Barony Rosendal

The history of Rosendal dates back to the 1650s, when the nobleman Ludvig Holgersen Rosenkrantz (1628-1685) came to Bergen as commissioner of war for the Danish king, Fredrik III. At a ball at the fortress of Bergenhus he met Karen Axelsdatter Mowatt (1630-1675), sole heiress to the largest fortune of 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 married in 1658, and were given the farm of Hatteberg in Rosendal as a wedding present.[2]

In 1661, Ludwig Rosenkrantz started building his own manor in Rosendal. He completed this in 1665. In 1678 King Christian V of Denmark gave the estate the status of barony - the only one of its kind in Norway. Around 1850, an expansive romantic garden was laid out around the manor.

The families of Rosendal were important people in the cultural life of Norway. Authors Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie and Alexander Kielland and painters Hans Gude and Anders Askevold visited Rosendal often. Musicians like Edvard Grieg and Ole Bull were guests here. Often there were concerts in Rosendal, a tradition which is still kept alive.

Ludvig Holgersen Rosenkrantz received baron patent (Friherrepatent) in 1678 form Christian V.

• 1658–1685 Baron Ludvig Rosenkrantz (1628-1685)

• 1685–1691 Baron Christian Rosenkrantz

• 1691–1723 Baron Axel Rosenkrantz (1670-1723)

Bishop Edvard Londemann to Rosendal received in 1749 nobility patent with name Londemann af Rosencrone. In 1773 he received baron patent. He later received count patent in 1782.

• 1745–1749 Count Edvard Londeman Rosencrone (1680-1749)

• 1749–1811 Count Marcus Gerhard Londemann de Rosencrone (1738-1811)

Coat of arms of Rosenkrantz of Rosendal.

Von Hoff an Bohemian nobility family naturalized as danish-norwegian nobility in 1778. The family's ancestor was one Major Hans Wentzel Hoff (1636-1713), who immigrated to Denmark in 1659. He was the father of Colonel Lieutenant Christian Hoff (1690-1746) who married Maria Margrethe Londemann de Rosencrone (1711-62), daughter of the titular bishop Edvard Londemann de Rosencrone (1680-1749), who founded the fideikommiss of Rosendal. Christian Hoff was the grandfather of Major Christian Henrik Hoff (1768-1837) who inherited the barony of Rosendal, and in 1813 was named Baron with the named Hoff Rosencrone. His children were baroness Edvardine Reinholdine Hoff Rosenkrone (1820-1901), married to Hans Christian Weis (1811-82), Marcus Gerhard Hoff Rosenkrone to Rosendal (1823-96) and Hermann Reinhold Hoff Rosenkrone to Rosendal (1829-1900). The two brothers were not norwegian barons since the where born after 1821, but still danish barons.

• 1811–1837 Baron Christian Henrik Hoff Rosencrone (1768-1837)
• 1837–1896 Marcus Gerhard Hoff Rosenkrone to Rosendal (1823-1896)
• 1896–1900 Hermann Reinhold Hoff Rosenkrone to Rosendal (1829-1900)
  

  The Manor with its garden to the right, the stud farm in red, as seen from Malmangernuten mountain

Roses growing along Barony wall

The property remained in private ownership until 1927, when the last owner donated it to the University 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]

• Jorn Oyrehagen Sunde (2009) From a Shetland Lairdship to a Norwegian Barony: The Mouat Family and the Barony of Rosendal (Shetland Heritage Publications) ISBN 978-0955764233

• Baroniet Rosendal official website