Dorthealyst

Facts

Neo-classicistic dower house

By Pernille Roholt, Cand.mag. i historie og europastudier, Aarhus Universitet, 2004 (2 stories)

Dorthealyst is about 10 kilometres southwest of Holbæk. It is a prime example of a small neo-classicistic country house from the late 1700s. The whitewashed main building with its red tiled roof is of special architectural interest. Its main wing is joined onto the side wings by connecting walls. It and its three-winged home farm were built in 1799-1802 by Danish architect Philip Lange. The building's owner, Christian Ditlev Lunn, also owned nearby Knabstrup Manor.

Not a public place

Selected entry

Dower house with no widow

Story written by Pernille Roholt

Time / Periode 1774 1800

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Christian Ditlev Lunn married in 1774 at the age of 37. His wife, Dorthea Cathrine Knudsen, was 13 years his junior. Christian Lunn was a qualified theologist. He had not yet gained recognition or a position as a landowner. But he bought Knabstrup Manor just one year after the wedding. The estate formed the backdrop for the couple's life. Lunn wanted to safeguard Dorthea's future even after his death. He therefore built a new home farm in about 1800 and decided that the main building would be a dower house for Dorthea after his death. Yet despite the age gap, Lunn outlived his wife. Dorthealyst never fulfilled its role in real life.