| Barony Rosendal | |
|---|---|
Baroniet Rosendal | |
 Rosendal House | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Estate |
| Town or city | Kvinnherad |
| Country | Norway |
| Construction started | 1661 |
| Construction stopped | 1665 |
| Owner | University of Oslo |
Barony Rosendal (Norwegian:Baroniet Rosendal) is a historic estate andmanor house situated inKvinnherad inHordaland county,Norway.[1] The barony was built in the 17th century by Danish noblemen on the old estate of the Norwegian nobleGalte family, the current barony estate making out the historical farms of Hatteberg, Mel and Eik.
The history of Rosendal dates back to the 1650s, when the noblemanLudvig Holgersen Rosenkrantz (1628-1685) of theHouse of Rosenkrantz came toBergen as commissioner of war for the Danish king,Frederick III. At a ball at the fortress ofBergenhus he metKaren Axelsdatter Mowatt (1630-1675), sole heiress to the largest fortune in the country at the time. Her father was a great land-owner and had more than 550 farms all over the western part of Norway. They were married in 1658 and were given the farm of Hatteberg inRosendal as a wedding present.[2]
In 1661, Ludwig Rosenkrantz started building his own country house in Rosendal and completed this in 1665.In 1678, KingChristian V of Denmark gave the estate the status of abarony - the only one of its kind in Norway. Around 1850, an expansive romantic garden was laid out around the house.
The inhabitants of Rosendal were important people in the cultural life of Norway. AuthorsHenrik Ibsen,Jonas Lie andAlexander Kielland and paintersHans Gude andAnders Askevold visited Rosendal often. The musiciansEdvard Grieg andOle Bull were guests here. Often there were concerts in Rosendal, a tradition which is still kept alive.
Ludvig Holgersen Rosenkrantz received a baronial patent (Friherrepatent) in 1678 fromKing Christian V. The successive barons were:
In 1749, Bishop Edvard Londemann of Rosendal received apatent of nobility under the name Londemann af Rosencrone. In 1773 he received a baronial patent, and in 1782 was also created a count. The holders of this title were:
A member of the Hoff family in the Bohemian nobility was naturalized as a Danish-Norwegian nobleman in 1778. One Major Hans Wentzel Hoff (1636-1713), emigrated to Denmark in 1659. His son, Lieutenant Colonel Christian Hoff (1690-1746), married Maria Margrethe Londemann of Rosencrone (1711–62), daughter of the titular bishop Edvard Londemann of Rosencrone (1680-1749), who had founded thefideikommiss of Rosendal. Christian Hoff was the grandfather of Major Christian Henrik Hoff (1768-1837) who inherited the barony of Rosendal, and in 1813 was created a Baron with the title of Hoff Rosencrone. His children were baroness Edvardine Reinholdine Hoff Rosenkrone (1820-1901), who married Hans Christian Weis (1811–82); Marcus Gerhard Hoff Rosenkrone of Rosendal (1823–96); and Hermann Reinhold Hoff Rosenkrone of Rosendal (1829-1900). The two brothers were not Norwegian barons, since they were born after 1821, but were still Danish barons.
Baroness Edvardine Reinholdine Hoff-Rosencrone (1820–1901) daughter of baron Christian Henrik Hoff-Rosencrone, married the doctor and later state councilor Hans Christian Weis. She inherited the estate when her little brother died in 1900, Edvardine died the next year. Their oldest son doctor Christian Weis-Hoff-Rosencrone inherited the estate next.
The property remained in private ownership until 1927, when the last owner donated it to theUniversity of Oslo. The manor is now operated as the Baroniet Rosendal museum. The museum offers valuable information about an important period of Norwegian history.[3]
A guided tour of the manor takes visitors through the different periods of occupation from 1665 up to 1930. The oldest restored rooms are still decorated as they were in the early 19th century. The garden is often referred to as the most magnificent Victorian garden in Norway. Among other things around 2000 roses in bloom can be experienced here from June to November.[4]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
59°59′24″N6°1′45″E / 59.99000°N 6.02917°E /59.99000; 6.02917
