Klintholm Estate

Klintholm is an estate near Mons Klint on the Danish island of Møn. Originally owned by the Crown, since 1798 the estate has belonged to the Scavenius family. In 1838, a three-winged stone complex was built by G.F. Hetsch in the Neoclassical style and in 1875, a new manor house designed by August Klein in the Renaissance Revival style was completed but it was demolished in 2000.

Until 1769, the area was part of the Crown estate of Højemøn. As far as can be seen from surviving records, a merchant from Stubbekøbing by the name of Ditlev Staal bought the estate in 1774 and constructed the first buildings between 1778 and 1780. They included a dairy, 48 m (157 ft) long and 13 m (43 ft) wide. It was around this period that the name Klintholm appeared for the first time. Until then, the estate had been known as Klintegodset (the cliff estate). Staal maintained ownership for only 10 years until his death in 1797. In June 1798, Jacob Brønnum Scavenius bought the property.

Jacob Scavenius purchased numerous properties in the surroundings, extending the estate to an area of some 3,000 ha (7,400 acres). In 1819, all the Klintholm buildings were destroyed by fire but were quickly reconstructed in 1820. The new complex included a brick factory and a limestone plant. The estate was efficiently run for several generations. Carl Sophus Scavenius who found the main building too small for his wife and 10 children, built a grandiose new manor in 1875. He also developed the harbour village of Klintholm Havn which served to transport the estate's products.

In 1945, the estate came into the hands of Carl Christian Scavenius. He managed it with great enthusiasm, acquiring Denmark's first herd of Hereford cattle. He also encouraged tourism by setting up the Møns Klint Camping and the Ålekroen, a restaurant in Klinthom Havn.

The manor house built in 1873 was known as Kammerherreboligen. It was designed by August Klein in the so-called Rosenborg style, a Renaissance variant based on the architecture of Rosenborg Castle. With its tower, its projecting lateral wings, its mansard roof, Dutch gables, large windows and sculpted limestone decorations, the grandiose building fully reflected the Historicist trends of the times. Inside, the main entrance below the tower led into a large vaulted hall with rich stucco decorations, similar those in the other ground floor rooms with their fine parquet floors. The library was particularly impressive with its carved shelving. The decorations were the work of Adolph Hellesen (1831–1890).

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