“Militar Schule”. Those words still echo in the walls of Vosnæs. Vosnæs is more than just a building. It’s a time capsule. This estate whispers tales of noble families, agricultural innovation, and even wartime occupation.
Vosnæs or Vosnæsgård is located northeast of Skødstrup. It dates back to the Middle Ages. Back then, the estate served as the main village farm. The two villages Vosnæs and Indrup were connected to it.
Let’s journey back to the late 1400s. Oluf Jepsen owned Vosnæs from 1486 to 1500. Then, the noble Strangesen family took over. They held it for over a century. In 1620, the estate was sold to sisters Lisbeth and Anne Friis. This happened after the Strangesens got involved in a false debt case. Several significant Danish noble families owned Vosnæs afterward.
The main building you see today was built in 1897. August H. Klein designed it. But before this building, two other large farm structures stood here. The first one was built in 1725 by Joachim Gersdorff. It was a three-winged half-timbered building. Around this time, part of the surrounding farmland was turned into a terraced baroque garden. The garden still exists. It now resembles an English landscape garden. It blends with the low-lying wetlands around the estate. Before this building, the Rosenkrantz family owned the estate. It became a noble manor with special privileges. The second main building was built in 1851. Kontreadmiral Johan Wilhelm Cornelius Krieger owned the estate then. This time, the building was made of brick instead of half-timber.
Gebhardt F. H. Knuth significantly shaped Vosnæs. He took over the estate in 1878. He started a major renovation project. He modernized the production and living conditions for farmworkers. The farm was moved southeast of the main building. New stables and barns were built. A smithy and modern homes for the estate’s employees were also added. These changes made Vosnæs a modern farm for its time. It considered the well-being of its employees. In 1897, Gebhardt F. H. Knuth began building a new three-winged main building. The white-plastered, two-story building was built in the Neo-Renaissance style. Its exterior is almost identical to how it looks today.
During World War II, German soldiers occupied Vosnæs. It was used as a military school. The estate’s owner, Count Torben C. Knuth, was part of the resistance. This made life difficult and dangerous for him. The Germans damaged the property during the war. Extensive renovations were needed afterward. The interior suffered the most damage. That is where the most significant renovations took place.
Today, Count Adam Kristian Knuth owns Vosnæs. The Knuth family has owned it for almost 150 years. The farm focuses on crop cultivation with grain and seeds. It also includes forestry and pig farming. The estate also runs a riding center for disabled people. Vosnæs employs seven people. It operates in connection with Studstrupgården.
Vosnæsgård is in a beautiful landscape. It connects Vosnæsgård Forest and the fields sloping toward Kalø Vig. North of the estate is a long east-west depression. Hulbækken stream runs through it. The sloping terrain is used for a terraced garden north of the main building. The core of the estate is the main building. It is located at the edge of the small depression to the north. The white-plastered, tile-hung main building has two stories. It is decorated with a frontispiece with welsh gables. Two lower side wings flank the main house. They are slightly offset from the main house’s axis.
The terraced baroque garden now resembles an English landscape garden. It connects with the low-lying wetland surrounded by the forest to the north. Along Vosnæsvej are buildings connected to the estate. To the east, a large fieldstone barn marks the end of the manor complex.
So as you stand before Vosnæs, remember its long and varied history. From noble families to wartime occupation, Vosnæs has witnessed it all. It stands as a testament to the changing times. It also shows the enduring legacy of the Knuth family.