Hafslund Manor

Farming, fishing, and hunting — and Sarpfossen waterfall — were the valuable resources of Hafslund, which was declared crown land. Today, the beautiful Hafslund Manor is a protected cultural landmark.

Hafslund has been settled for more than 5,000 years; the Manor’s park features rock carvings more than 3,000 years old. Easy-to-cultivate, south-facing moraine soil, along with fishing and hunting, fostered early settlements. A letter written in 1344 is the earliest record of the farm’s name. Hafslund is derived from the man’s name, Hafr, and the suffix, lund, which means a grove.

Cultural center

The first distinguished Hafslund residents, who lived during the 1400s, were members of the Gyldenhorn family. Hafslund was a manor of international caliber, located on the royal road to Christiania (now Oslo) near the Sandesund ferry landing. Kings, nobles, and the cultural elite stayed at Hafslund Manor. These visits brought prestige to the lords of Hafslund Manor, who would invite prominent individuals there, often at great personal expense.

Hafslund Manor and it residents acted as a cultural bridge to the rest of Europe and promoted art, culture, and expertise in the widest sense. Crown land, privileges, and significant industrial activities enabled several of the manor’s owners to play key roles in society and politics.

A self-sufficient community

Hafslund has traditionally teemed with activity: farming, forestry, sawmills powered by Sarpfossen, and timber trade. The generation of electric power represented a continuation of that tradition. Over the centuries, a network of farms, mills, tenant farms, farmers, and workers supplied the manor with goods and services. From the second half of the 1600s, Hafslund was a self-sufficient enterprise. Timber from its woods was cut at its sawmills and transported by its own vessels, using indigenous labor. From the mid-1700s, Hafslund was a highly developed community, featuring its own school and welfare services for the poor. Technological advances made it possible to generate electric power at the manor’s waterfall concession — a development that transformed Hafslund in 1898 into a modern industrial company.

Protected cultural landmark

The manor’s main building was built in 1762, after the former baroque manor house was destroyed by fire in the fall of 1758. Many well-known families such as Bildts, Werenskiolds, Huitfeldts, Eliesons, Holters, Wessels, and Rosenkrantzes, have owned Hafslund Manor. Few Norwegian manors have preserved their buildings and grounds so carefully.

Visiting the manor

The Manor House is now used for meetings and to showcase the Hafslund Group. In summer, the public is welcome to visit the lovely building by joining a guided tour. The park offers pleasant strolls under wide tree canopies.