Frederiksdal House

Hjortholm In the Middle Ages, the Frederiksdal estate was known as Hjortholm. Hjortholm was first mentioned in records from 1178, when it was listed as one of the properties owned by Esrum Abbey. In 1201, the estate came under the ownership of Roskilde Cathedral. In approximately 1250, Hjorholm manor house was built on the property on the shore of the Furesø. The manor became a residence and episcopal office for the successive bishops of the Ancient Diocese of Roskilde. The Schulin family The town of Bagsværd was separated from the Frederiksdal estate in 1735, and in 1739 Frederiksdal was put at the disposal of Johan Sigismund Schulin (1694–1750), a close friend of the royal family who had been ennobled by the crown in 1731 and received a number of prominent appointments since Christian VI's ascension to the throne in 1730. He charged royal architect Niels Eigtved with the design of a summer residence. Schulin's eldest son, Frederik Ludvig Schulin (1747–1781) was only two years old when his father died. The estate was therefore managed by his mother, Catarine Marie Schulin (née von Møsting), who carried out alterations on the building in 1752 and 1753 with the assistance of the architect Johann Gottfried Rosenberg. In 1771, Frederik married Sophie Hedevig von Warnstedt (1753–1807). The grown-up Frederik Ludvig Schulin has been described as incompetent and financially irresponsible. Within a few years of taking charge of the estate from his mother, he was on the verge of bankruptcy, and had been ordered by the supreme court to pay off his debts. He had one son, Sigismund Ludvig who had been born in 1777. Like his father before him, he was only three years old when he unexpectedly inherited the estate, and so it was managed by his mother Sophie Hedevig until her death in 1807. Sigismund died on New Year's Eve 1836, and the property was inherited by his eldest son, Johan Sigismund (1808–1880). He married Charlotte Zeuthen in 1839 and the couple had 7 children. He was succeeded by his son, Sigismund Ludvig, who died in 1929 without an heir, and so the property passed to his brother Vilhelm Peter's son, Sigismund Lensgreve (1892–1968). Sigismund Lensgreve had married Johanne Amalie Schou in 1920, and upon his death in 1968, their son Johan Sigismund (1921–1992) took over ownership of the estate. The property then passed to Johan Sigismund's wife, Karen Vibeke, after his death in 1992. She and her husband had no children, and she gave ownership over to their relative, Carl Christian Sigismund Ahlefeldt-Laurvig, in 2016. ==Architecture==

The main building was designed by architect Nicolai Eigtved and erected between 1744 and 1747. Its floorplan consists of a single wing connected to two side wings on northern side. The house originally had a hipped roof above a high basement. The mansard roof is the result of alterations carried out by Johann Gottfried Rosenberg between 1752 and 1753. Frederiksdal is credited with being the earliest example of a maison de plaisance in Denmark and the building is today protected. It underwent restoration work in the 1970 under architect J. Raasschou-Nielsen. The exterior facade stands in white-dressed masonry with sandstone decorations above the windows and two corner risalits on the main facade. The interior features a combination of large and small rooms symmetrically arranged around the main axis' vestibule and conservatory. There are rich Rococo stucco decorations, particularly in the Garden Hall, executed by Carlo Enrico Brenno and Giovanni-Battista Fossati. == Geography and forests ==

The hilly landscape of Frederiksdal was created by meltwater erosion from the last ice age. This erosion also created the lakes which surround the estate: Furesø to the north and Bagsværd Sø to the south. Store Hulsø, a lake within the western part of the estate, was created by a glacial kettle which gave the lake steep banks with no inflow apart from direct rainwater. The flora of Store Hulsø includes Schoenoplectus lacustris, Potamogeton, and water lilies. The area surrounding the Store Hulsø is populated by birch, baltic pine, and alder forests. Approximately 200 hectares of the estate are covered by three distinct forests: Frederiksdal Storskov, Nybro Forest and the Spurveskjul Forest. Much of Frederiksdal Storskov has been designated as a protected area within Natura 2000. The estate is home to a significant population of foxes, badgers, and deer. More than 171 bird species have been recorded within the estate, including: great spotted woodpecker, little grebe, goldeneye, moorhen, northern lapwing, little ringed plover, european honey buzzard, rough-legged buzzard, osprey, wood sandpiper, green sandpiper, chaffinch, brambling, grey heron. ==List of owners==

• The Crown, 1668–1670 • Queen Charlotte Amalie, 1670–1714 • The Crown, 1714–1716 • Princess Sophie Hedevig, 1716–1735 • The Crown, 1735–1739 • Johan Sigismund Schulin, 1747–1750 • Frederik Ludvig Schulin, 1750–1781 • Sophie Hedevig Schulin (née Warnstedt), 1781–1807 • Sigismund Schulin, 1807–1836 • Johan Sigismund Schulin, 1836–1880 • Sigismund Ludvig Schulin, 1880–1929 • Sigismund Lensgreve Schulin, 1929–1968 • Johanne Amalie Schulin (née Schou), 1968–1970 • Johan Sigismund Vilhelm Schulin, 1970–1992 • Karen Vibeke Schulin (née Østergaard), 1992–2016 • Carl Christian Sigismund Ahlefeldt Laurvig, 2016–present ==Further reading==