Jomfruens Egede is a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

located three kilometres north-west of

Faxe Faxe or Fakse is a town on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. It is located in Faxe Municipality in Region Zealand. The town is most known for the Faxe Brewery, Royal Unibrew, a relatively large brewery producing a range of beer and soft ...

, a small town some 40 km 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 ...

. It owes its current appearance to

Sophie Amalie Moth Sophie Amalie Moth, Countess of Samsøe (28 March 1654 – 17 January 1719) was the officially acknowledged royal mistress of King Christian V of Denmark. Together they had six acknowledged illegitimate children, all of whom bore the surname G ...

who in the late 18th century altered it with the assistance of

Caspar Frederik Harsdorff Caspar Frederik (Friedrich) Harsdorff (26 May 1735 – 24 May 1799), also known as C.F. Harsdorff, was a Danish neoclassical architect considered to have been the leading Danish architect in the late 18th century. Early life and training ...

and

Joseph Christian Lillie Joseph Christian Lillie (20 March 1760 – 29 January 1827), also known as J.C. Lillie, was a Danish neoclassicism, neoclassical architecture, architect and interior designer. His early career was in Denmark, where he is mainly known for his inte ...

. The

National Museum of Denmark The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark, Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from S ...

has described it as possibly the finest example from the period.

History

Early history

Jomfruens Egede traces its history back to 1346 when it was owned by Uffe Pedersen Neb, a loyal supporter of King

Valdemar IV Valdemar IV Atterdag, Valdemar Christoffersen or Waldemar (24 October 1375) was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375. He is mostly known for his reunion of Denmark after the bankruptcy and mortgaging of the country to finance wars under previous rul ...

, and known as Egedegaard. Etymologically, Egede- derives from an old form 'large oak forest' while -gaard means 'farm' or 'manor'. Its name, which means 'Egede of the Lady' refers to two unmarried noble women, Ermegaard and Birgitte Bille, who in 1542 inherited the estate from their father.

Sophie Amalie Moth and the new house

In 1674 the estate was acquired 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 ...

's mistress,

, who received official recognition and was appointed Countess of Samsø on 31 December 1677. After Christian V's death in 1699 she retired to the estate where she led a quiet life until her own death in 1719. The property was then owned by their son,

Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve, Count of Samsø {{Infobox noble, type , name = Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve , title = Count of Samsø , image = Hyacinthe Rigaud - Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve - 1696.jpg , caption = Portrait of Gyldenløve by Hya ...

. After different owners Jomfruens Egede came to Niels Schack-Rathlou, whose son Christian Schack-Rathlou in the 1790s carried out an expansion and adapted the design of the house with the assistance of the architects

and

. In 1740, Jomfruens Egede was bought by Claus Benedix Beenfeldt who already owned nearby Lystrup Castle. Since that time the two estates have been under the same ownership.

Moltke era

In 1931 the estate was bought by Count

Adam Wilhelm Moltke Adam Wilhelm Moltke, 3rd Count of Bregentved (25 August 178515 February 1864) was a Danish nobleman, landowner, civil servant and politician, who in 1848–1852 was the first Prime Minister of Denmark under the new constitutional monarchy outl ...

who had inherited

Bregentved Bregentved is a manor house located 3 km east of Haslev on the Danish island of Zealand. It has been owned by the Moltke family since the middle of the 18th century. History Early history The first known reference to Bregentved is from 1 ...

from his father in 1818 and would later become the first Danish

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

after the adoption of the

Constitution of Denmark The Constitutional Act of the Realm of Denmark (), also known as the Constitutional Act of the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply the Constitution (, , ), is the constitution of the Kingdom of Denmark, applying equally in the Realm of Denmark: Denma ...

in 1849. Moltke increased his holdings through several other acquisitions, acting as curator of

Vallø Vallø was a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in the former Roskilde County on the east coast of the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in East Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 84 km2, and had a total population of 10,337 (2 ...

and

Vemmetofte Vemmetofte Convent () is a former manor house in Faxe Municipality south of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was turned into a convent by Princess Sophia Hedwig of Denmark in 1735. Since 1975 it has provided housing available to the general public. Histor ...

and managing

Knuthenborg Knuthenborg is a manor house located north of Maribo on the Danish island of Lolland. Originally known as Årsmarke, it was first mentioned in 1372. Today's building was completed in 1866 to a design by Henrik Steffens Sibbern. The medieval man ...

for Count Frederik Marcus Knuth, the underage nephew of his wife. As a result, he administrated one of the largest complexes of land in the country at the time. Jomfruens Egede gammelt tryk

When Christian Moltke inherited Lystrup and Jomfruens Egede from his father, he disrupted his diplomatic career which had brought him to both

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

to concentrate on the management of his estates. Jomfruens Egede has remained in the possession of the Moltke family to this day.

Architecture

Designed in the Neoclassical style, Jomfruens Egede consists of two parallel wings which to the south border on the churchyard of Østre Egede Church. The house is particularly noted for its interiors which the

has described as "possibly the finest example of Danish interior design and furnishings of the late 18th century".

List of owners

* ( - ) Offe Pedersen Neb * ( - ) Peder Offesen Neb * ( -1391) Ingeborg Nielsdatter Panter * (1391-1424) Anders Jacobsen Lunge * (1424-1456) Eline Evertsdatter Moltke, gift 1) Lunge 2) Wardenberg * (1456-1465) Torben Bille * (1465-1503) Sidsel Ovesdatter Lunge * (1503- ) Arvinger efter Sidsel Ovesdatter Lunge * ( -1542) Hans Bille * (1542-1548) Inger Corfitzdatter Rønnow * ( -1559) Hans Barnekow * (1542-1587) Birgitte Hansdatter Bille * (1542-1587) Ermegaard Hansdatter Bille * (1559- ) Mette Oxe * (1587- ) Ingeborg Andersen Bille * ( -1631) Tage Andersen Thott * (1631-1632) Jens Sparre * (1632- ) Sidsel Nielsdatter Parsberg, gift Sparre * ( -1662) Christian Sparre * (1662-1674) Vincents Joachim Hahn * (1674-1719) Sophie Amalie Moth * (1719- ) Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve * ( -1721) Boet efter Ulrik Christian Gyldenløves * (1721-1735) Nicolas Esben Poulsen * (1735-1740) Enken efter Nicolas Esben Poulsen * (1740- ) Claus Benedix Beenfeldt * ( -1773) Thomas Holmsted Hjelmskiold * (1773-1776) Christine Ulrikke Beenfeldt * (1776-1786) Niels Rosenkrantz von Holstein-Rathlou * (1786-1828) Christian Frederik von Holstein-Rathlou * (1828-1831) Christiane Elisabeth Friis * (1831-1857)

* (1857-1918) Christian Henrik Carl Moltke * (1918-1943) Aage Vilhelm Christian Moltke * (1943-1957) Ivar Christian Eiler Moltke * (1957-1990) Norman Ivar Frederik Moltke * (1990- ) Joachim Godske Norman Moltke

References

External links

*
Official website
of Lystrup Gods (in Danish) {{Faxe Municipality Manor houses in Faxe Municipality Caspar Frederik Harsdorff buildings Neoclassical architecture in Denmark Listed buildings and structures in Faxe Municipality Buildings and structures of the Lunge family Buildings and structures of the Bille family Buildings and structures of the Moltke family