Early history

Gunderslevholm was in the Middle Ages located in the village of Gunderslevmagle, The manor was in the beginning of the 14th century owned by Niels Pedersen who passed it on to his sons Peder Nielsen and Jens Nielsen. Jens Nielsen sold it to Johannes Mogensen Grubbe, a judge of Zealand, in 1333. Grubbe constructed a fortified house on the estate, but it was destroyed by king Valdemar IV's troops just a few years later, probably because Johannes Mogensen Grubbe had sided with Holstein, in their conflict with the Danish king. Johannes Mogensen Grubbe was killed on the third day of the action. Gunderslev was then passed on to Johannes Mogensen Grubbe's three sons, Mogens Jens Grubbe (later bishop of Børglum), Esbern Rage Grubbe and Bent Biug Grubbe, who had all remained loyal to the king. Bent Biug Grubbe, who later became the sole owner of the estate, served as hofmeister for Olaf II of Denmark. His son Jens died without children in 1405. His sister, Cecilie, was married to Tyge Basse. Their daughter was married to Ove Jacobsen Lunge, whose daughter Ellen Ovesdatter Lunge married Axel Lagesen Brok.^[1]

Gøye family

Christoffer Gøye, the owner of Gunderslevholm from 1560 to 1584, who is buried in Gunderslev Kirke (Gunderslev Church).

Mogens Gøye's first wife, Mette Bydelsbak, the daughter of Albrecht Engelbrechtsen Bydelsbak and Pernille Brock, was the last surviving member of her family after her brother had died in Dithmarschen. Gunderslevholm therefore passed to Mogens Gøye when Axel Lagesen Brok died in 1498. Mogens Gøye constructed a new main building in circa 1530.^[1]

When Mogens Gøye died in 1544, Gunderslevholm was initially passed to his second eldest son, Eskil Gøye, who died without children in 1560. Gunderslevholm was therefore passed on to his elder brother, Christoffer Gøye. who served in the war against Sweden in 1564-65. He died in Viborg in 1584 but is buried in Gunderslev Kirke (Gunderslev Church). His son and only child had died back in 1550, and Gunderslevholm was there passed to his nephew, Mogens Gøye, a son of his younger brother, Falk Gøye. Mogens Gøye was headmaster of Herlufsholm Boarding School from 1609.^[1]

Krabbe family

Iver Krabbe.

Mogens Gøye the Younger's son, Christoffer Gøye, in 1631 sold Gunderslevholm to Ejler Urne. Urne's son-in-law, Flemming Ulfeldt, in 1647 sold Gunderslevholm to Iver Krabbe. King Frederik III (1609-70) made Iver Krabbe Governor-General of Norway. Iver Krabbe died on Gunderslevholm on 30 October 1666. Gunderslevholm remained in the Krabbe family's possession until 1693.^[2]

Changing owners

Birgitte Reedtz, the widow of Markor Rodsteen, purchased Gunderslevholm at an auction in 1693. Reedtz' heir, Christian Rodsteen, a foster son, sold Gunderslevholm to Elisabeth Sophie von Holstein in 1707. She served as lady-in-waiting for the queen. Elisabeth Sophie von Holstein sold Gunderslevholm to a court priest, Hector Gottfried Masius, who died shortly thereafter. The Masius family was ennobled under the name von der Maase in 1712. Christian von der Maase expanded the Gunderslevholm estate with more land.

Carl Adolph von Plessen

Carl Adolph von Plessen.

Carl Adolph von Plessen bought Gunderslevholm in 1725. Plessen constructed a new main building in 1729 and expanded the estate through the acquisition of new land. Carl Adolph von Plessen improved the living conditions for the peasants on his estates, e.g. through the construction of schools.

Carl Adolph von Plessen later included the estate in the Plessenske Fideikommis. The legal effect of a fideikommis was that the estate could not be sold, mortgaged, or divided between heirs. The Plessenske Fideikommis was converted from land to capital when the Plessen estates were sold in 1803.^[3]

de Neergaard family

Stone in Gunderslevmagle commemorating the transition from copyholds to freeholds.

The new owner of Gunderslevholm was Peter Johansen de Neergaard. He died at Gunderslevholm in 1835 but had already ceded it to his second-oldest son, Carl de Neergaard. Carl de Neergaard had no children and therefore left Gunderslevholm to his nephew Johan Thomas Oluf de Neergaard who was subsequently succeeded by his son Ferdinand Lorenz de Neergaard.^[4]