Bregentved

Facts

Denmark's largest estate

By Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen , Lektor, dr. phil., Aarhus Universitet (26 stories)

Bregentved near Haslev has been in the hands of nobility since the Middle Ages. In 1746, the king gave the estate to A.G. Moltke, who transformed it into a count's estate in 1750. Bregentved has belonged to the Moltke family ever since. Today, it is Denmark's largest estate and covers about 6,250 hectares. The main building consists of three two-storey wings. The north wing is from about 1650 and was converted into the baroque style in the 18th century. The south and east wings were designed by Axel Berg and built in 1890. The large park from the 1750s is open to the public at specific times.

Partly a public place

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Slovakian heights in Danish forests

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Story written by Bo Fritzbøger

Time / Periode 1650

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All plants have the ability to adapt to the environment they grow in. Even within the same species, a plant may look different depending on where it grows. In the 1800s, Danish farmers started growing foreign grain types that were more weather-resistant than the traditional Danish grains. In the first half of the 20th century, foreign species of trees were planted systematically in Danish forests. One source of particular interest was the Central European mountain ranges, where the beeches grew taller than native Danish varieties. In 1925, the Danish Forestry Association undertook to introduce seven tons of beechnuts from the mountain slopes east of the small town of Kokošovce in Slovakia, where up to 120-year-old beeches towered as high as 28 metres. A small amount of the beechnuts were sown along the Munkedamsvejen road in Grevindeskoven ("Countess Woods") on the Bregentved Estate. Today the trees are well on the way to forming a classical Danish canopied beech stand – even though they were born abroad.