Gammel Holtegård
Encyclopedia
Gammel Holtegård is a former country house in Rudersdal Municipality
north of Copenhagen
, Denmark
, today operated as an art exhibition space. It was built by the Danish Baroque
architect Lauritz de Thurah
for his own use in 1757. Its original Baroque gardens were reconstructed in 2003.
acquired an agricultural property, a former tenant farn
, in order to establish a suitable country house for himself outside Copenhagen. Simultaneously he was also building a town house for himself in Amaliegade
in Copenhagen's new Frederiksstaden
district, the responsibility of which he had been assigned after Nicolai Eigtved
's death the previous year. Prior to that, he had lived some years at his Børgum Estate
to which he had retired when his Baroque style fell out of favour and most of the prestigious assignments in the capital went to Eigtved.
To begin with he demolished the old farmhouse and laid out a large garden à la française
with symmetrical plantings of fruit trees and flowering plants, bounded by lime tree avenues. When the new buildings were completed, it included farm buildings and a royal privileged inn.
The house was completed in 1757. It was a single-storey, three-winged building with a hip roof
topped by a flèche
. Lauritz de Thurah had the two clocks specially cast for the building. The estate also included agricultural buildings and a royal privileged inn. However, de Thurah died just two years after his new house was completed.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the estate was owned by Hans Niels Andersen
, founder of the East Asiatic Company
. He conducted a thorough restoration of the main building with the assistance of the architect Vilhelm Holck. Holch also added a frontispiece
to the main wing.
In 1976 Søllerød Municipality, now part of Rudersdal Municipality
, acquired the main building and after an Europa Nostra-awarded adaption into an exhibition space from 1979–83, Gammel Holtegård opened to the public in 1982. In 1994 Gammel Holtegård was taken over by a foundation which now owns and operates the place.
of an unusual cultivar
with palmately lobed leaves is also from his day.
findings from nearby Vedbæk
.
The agricultural buildings and most of the land was sold off in 1897. It was acquired by Søllerød Municipality in 1934 and has since 1975 been used for a golf course
among other things.
Rudersdal municipality
Rudersdal Kommune is a municipality in Region Hovedstaden in Denmark. It is situated approximately 20 kilometers north of Copenhagen...
north of Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, today operated as an art exhibition space. It was built by the Danish Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
architect Lauritz de Thurah
Lauritz de Thurah
Laurids Lauridsen de Thurah, known as Lauritz de Thurah , was a Danish architect and architectural writer. He became the most important Danish architect of the late baroque period...
for his own use in 1757. Its original Baroque gardens were reconstructed in 2003.
History
In 1755 Lauritz de ThurahLauritz de Thurah
Laurids Lauridsen de Thurah, known as Lauritz de Thurah , was a Danish architect and architectural writer. He became the most important Danish architect of the late baroque period...
acquired an agricultural property, a former tenant farn
Tenant farmer
A tenant farmer is one who resides on and farms land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management; while tenant farmers contribute their labor along with at times varying...
, in order to establish a suitable country house for himself outside Copenhagen. Simultaneously he was also building a town house for himself in Amaliegade
Amaliegade
Amaliegade is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, which makes up the longer of the two axes on which the Rococo district Frederiksstaden is centred...
in Copenhagen's new Frederiksstaden
Frederiksstaden
Frederiksstaden is a district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Constructed during the reign of Frederick V in the second half of the 18th century and it is considered to be one of the most important rococo complexes in Europe....
district, the responsibility of which he had been assigned after Nicolai Eigtved
Nicolai Eigtved
Nicolai Eigtved, also known as Niels Eigtved, , Danish architect, introduced and was the leading proponent of the French rococo style in Danish architecture during the 1730s-1740s. He designed and built some of the most prominent buildings of his time, a number of which still stand to this day...
's death the previous year. Prior to that, he had lived some years at his Børgum Estate
Børglum Abbey
Børglum Abbey was an important Premonstratensian abbey of medieval Denmark, located in Børglum parish, in the commune of Hjørring, approximately five kilometers east of Løkken in north central Jutland .- Origin :...
to which he had retired when his Baroque style fell out of favour and most of the prestigious assignments in the capital went to Eigtved.
To begin with he demolished the old farmhouse and laid out a large garden à la française
Garden à la française
The French formal garden, also called jardin à la française, is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order over nature. It reached its apogee in the 17th century with the creation of the Gardens of Versailles, designed for Louis XIV by the landscape architect André Le...
with symmetrical plantings of fruit trees and flowering plants, bounded by lime tree avenues. When the new buildings were completed, it included farm buildings and a royal privileged inn.
The house was completed in 1757. It was a single-storey, three-winged building with a hip roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
topped by a flèche
Flèche
A flèche is used in French architecture to refer to a spire and in English to refer to a lead-covered timber spire, or spirelet. These are placed on the ridges of church or cathedral roofs and are usually relatively small...
. Lauritz de Thurah had the two clocks specially cast for the building. The estate also included agricultural buildings and a royal privileged inn. However, de Thurah died just two years after his new house was completed.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the estate was owned by Hans Niels Andersen
Hans Niels Andersen
Hans Niels Andersen was a Danish shipping magnate, businessman and founder of the East Asiatic Company....
, founder of the East Asiatic Company
East Asiatic Company
The East Asiatic Company was founded by Hans Niels Andersen in Copenhagen in 1897. Service which would eventually include both passenger and freight lines between the Danish capital, Bangkok and the far east was the initial objective. Routes to include the Baltic and Black Seas were...
. He conducted a thorough restoration of the main building with the assistance of the architect Vilhelm Holck. Holch also added a frontispiece
Frontispiece (architecture)
In architecture, a frontispiece is the combination of elements that frame and decorate the main, or front, door to a building. The term is especially used when the main entrance is the chief face of the building rather than being kept behind columns or a portico. Early German churches often...
to the main wing.
In 1976 Søllerød Municipality, now part of Rudersdal Municipality
Rudersdal municipality
Rudersdal Kommune is a municipality in Region Hovedstaden in Denmark. It is situated approximately 20 kilometers north of Copenhagen...
, acquired the main building and after an Europa Nostra-awarded adaption into an exhibition space from 1979–83, Gammel Holtegård opened to the public in 1982. In 1994 Gammel Holtegård was taken over by a foundation which now owns and operates the place.
Architecture and gardens
From the outside, the main building appears largely as it did when it was completed in 1757, save the frontispiece added in 1900. The Baroque gardens were reconstructed in 2004. The lime tree avenues are those originally planted by de Thurah. A group of beech treesBeech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
of an unusual cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
with palmately lobed leaves is also from his day.
Gammel Holtegård today
Gammel Holtehård is mainly a venue for temporary exhibitions. It also houses a local historic archive and a collection of Stone AgeStone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
findings from nearby Vedbæk
Vedbæk
Vedbæk is a small town in the municipality of Rudersdal , Denmark. It is located on the Øresund coast of Zealand, between Rungsted to the north and Skodsborg to the south. The town has a station on the busy Kystbanen railway line, approximately midway between Copenhagen and Helsingør...
.
The agricultural buildings and most of the land was sold off in 1897. It was acquired by Søllerød Municipality in 1934 and has since 1975 been used for a golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
among other things.