About ENCOUNTER
European Network for Country House and Estate Research ‘ENCOUNTER’ is a European research network with the aim of forming European partnerships between scholars and cultural institutions who share a professional interest in research and interpretation of manor and country house history. It aims to explore and highlight regional variations and notable similarities in the history of castles and manors across Europe from 1500 to the present and will discuss how estates and estate landscapes are preserved and interpreted as cultural heritage today.
Members of the network wish to cross traditional boundaries between history, archaeology, art history, architecture and heritage management and to further international transdisciplinary partnerships between researchers and professionals in universities and museums.
ENCOUNTER was founded in October 2015 at Gammel Estrup The Danish Manor Museum, Denmark, by a group of European researchers, curators, professionals in the heritage sector and others with an academic interest in the field.
Our objectives
We foster collaboration between universities, museums, and heritage institutions to encourage transdisciplinary research and knowledge exchange.
Our members investigate estate history, architecture, and landscape development, examining how manors and estates have shaped European societies.
Through events, publications, and digital initiatives, we aim to make estate research accessible to both scholars and the wider public.
What we do
We facilitate connections between researchers, fostering collaboration among research environments. We support joint publishing and academic exchange on manor and estate history.
We organise international meetings, seminars, and conferences to discuss key themes and new discoveries in the field.
Through newsletters, social media, and our website, our members keep each other informed about the latest developments in the field, including publications, events, exhibitions, projects, source materials, and network activities.