Thomas Erichsens Minde
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thomas Erichsens Minde is a landmark estate and Manor house located on the isle of Askøy in Vestland county, Norway.[1]
Starting in the 1500s, Hop Farm (Hop hovedgård) was the seat of the magistrate of Bergen and Evindvig. The farm was in 1651 taken over by the mayor and the presiding judge Hans Hansen Smidt (ca. 1610–1681), who was ennobled in 1676 with the name of Lilienskiold. His son, Hans Hansen Lilienskiold, Governor of Finnmark, took possession over both the noble title and the estate after his father. During the period of 1703–1737, the farm was owned by Minister Niels Knagh (1661-1737), later ennobled with the name of Knagenhielm. He was among the richest men of Western Norway and the land owner of vast areas in Kaupanger. The farm was subsequently inherited by Justice Christian Krogh.[2][3][4][5][6]
Thomas Erichsen
In 1792 the property was bought by Thomas Erichsen (1752-1795), a merchant from Flensburg in Schleswig-Holstein. He had become one of the richest men in Bergen. Between 1793 and his death in 1795, he built the main building in Louis XVI style and also built a magnificent garden with an 800 meter long avenue down to Hop harbor. The lower section of the avenue consists of ash trees, while further up it is linden trees.[7]
