A Brief Building History of Hafslund's Main Building
Before the fire in 1758, Hafslund was a four-winged complex with an enclosed courtyard. When Hafslund was to be rebuilt after the fire, the stone walls remained and were built upon. The south wing was presumably most damaged by fire and was completely demolished, while the other wings were extended and modified. Today’s cohesive rococo palace from 1761 thus consists of much older parts.
The original four wings were erected by different owners over a longer period of time. Most written sources about Hafslund’s early buildings are unfortunately lost. Thanks to its location by the mighty Sarps Falls, Hafslund has been a popular subject for landscape painters. Therefore, dated depictions exist that allow us to say quite a bit about Hafslund’s building history.
The East Wing, built by Otte Bildt around 1600
The east wing is entirely built of rubble stone and is the oldest part of today’s building. Only the cellar vaults are built in brick. This wing was erected by the nobleman Otte Bildt as the first stone house on the estate.
The West Wing, built by Otte Bildt in 1608
The west wing is built in yellow brick on a rubble stone base. It was built by the nobleman Otte Bildt and Inger Jespersdatter around 1608, when Hafslund received its privileges as a noble manor.
The South Wing, built by Daniel Bildt between 1655 and 1664
The south wing had a gate room with entrance to the courtyard and a stair tower, and was built in plastered rubble stone with gables of brick. The south wing’s outer dimensions were approximately 44 x 31 meters and 10 meters wide, extraordinary dimensions. The likely builder is War Commissioner Daniel Ottesen Bildt, who took over the estate in 1624 and died in 1664. The construction can probably be connected to his second marriage to Birgitte Bjelke, daughter of Norway’s Chancellor Jens Bjelke.
The North Wing, built by Niels Werenskiold of Hafslund between 1701 and 1726
The north wing is partly of older yellow brick (approximately two meters up), the rest is red brick from the reconstruction after the fire in 1758. The building may have been erected after Werenskiold’s ennoblement and marriage to Elisabeth de Tonsberg. It was either completed for the royal visit in 1704 or the royal visit in 1733. The building had a high main floor on a high cellar, with a lower second floor.
The entire square complex rebuilt by Karen Werenskiold and Hartvig Huitfeldt after 1741
The tower was demolished and the four wings were united under one common hipped roof. Niels Werenskiold died in 1741, and Frederik V was to visit Hafslund during his royal visit in 1749. In 1754, Karen de Werenskiold Huitfeldt sold the main estate to Elieson.
Fire in 1758 – reconstruction
Main Building, Peter and Anna Elieson in 1761–1762
The couple Anna Collett and Peter Elieson managed to own Hafslund for just a few years before the main building burned in the winter of 1758. After the fire, Hafslund’s main building was completed and rebuilt in 1762, a three-winged building in cohesive rococo style, with a mansard roof and walls in brick and whitewashed masonry. Previous builders were to some extent honored, as stones carved with the initials of Bildt (B) and Niels Werenskiold (NV) are built into the facade on the west and east wings, although the placement cannot be said to reveal who built what.
The architect was presumably Anna Collett’s brother, who is also credited with designing Bogstad in Sørkedalen in Oslo. The sister Anna is depicted in a small watercolor with drawings of Hafslund, and may have been involved in the design in some form.
The main building appeared then and now as Norway’s most magnificent late baroque manor house. The gable field with the coats of arms of the Collett and Elieson families is in sandstone from Gotland, and was carved in Copenhagen by the era’s foremost sculptors.
The entrance door is the original from the year of construction. The building had small-paned, four-frame windows with a centrally placed crossbar. The inventory is exceptionally well preserved, but minimal original inventory exists today.
Unrealized renovation from 1794, designed by architect Joseph Chr. Lillie.
This change was planned when Ole Christopher Wessel and Maren Juel bought back Hafslund to live here, but was shelved when Wessel died in 1794.
The Pavilions
Both pavilions were built when the main building was completed and rebuilt in 1761–62. The pavilions seem to have always been the steward’s residence, at least from 1801 during Rosenkrantz’s time, and throughout the century until the development of the falls for electricity production in the 1890s.
