Orupgaard 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 east of Nykøbing and north of

Idestrup Idestrup is a town some southeast of Nykøbing Falster on the Danish island of Falster. As of 2024, it has a population of 1,125. History Idestrup Church built in the Romanesque style dates from the 12th century. With its whitewashed walls ...

on the Danish island of

Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

. With a history dating from the 13th century, Orupgaard today manages over of

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

and forest as well as an

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

facility at Brændte Ege Avlsgaard.

History

Early history

Orupgaard is first mentioned in the

Danish Census Book The Danish Census Book or the Danish book of land taxation (, ) dates from the 13th century and consists of a number of separate manuscripts. The original manuscripts are now housed in the Danish National Archives (''Rigsarkivet'') in Copenhage ...

in 1231 as ''Oræthrop''. It consisted of a few small farms managed by Nykøbing Palace on behalf of the Crown. Around 1660, they were merged into one property.

Christian Hincheldey

After Orupgaard was completely destroyed by fire in 1718, the land was leased out to farmers until 1766 when Christian Hincheldey bought the estate. He had also bought nearby Kringelborg. He had a reputation for being a brutal landlord and was involved in many disputes with the farmers on his estates.

Selbye family

In 1809, Hincheldey's widow sold Orupgård to the English baron

Charles August Selby Charles August Selby (24 October 1755 – 15 March 1823) was an English- Danish merchant and landowner. He built the Bækkeskov manor house at Præstø and Orupgaard on Falster. The Baron's oldest son, the politician and landowner, Charles Borre ...

(1755–1823) who built a fine new manor which he left to his son Charles Borre de Selby."Orupgaards historie"
, Orupgaard Gods. Retrieved 22 November 2012."Orupgård"
Lolland-Falsters Herregårde. Retrieved 22 November 2012.

Tesdorpf family

In 1840,

Edward Tesdorpf Edward Tesdorpf (7 September 1817 – 2 May 1889), was a German-Danish landowner, agricultural pioneer and sugar manufacturer. He became the owner of ten estates; many were located in the Lolland-Falster area where he resided at Orupgaard near Nyk ...

, the son of a

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

merchant, bought the estate, introducing a style of innovative farming which was widely recognized as a model to be emulated. He thoroughly drained and fertilized the land, brought in new breeds of cattle and built a dairy, achieving a five-fold increase in production by 1890. Tesdpråf passed Orupgaard down to his eldest son Frederik Tesdorpf.

Højgaard family

In 1938, Frederik Tesdorpf 's widow, Spåhie Tesdorpf, née Tutein, sold the estate to Knud Højgaard (1878 –1968), a civil engineer, who completely redesigned the building in the style of an English country home. His son, Erik Højgaard who administered the estate from 1954, was among the first to fully mechanize farm production in the area. The owner today is Thomas Højgaard.

Architecture

The manor house is built in "English style". It has plastered walls and a

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

Grounds

A stand of

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

trees is situated north of the manor house. A stable wing, a dairy building and a

carriage house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two ...

are all of yellow stone. Brændte Ege ("the burnt oak") riding center was created in 1905 after the merger of three farms. One of these, Nøjsomhed, originally belonged under the manor of Gjedsergaard, while the other two were tenant farms under Orupgaard, named Kaaregaarden and Griggegaarden. The merged farm received its name ("burnt oak") after a nearby forest, so called because

Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...

burnt it in 1658.

Cultural references

Orupgaard is used as a location in the 1959 comedy ''

Charles tante Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

''.

List of owners

* (1230–1766) The Crown * (1766–1793) Christian Hincheldey * (1793–1809) Laurentia Hofgaard, gift Hincheldey * (1809–1823) Charles de Selby * (1823–1840) Charles Borre de Selby * (1840–1889)

* (1889–1937) Frederik Tesdorpf * (1937–1939) Sophie Tesdorpf, née Tutein * (1939–1954) Knud Højgaard * (1954–1977) Erik Højgaard * (1977–2005) Knud Højgaard * * (1999–present) Thomas Højgaard

References

External links

Official site
(Danish language) {{Denmark castles and manor houses Buildings and structures in Falster Manor houses in Guldborgsund Municipality Houses completed in 1776 Buildings and structures of the Tesdorpf family