in the 17th century. Kings The surname Gyldenløve was given to the sons of the following Dano-Norwegian kings: * Christian IV ...

House of Wedel Jarlsberg

See also

References

House of
Gyldenløve Gyldenløve (; "Golden Lion") was a surname for several illegitimate children of Oldenburg kings of Denmark-Norway in the 17th century. Kings The surname Gyldenløve was given to the sons of the following Dano-Norwegian kings: * Christian IV ...