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Founded: 1788Category: Castles and fortifications in Denmark
Historical period: The Age of Enlightenment and Napoleonic Wars (Denmark)
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The history of the Eriksholm estate dates back to 1400 but today's house was built in 1788. It was designed by Caspar Frederik Harsdorff, the leading Danish architect of the time. In the 1400s it was owned by Peder Jensen and known as Vinderup. It was crown land from 1536 to 1556 and again from 1573 to 1585. In the year 1600 Eriksholm was acquired by Erik Madsen Vasspyd who constructed a new main building and named it Eriksholm.
In 1682 the estate was acquired by Admiral Niels Juel in exchange for Sæbygaard. He owned it until his death in 1697 and after that it remained in the possession of his descendants until 1752 when it was sold to Supreme Court justice Hans Diderik de Brinck-Seidelin. His son, who was also named Hans Diderik de Brinck-Seidelin and inherited Eriksholm in 1778, commissioned the architect Caspar Frederik Harsdorff to design a new main building which was completed in 1788.
Brinck-Seidelin was hit by the financially difficult times for the large land owners and Eriksholm was in 1824 sold on public auction to Prime Minister Frederik Julius Falkenskiold Kaas (1758 –1827). In 1878, Frederik Ahlefeldt-Laurvig (1817–1889) bought Eriksholm and immediately passed it on to his son, later Minister of Foreign Affairs William Ahlefeldt-Laurvig. The estate has been in the possession of the Ahlefeldt-Laurvig family ever since.
Designed in the Neoclassical style, Eriksholm is built in white-washed brick and consists of three wings under a black-glazed tile roof. The semicircular buildings which connect the main wings to the lower and short lateral wings are typical of the contemporary English Palladianism. The window frames and portals are made of sandstone from Bornholm.
The estate covers 335 hectars of farmland and 331 hectars of forest (1995). The main building is rented out for weddings, meetings and other events.
References:The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.
In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.