Maltesholm Castle () is a large

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 at Sönnarslöv in

Kristianstad Municipality Kristianstad Municipality () is a municipality in Skåne County in southernmost Sweden. Its seat is located in the city Kristianstad. The present municipality was created in three steps during the last nationwide local government reform, and it ...

Scania Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

History

The history of the estate goes back to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and it was owned by the

Brahe The Brahe family (originally ''Bragde'') refers to two closely related noble families of Scanian origin that played significant roles in both Danish and Swedish history. The Danish branch became extinct in 1786, and the Swedish branch in 193 ...

family during the Danish rule of Scania. The

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 ...

was originally constructed between 1635 and 1638 by the high

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

Kristianstad Kristianstad ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 41,198 inhabitants in 2023. Since the 1990s, the city has gone from being a garrison town to a developed commercial city, ...

, Malte Juel, (ca 1460–1507). Typical for its time, the castle was a Renaissance manor built in brick with three floors, a staircase tower with an elaborate spire, two

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 ...

s and surrounded by a large

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

. During the life of Malte Ramel (1684–1752) the domains were greatly expanded. Malte Ramel was one of the richest men in Scania of the time, holding tile to the estates at

Löberöd Löberöd is a bimunicipal locality situated in Eslöv Municipality and Höör Municipality in Skåne County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Nort ...

, Västerstad, Hviderup and Sireköpinge as well as Maltesholm. His son Hans Ramel (1724-1799) began reconstructing the castle according to the style of the late 18th century. It was completed in 1780 in the style of Swedish classical

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

; the only remains of the Renaissance castle are the moat and the year "1680" marked on the facade. Hans Ramel also constructed a long stone road leading up to the Mansion through the undulating landscape. The road had to be even and it took almost 50 years to complete. In 1800 the castle passed to Axel Gabriel De la Gardie (1772-1838), governor of Kristianstad County, who was married to Christina Gustava Ramel (1783-1819) and remained in the

De la Gardie The De la Gardie family (; ; also de la Gardie) is the name of a distinguished Swedish nobility, Swedish noble family of French people, French origin, whose members held significant political and military positions throughout the history of the Ki ...

family ownership for over 100 years. In 1933, the estate passed by inheritance to the baronial family Palmstierna. The estate has been passed down for generations and is now the private residence of the Baron Palmstierna.

Gardens

In the renaissance garden stands a

douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Or ...

which measures tall and is over 200 years old. There is also a

gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or Gun turret, turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden, or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. In British English, the word is also used for a tent-like can ...

by the classical Swedish architect

Carl Hårleman Baron Carl Hårleman (27 August 1700 – 9 February 1753) was a Sweden, Swedish architect. Biography Hårleman was born in Stockholm, son of the garden architect and head of the royal parks and gardens Johan Hårleman, who had been Ennoblemen ...

(1700–1753). The beautiful garden is open to the public.

Östra Sönnarslöv Church

A few kilometers southeast of the estate is Östra Sönnarslöv Church (''Östra Sönnarslövs kyrka'') of Degeberga-Everöd parish in the

Diocese of Lund The Diocese of Lund () is a diocese within the Church of Sweden which corresponds to the provinces of Blekinge and Skåne. There are 217 parishes within the diocese, the most significant number in any of the dioceses of the Church of Sweden. Th ...

. The oldest parts of the church date from the 12th century. It is decorated with frescoes commonly attributed to

Nils Håkansson Nils Håkansson (Latinisation (literature), Latinized as Nicolaus Haquini) was a late medieval Swedish painter from Vadstena. Biography Håkansson, known as ''Vittskövlewikt:mästare#Swedish, mästaren,'' may have been the leader of a group of ...

(''Vittskövlemästaren'') and were made during the latter part of the 15th century, probably in the 1460s. Ramel crypt contains three stone

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ� ...

with the ashes of Malte Ramel and both his wives.

References

Other sources

Maltesholms slott
Castles in Skåne County Gardens in Sweden Kristianstad Municipality 18th-century establishments in Kristianstad County {{Sweden-castle-stub