Gyllingnæs Manor

This manor, which is one of the youngest in the region, is found at the end of the significant peninsula Gyllingnæs in Horsens Fjord. The manor, built by a flamboyant English merchant, has a view that is hard to match in peaceful surroundings. There is no public access to the manor, but you can see it on a hike along the coast of the peninsula.

Beautiful manor by Horsens Fjord

The large peninsula, Gyllingnæs, lies peacefully, far from larger towns. The manor at the end of the peninsula, with a history dating back to the early 1800s, has had an interesting ownership history and today stands beautifully as a gateway to Horsens Fjord.

The history of the manor

The land where the manor now stands originally belonged to the Åkjær Estate, but was purchased in 1801 by the English merchant John Smith, who had a financial interest in the many valuable oak trees that then covered the peninsula. The manor remained in English hands well into the 1800s. The Smith family was quite flamboyant and reportedly had a past as pirates, and were also accused of, among other things, abductions and immorality. The lifestyle of John Smith’s son is described in St. St. Blicher's novella, Den Hule Eg ("The Hollow Oak"), while T.A. Becker's novella Englænderne på Gyllingnæs ("The English on Gyllingnæs") also focuses on the interesting owners.

Today, Gyllingnæs is owned by the well-known financier Troels Holck-Povlsen, founder of the global fashion company Bestseller. Gyllingnæs is one of the farms within the company De 5 Gårde, which sells Danish-produced food.

The current main building was constructed in 1865 as an elegant, whitewashed, two-story building.

See Gyllingnæs on a hike

There is no public access to the manor, and it is not permitted to enter the park-like garden. However, it is possible to see the manor from the coast on a hike. From the village of Lerdrup, a gravel road runs along Lerdrup Bay to the westernmost point of the peninsula, where there is a small parking lot. A hike from here to the tip of the peninsula along the coast and back is approximately 9 kilometers. Along the way, you pass right by the manor at the shoreline.