The Reception

The Reception – the house's most stately room

Never before has such use of silver and Prussian blue with lead white been seen in Norway. Here, the original colors have been recreated after meticulous examination and measurement of color pigments at a micro-level. Together with the Elieson family’s coat of arms and the marbling on the fire wall, the room provides a good example of how magnificent Hafslund appeared after the fire in 1758. This is Elieson’s Hafslund. All panels and fillings are from the house’s interior, completed in 1762. The furniture is period-appropriate Rococo. Here hang portraits of the Danish-Norwegian royal family, the Swedish, and the Norwegian royal families who have visited the estate. In addition, the most important depictions of the main estate are displayed here.

Royal Portrait

Portrait of Frederik V as a Blue Knight, painted by Hörner

Oil on canvas, 18th century

The room contains several portraits of Frederik V; this is because he was king during the fire and for a good period after the reconstruction. Frederik V visited the estate as a guest of the widowed Generalinde Karen de Werenskiold Huitfeldt in 1749. Later, her son, Mathias Huitfeldt, became Frederik V’s adjutant general. Karen herself became Frederik’s Queen Juliane Marie’s chief lady-in-waiting. These appointments can be seen as one of several reasons why Werenskiold-Huitfeldt sold the main estate to the Elieson family.

Frederik V was known for his extravagant life of drinking and partying. His planned royal tour of Norway was curtailed, and he only visited towns and places near the Oslofjord.

Johann Salomon Wahl, oil on canvas. 18th century

Johann Salomon Wahl, oil on canvas. 18th century

Unknown artist, oil on canvas. Late 18th century.

Frederik IV was at Hafslund in 1704 and had dinner. He visited Niels Werenskiold, who had then become county governor, and the absolute monarch seemed to have a fondness for Italy after a long journey at the end of the 17th century – Werenskiold had also made the same journey around the same time. The King must have been pleased with the reception at Hafslund; after the visit, Niels Werenskiold received a new rank title.

Andreas Møller, oil on canvas. 18th century.

Prince Frederik, later Frederik V, wearing white gloves, ermine cloak, and the Order of the Elephant and its ribbon.

Crown Prince Frederik was born at 10 PM on March 31, 1723, as the only son of Crown Prince Christian of Denmark and Norway (later King Christian VI) and Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. He was the last Danish prince to be born at the old Copenhagen Castle from the 14th century, which was demolished and replaced by Christiansborg Palace.

Prince Frederik was paid homage in Denmark on September 6, 1731, at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen. The portrait of Frederik with white gloves, ermine, and the Order of the Elephant was probably made for the homage in 1731 and shows Frederik as a nine-year-old.

Unknown artist, oil on canvas. Late 19th century.

On July 31, 1790, Crown Prince Frederik married his cousin Marie Sophie, daughter of Landgrave Karl of Hesse and Christian VII’s sister Louise, at Gottorp Castle. They had eight children, six of whom died young. No sons survived, only two daughters: Caroline and Vilhelmine. The couple had no grandchildren.

Unknown artist, oil on canvas. Late 19th century.

Princess Louisa was Frederik VI’s sister, but is assumed to be his half-sister, with Christian VII’s physician, Struensee, as her father.

Unknown artist, oil on canvas. Late 18th century.

Portrait of Prince Frederik, later Frederik VI, probably around the time of his marriage to his cousin Marie Sophie Frederikke, later his queen. She was the daughter of Landgrave Karl of Hesse and Christian VII’s sister Louise. They had eight children, six of whom died young. No sons survived, only two daughters: Caroline and Vilhelmine. The couple had no grandchildren.

Small brass relief in a frame of King Karl Johan (Jean Baptiste Bernadotte). Late 19th century.

Erik Vilhelm le Moine (attributed), oil on canvas. Last part of the 19th century

Unknown artist, Gouache on wood panel. Early 19th century.

Prince Christian August of Augustenborg (1768–1810) was a Danish-German prince and a central figure in Scandinavia’s history at the beginning of the 19th century. He was governor of Norway from 1809 to 1810 and played an important role in defending Norwegian independence during the Napoleonic Wars. During the war against Sweden in 1808, he had his headquarters at Hafslund. In 1809, he was elected Swedish heir apparent under the name Karl August, after King Gustav IV Adolf was deposed in a coup d’état. The choice of Christian August was an attempt to improve relations between Sweden and Norway, which was still in union with Denmark.

He quickly became popular in Sweden but died suddenly of a stroke during a military exercise in May 1810. His death caused great political unrest in Sweden and led to the French marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte later being chosen as the Swedish heir apparent.

King Olav V was born on July 2, 1903, at Appleton House in Norfolk, England. He was the son of King Haakon VII (1872-1957) and Queen Maud (1869-1938). He was christened Alexander Edward Christian Frederik and was a Prince of Denmark.

He was two years old when his father, then Prince Carl, became King of Norway in 1905. The Crown Prince then received the name Olav.

Märtha (born March 28, 1901, in Stockholm, died April 5, 1954, in Oslo) was Crown Princess of Norway from 1929 until her death. Swedish-born Märtha Sofia Lovisa Dagmar Thyra was married to her cousin, Crown Prince (later King) Olav V (1903-91).

August 3, 1872 – September 21, 1957.
Son of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Louise of Denmark. Married Princess Maud of Great Britain on July 22, 1896. Elected King of Norway after the dissolution of the union with Sweden in 1905. Crowned in Nidaros Cathedral on June 22, 1906.
Children: King Olav V. Buried in the Royal Mausoleum at Akershus Castle in Oslo.

Motto: All for Norway

Harald V (born 1937) is the King of Norway, son of King Olav V and Crown Princess Märtha. He succeeded his father on January 17, 1991, becoming the first Norwegian king born in Norway in 567 years (the previous one being Olav Håkonsson, who became king in 1380). The Norwegian royal family belongs to the North German princely house of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.

Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen; 1937) has been Queen of Norway since January 17, 1991. She married Crown Prince Harald on August 29, 1968, and then became Crown Princess of Norway.

Oscar II (born January 21, 1829, at Stockholm Palace, died there on December 8, 1907) was King of Norway from 1872 until the dissolution of the union in 1905, and King of Sweden from 1872 until his death. Oscar II visited Hafslund on the occasion of the inauguration of the hydropower plant in 1899. As regent, he was concerned with economic progress for the twin kingdoms. Oscar was the son of Oscar I and Josephine of Leuchtenberg. His brother Karl IV succeeded their father on the throne, and when he died childless in 1872, Oscar was first in line of succession, as his elder brother Gustav had also passed away.

Eugen Napoleon Nicolaus was a Swedish prince and artist, Duke of Närke, fourth son of Oscar II. Prince Eugen began painting under the guidance of Hans Gude, Gegerfelt, and Salmson, and studied in Paris from 1887–1889 under Bonnat, Roll, and Puvis de Chavannes.

In his landscapes from the 1890s, he interpreted the Nordic summer landscape in evening and night light with fine poetic empathy. His most famous painting is The Cloud (1895). He visited Hafslund with his parents.

Sophie was Queen of Sweden from 1872 to 1907 and of Norway from 1872 to 1905 through her marriage to King Oscar II. She was the daughter of Duke Wilhelm of Nassau.

Sophie was deeply religious and engaged in extensive social charity work. Sophiahemmet in Stockholm and Sophies Minde in Oslo are named after her.

Karl was born at Stockholm Palace as the eldest son of Oscar I and Josephine. At birth, he received the title Duke of Skåne. In the 1840s, he studied in Uppsala and Christiania. On June 19, 1850, he married Louise of the Netherlands. They had a daughter, Louise, in 1851, and a son, Carl Oscar, in 1852. Carl Oscar died as a child. Their daughter Louise eventually became Queen of Denmark, married to Frederik VIII of Denmark. Among her children were Christian X of Denmark, Haakon VII of Norway, and Ingeborg, who married Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland, and was the mother of, among others, Crown Princess Märtha. The image is a copy.

Other paintings and graphics

Mathias Blumenthal, Prospect of the Waterfall Sarp, 1747.

Oil on canvas

Gouache by unknown artist

Vue de Hafslundgaard de Côté du Jardin, 1760s. Gouache on paper

Oil on canvas, copy after I. Connie’s painting from 1700.

The original was painted afterwards, commissioned by Christian V, who wanted paintings of the most spectacular places he had visited on his homage journey in 1685, where he visited Hafslund and saw Sarpsfossen. In the painting, we see how the sawmills are considerably more numerous on the Hafslund side, as this was before the great landslide two years later (1702) would make it easier to utilize the hydropower from the Borregård side as well.

The original hangs in the National Museum

Copy of illustration from 1733 published after Christian VI’s journey to Norway

Furniture

Danish cabinet in walnut with mirror and gilded moldings. A typical magnificent cabinet from around 1760.

Northern Europe circa 1760. With blue velvet upholstery in a French floral pattern

Northern Europe 1740–60. With blue velvet upholstery in a French floral pattern

Denmark/Norway 1750–60. With blue velvet upholstery in a French floral pattern

Denmark, 1760. The mirrors are placed between the windows and reflect the light from the candlesticks.

Veneered walnut, Denmark, 1760s. Sleigh-shaped feet, gold-painted moldings and edges. White secondary marble top. Secondary cast brass fittings.

Richly carved console table with cabriole legs, gilded with marble top, a pair. Denmark/Norway 1750–60.

Chinese with French gilded bronze and from Ragnar Moltzau senior’s collection. These were fashionable in the 1760s.

Lidded porcelain vase, China. 19th century.

French approx. 1760. With Zephyr heads, a pair

Late Baroque crystal chandelier, Bohemia/German 1740–60

Keshan (Iran). Silk, circa 1900–1920

Objects in the mirror cabinet

A similar goblet could have been used when Anna Collett Elieson toasted to “the new Hafslund” after the fire. The reconstruction was fully completed in 1762 (the house in 1761 and the inventory in 1762).

Portrait of Anna Collett Elieson with a drawing of Hafslund Manor, circa 1762

Published in connection with King Christian’s great journey to Norway

Portrait of King Frederik V and Queen Louisa