TWENTY YEARS OF MANOR HOUSE RESEARCH
The Danish Centre for Manorial Research; Boardmembers and staff
On December 1, 2024, the Danish Research Centre for Manorial Studies celebrated its twentieth anniversary. Since 2004, the Centre has aimed to promote and coordinate research, researcher training, documentation, and dissemination of the cultural history of the Danish manor houses. Although small in size, the Centre has been able to punch above its weight and over the years it has become anchored in an extensive international research network.
Over the past 20 years, the Danish Centre for Manorial Research has hosted or been a partner in 17 major research projects at the Ph.D. and postdoc levels and carried out a number of smaller and larger mapping projects, reports, and case studies.
The Centre has found a particular niche in digital projects, with the website www.danskeherregaarde.dk being the farthest-reaching of its initiatives. On this platform, the Centre shares the history of over 700 Danish manors and country houses. The latest major opportunity for further development of the site lies in its ongoing integration of data about the large households of these manors and country houses, which will be expanded next year with the initiation of a large-scale servant database project.
Coordinating and exchanging knowledge in the research field plays a significant role in the work of the research centre, which acts as a coordinator for several networks in Denmark, the Nordic region, and Europe. Over the past twenty years, the Danish Research Centre for Manorial Studies has organized or played a coordinating role in more than 50 seminars and conferences.
The research centre recently hosted the Nordic castle and manorhouse Symposium (Nordisk Slots og Herregårdssymposium) Photo: DCH
The Centre has also published a series of books and articles aimed at both academic and broader audiences, and it participates in the production of Herregårdshistorie, the Danish Manor & Estate Museum’s journal. Each year, the Centre organizes events, lectures, tours, and landscape walks, and through its role as a knowledge centre, the Centre’s team interacts with a large group of citizens, journalists, researchers, authors, students, and others seeking information about the Danish manor houses.
The Danish Centre for Manorial research resides at Gammel Estrup – The Danish Manor & Estate Museum. Photo: DCH
The research centre is a collaborative project between Gammel Estrup Denmark’s Manor House Museum, Aarhus University, the Danish National Museum, and the Aarhus School of Architecture, and is led by a board with representatives from these founding organizations. The Centre was established under the leadership of former museum director Britta Andersen, who chaired the Centre’s board for many years. Since 2022, Museum Director Kasper Steenfeldt Tipsmark has served as chair. Nina Javette Koefoed has represented Aarhus University as vice-chair for ten years. Mikkel Venborg Pedersen has represented the National Museum on the board since the Centre’s founding in 2004. Nina Ventzel Riis has recently been appointed as the new representative for the Aarhus School of Architecture. Signe Boeskov is the Centre’s daily manager, and the team also includes research employees Klaus Højbjerg and Søren Broberg Knudsen
For further information write: dch@mail.dk