Marselisborg (manor)
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Marselisborg was a farm, manor and barony in
Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...
,
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 ...
which existed through the 1200s to 1910 under varying ownership and status. The original farm was situated in the present day
Marselisborg Marselisborg is a small borough of Aarhus, Denmark. Being small and situated just south of Frederiksbjerg, Marselisborg is often considered part of Frederiksbjerg. History Like most of the boroughs outside the inner city of Aarhus, Marselisbor ...
neighborhood south of the city centre. In 1896 the city of Aarhus purchased the manor and in 1911 dissolved the estate and sold the land off for development. The manor was named after and by Gabriel Marselis who was the first private owner and many landmarks in the area are in turn named for the manor such as
Marselisborg Forests Marselisborg Forests (), or simply Marselisborg Forest, is a forest to the south of Aarhus City in the Kingdom of Denmark. Many present day sources now includes the forest of Fløjstrup, as part of the Marselisborg Forests, upping the total area ...
, Marselisborg Hospital and
Marselisborg Palace Marselisborg Palace (, ) is a royal residence of the Danish royal family in Aarhus. It has been the summer residence of Queen Margrethe II since 1967. There is a Palace Park in connection to the palace itself and outside the grounds, stretching ...
.


History

The original Havreballegaard farm can be traced to the 1200s when it was the property of the
Diocese of Aarhus The Diocese of Aarhus (Danish language, Danish: ''Århus Stift'') is one of 10 dioceses in the Church of Denmark, with headquarters in the city of Aarhus. The diocese covers a large district of northeast Jutland and comprises 14 deanery, deanerie ...
. However, in 1536 the
reformation in Denmark 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 ...
was concluded and all church property was confiscated by the Crown. In 1544 it was owned by the king who incorporated it with his other estates in the area. When absolute monarchy was enacted in 1660, the system of
fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
s was reorganized and Havreballegård came in private ownership. The first private owner was the Dutch merchant Gabriel Marselis who was given the manor and lands by King Frederik III as repayment for debts incurred by the Crown during the
Second Northern War The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...
. Gabriel Marselis did not move to
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 ...
himself but his sons would later assume control of his estates there. Constantin Marselis took over the manors Havreballegaard and Stadsgård in 1673. Marselis made Stadsgård his home and renamed it Constantinsborg. In 1684 he was made a Danish
baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...
and Havreballegård was elevated to the barony Marselisborg ( Lit. Marselis' Castle). Constantin Marselis died childless and the manor changed hands a number of times until the 1860s when Hans Peter Ingerslev purchased it and became the last private owner. In the 1890s, Frederiksbjerg was almost fully developed and Aarhus city council negotiated with Ingerslev, then Danish
Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
, to purchase the manor and associated lands. Ingerslev owned both the manor and the forests on the hills south of it. The negotiations were successful and on 18 April 1896 Ingerslev signed the preliminary agreement for the sale of the manor and most of the estate, with options for the rest. Ingerslev died two days later but the city honored the agreement and bought both the manor and the forests. The municipality initially operated the farm as a business and developed the land piecemeal, most notably
Marselisborg Palace Marselisborg Palace (, ) is a royal residence of the Danish royal family in Aarhus. It has been the summer residence of Queen Margrethe II since 1967. There is a Palace Park in connection to the palace itself and outside the grounds, stretching ...
and the palace garden in 1898. However, the farming operation suffered several fires and it was decided to dissolve the manor and subdivide its lands for development. In 1911, the main building was demolished.


Buildings

In the 1570s Frederik II (1534-1588) decided to build a grain magazine at the manor ''Aarhusgaard'' but abandoned the plans in 1576. The building materials were instead transferred to Havreballegård and the seignory there instructed to build a new main building for the manor for the future use of the king. The result was a large stone building surrounded by moats and ramparts. However, during the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
(1618-1648)
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 ...
was occupied by enemy troops and Havreballegård was greatly damaged. Subsequently, the manor was only scantily repaired due to financial difficulty. Less than 10 years later, during the
Second Northern War The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...
(1657-1660), occupation by Swedish forces again damaged the buildings. In 1756 the manor house was still only a modest
half-timbered Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...
building and owners still preferred to live elsewhere. When Christian Rudolph Philip Gersdorffs owned Marselisborg a new primary building was finally erected since the old one could not be repaired. The new building was in 3 wings in
Neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...
.
Aarhus Municipality Aarhus Municipality (), known as Århus Municipality () until 2011, is a ''Municipalities of Denmark, kommune'' in the Central Denmark Region, on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and ...
took ownership of the manor in 1896 and it was torn down in 1910.


Owners


References


External links

{{Coord, 56.1396, 10.2005, region:DK_type:landmark, display=title Manor houses in Denmark Houses completed in 1801 Neoclassical architecture in Aarhus