Gammel Estrup
Driving along the main road from Grenaa to Randers you pass
Gammel Estrup on your right-hand side shortly after leaving Auning.
On the left-hand side of the road is Helligbjerget (Holy Hill),
which down the ages has served as a landmark and viewing point. The
manor is a Renaissance building in red brick with a courtyard
surrounded by a moat. For over 600 years Gammel Estrup was passed
down by inheritance - until it was finally sold in 1926. As you
pass the manor you can also see the extensive farm buildings.
It is not known when the original Gammel Estrup was built.
Archaeological excavations around the site have discovered remains
from the 14th century, and there is further, medieval, evidence of
the periods when the manor was part of a land dispute or was
destroyed by warfare.
A single family owned the manor for 600 years. The oldest part
of the present building dates from c. 1490, when the owner, Lave
Brock (c. 1504), erected a "stone house" at the spot. A stone house
is another word for a fortress, Lave Brock being a temperamental
man who doubtless needed a secure retreat. In 1468, for example, he
killed Niels Paaske, a Randers merchant, with his bare hands.
The renaissance manor
The change to the manor's present-day appearance took place
largely in the 17th century, when Eske Brock (1560-1625), a member
of Christian IV's Royal Council, rebuilt and modernised the house.
Until his death in 1625 Eske Brock was one of Denmark's wealthies
men. He is the best-known of the manor owners at Gammel Estrup -
not for his deeds but for his diary, which gives a unique insight
into everyday life for a rich nobleman in the time of Christian
IV.
It is important to note that Gammel Estrup was not the only
estate owned by the Brock family. It formed part of a large estate
complex with several other manors. Eske Brock left no male issue,
so his daughter, Jytte Brock (1595-1640) and her husband, Jørgen
Skeel (1578-1631), inherited the estate when Eske Brock died in
1625. Jørgen Skeel was also a Member of the Royal Council and a man
of such power that he could challenge King Christian IV
himself.