Gl Holtegaard

Gl Holtegaard was designed by the architect Lauritz de Thurah (1706–59), known for such projects as the spire of Vor Frelser Kirke [The Church of Our Redeemer] and the royal hunting lodge of Eremitageslot. He purchased the then Gl Holtegaard in 1755 in order to establish a suitable country house for himself outside Copenhagen. 

To begin with he extended and laid out the garden within the boundaries of the lime-tree avenues, preserved to this day. When the new buildings were complete, Gl Holtegaard had become a magnificent estate, with farm buildings and even a royal privileged inn. 

The main building, with its two pavilions, still stands almost as it did in 1757, seen from the outside. In the tower hang the two bells Thurah had cast in 1756, and the workings of the clock are also original. Thurah was not, however, to live very long at Gl Holtegaard, dying as early as 1759. After his death, Gl Holtegaard had many different owners. 

In 1976, Søllerød Municipality took over and restored Gl Holtegaard, designing the interior of the main building to feature changing exhibitions.