Kronstad Hovedgård
Encyclopedia
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
and mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
in the city of Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. It is located in the borough of Årstad on the south shore of the bay of Store Lungegårdsvannet
Store Lungegårdsvannet
Store Lungegårdsvannet is a bay located in the city and municipality of Bergen, Norway. The bay separates the city centre, located in the borough of Bergenhus, from the southern boroughs of the city, Årstad, Fana and Ytrebygda...
. Kronstad Hovedgård is situated about 2 km south of Bergen.
The farm of Kronstad, then named Hunsstadir, later Honstad and Hunstad, was established in the 12th century, belonging to the monastery of Nonneseter
Nonneseter Abbey, Bergen
Nonneseter Abbey was a monastery of nuns in Bergen, Norway. A small part of the former abbey church remains in use as a chapel, the Nonneseter kapell .-History:...
.
From 1685-1693, the manor belonged to Jørgen Thormøhlen (1640–1708), a shipowner, innovator and entrepreneur after having been transferred to the members of the Lunge family some time before that. In 1705, Anders Bruun, vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
of Bergen Cathedral
Bergen Cathedral
Bergen Cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of Bjørgvin. Located in the city centre of Bergen, Norway, the first recorded reference to it is dated 1181. It retains its ancient dedication to St Olaf ....
, purchased the manor renaming it Cronstad. Christian Gerhard Ameln, a merchant, purchased it in 1781, constructing several new buildings and clearing the fields. Ameln also constructed a new one-floored manor house.
Joachim Friele (1793–1881), a merchant, wine importer and successful exporter, bought Kronstad in 1840. Inspired by the French Château Margaux
Château Margaux
Château Margaux, archaically La Mothe de Margaux, is a wine estate of Bordeaux wine, and was one of four wines to achieve Premier cru status in the Bordeaux Classification of 1855. The estate's best wines are very expensive...
, he hired architect Ole Petter Riis Høegh (1806–1852), to reconstruct the building. At the time, it was one of the largest private mansions in the district.
Today, it is owned by Bergen and Hordaland UN Veteran Association and the Active War Participants Association, and is being rented out for various uses. The building is one of the finest late-Empire style buildings in Bergen.