Frogner Manor
Encyclopedia
Frogner
Frogner is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. In addition to traditional Frogner, the borough incorporates Bygdøy, Uranienborg and Majorstuen....
in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Norway. The estate is now the site of Frognerparken. The 18th century buildings on the grounds are now maintained by the Oslo City Museum
Oslo City Museum
Oslo City Museum is located in the Frogner Manor in Oslo, the capital of Norway.The museum has an extensive library with the purpose of documenting the history of the City of Oslo, as well as the former municipality Aker. The museum also has one of the largest and most important photo collections...
.
History
In 1790 the estate was bought by timber merchant and shipowner, Bernt Anker (1746-1805), Norway's richest person at the time. He extended the main building to its present size. He died a childless widower in 1805, and Frogner was bought by his nephew Morten Anker in 1807. His business was hard hit by the economic depression during and after the Napoleonic wars, and he eventually went bankrupt and was forced to sell Frogner by auction in 1836. The buyer was the Director General of the Modums BlaafarveværkBlaafarveværket
Blaafarveværket in Modum, Norway, founded by King Christian VII of Denmark-Norway in the 1770s, became the largest industrial company of the country in the mid-19th century. The works mined cobalt ore and manufactured by smelting blue cobalt glass and cobalt blue pigment...
, Jacob Benjamin Wegner
Jacob Benjamin Wegner
Jacob Benjamin Wegner was a Prussian-born, Norwegian investor, industrialist, diplomat and landowner.-Biography:Jacob Benjamin Wegner was born in Königsberg in East Prussia. He was from a shipping family...
. In 1848 Fredrik Georg Gade, a wealthy merchant from Bergen, Norway, purchased the manor. His heirs held the property in joint ownership, under the management of his son Gerhard Gade (1839-1909). He was married to an American, Hellen Allyne, and was the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
in Oslo. The former U.S. president and general Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
visited Kristiania
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
in the summer of 1878, and attended a gala dinner at Frogner with his entourage.
Major parts of the farmland belonging to the manor was built up through the end of the 19th century as the city expanded, but around one square kilometer remained when the city of Oslo bought the property in 1896 to secure space for further urban development and a new cemetery. The last private owner, Gerhard Gade, retained the right to inhabit the house until his death in 1909. This spared the house from demolition, and an economic recession prevented further building on the land.
In the meantime, the house was recognised as an important cultural monument. It was restored and placed at the disposal of the Oslo City Museum
Oslo City Museum
Oslo City Museum is located in the Frogner Manor in Oslo, the capital of Norway.The museum has an extensive library with the purpose of documenting the history of the City of Oslo, as well as the former municipality Aker. The museum also has one of the largest and most important photo collections...
. The remaining grounds were designated as a public park, today's Frognerparken. The Vigeland Sculpture Park now occupies large portions of this park.
Etymology
The Norse form of the name was Fraunar. The name is probably derived from the word fraud 'manureManure
Manure is organic matter used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Manures contribute to the fertility of the soil by adding organic matter and nutrients, such as nitrogen, that are trapped by bacteria in the soil...
' - and then with the meaning 'fertilized ground' (se also Tøyen
Tøyen
Tøyen is a residential area in the central parts of Oslo, Norway, part of the borough of Gamle Oslo.-Location:It is noted for its high concentration of immigrants. The multicultural atmosphere makes Tøyen very trendy and popular with continually rising cost of housing.There are two different...
).
Frognerseteren
The seter (mountain dairy farm) of Frogner was situated near the summit of the HolmenkollenHolmenkollen
Holmenkollen is a neighborhood in the Vestre Aker borough of Oslo, Norway. In addition to being a residential area, the area has been a ski recreation area since the late 19th century, with its famous, eponymous, ski jump arena hosting competitions since 1892...
hill north of Oslo. The name is still preserved in the terminal Frognerseteren station
Frognerseteren (station)
Frognerseteren is the end station of the Holmenkollen Line of the Oslo Metro, located in the Marka section of Oslo, the capital city of Norway. It is the station after Voksenkollen. The line to Frognerseteren was completed on 16 May 1916. The station has two platforms which, like other stations on...
of the suburban Holmenkoll Line, opened in 1898 and extended in 1916.
Other sources
- Magnussen, Kjeld (1967) Gaarden Store Frogner (Oslo: Bymuseum)
- Gade, Ingeborg (1921) Stamtavle over slegterne Gade og Wallem (Kristiania: Det Mallingske Bogtrykkeri)
- Gade, John A.John Allyne GadeJohn Allyne Gade was an American architect, naval officer, diplomat, investment banker and author.-Background:...
(1942) All My Born Days. Experiences of a Naval Intelligence Officer in Europe (New York, Charles Scribner's Sons) - Wegner, R. B.(1963) Familien Wegner (Halden)