The early days

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.