Ellinge Castle
| Ellinge Castle | |
|---|---|
| Ellinge slott | |
| Eslöv Municipality | |
Ellinge Castle
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 Ellinge Castle
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| Coordinates | 55°48′42″N 13°17′15″E / 55.8117°N 13.2875°E |
| Type | Castle |
| Site information | |
| Open to the public |
No |
| Site history | |
| Built | 16th century |
Ellinge Castle (Swedish: Ellinge slott) is a castle in Eslöv Municipality, Scania, in southern Sweden.
The castle dates from the 12th century. It has whitewashed walls with 12 overnight rooms and a capacity for 24 overnight guests. The castle is surrounded by a square moat, as can be seen on the map shown.
From a description of the castle published in 1859: " Ellinge:Farm seat in Sallerups parish and Harjagers district of Malmo County, among one of Scania's oldest farms, has always been in the possession of high-born men."
The history of the estate can be traced at least as far as the 11th century with one of the first known the families who owned Ellinge was named Kvite. The estate then went to the house of Galen in the early 13th century, when it was found to be a defensible manor adapted both for agriculture and had ability to house many people. It next went to the Erlandsen family.
In 1371 the estate was taken over by Peder Axelsson Thott. It remained in his family, operating as a cattle ranch until 1395, when Niels Svendsen Chevron took possession of Ellinge . The estate was then in the Sparres family's possession until 1505. In 1505, Ellinge given to the Danish crown and was then sold in 1511 to the Norwegian-Danish Councilor Henry Krummedige. Ellinge is mentioned in connection with one of the many Danish-Swedish battles that took place during this time. A farm steward writes in a letter to his master about the looting of Ellinge by Søren Norby in the Scanian rebellion taking place at the time. Walnut trees are described as growing on the estate at this time; walnut trees can still be seen on the estate in modern times.
Christoffer Walkendorff, who was Ellinge's Manager from 1640-1690, describes the property in a written report as having a courtyard with a four-winged house group, a barn and being surrounded by a moat. From images of the estate at the time, it appears to have had a garden consisting of an embroidery parterre. It is also very likely that there was a vegetable garden somewhere inside or outside the moat.
Around 1650-1730, not much was done with the property due to the many wars in southern Sweden. In 1690, Hans Walkendorff took over the estate from his father; he was an alcoholic and did not look after the estate. Highly indebted, Hans sold the dilapidated property to Margareta von Ascheberg, who along with her husband previously lent money to Walkendorff. Margareta also owned many other estates, and she did little to repair Ellinge. The estate was then given to her son-in-law Wilhelm Bennet, baron and governor of Halland County, in 1724. Wilhelm began major repairs to Ellinge in 1735; he tore down the majority of the buildings in the courtyard except for the main building. It underwent major changes; the wings were demolished and it was reduced by one floor to a two story house. Two new, stand-alone half-timbered cabins were built at the northern and southern end of the property. A written description of the property from around this time describes three gardens, one of which one was located inside the moat, where it surrounded the main building and the southern wing.
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Wikipedia