Kronstad Hovedgård

Historie

Kronstad Hovedgård is a manor house and mansion in the city of Bergen, Norway. It is located in the borough of Årstad on the south shore of the bay of Store Lungegårdsvannet. Kronstad Hovedgård is situated about 2 km south of Bergen.The farm of Kronstad, then named Hunsstadir, later Honstad and Hunstad, was established in the 12th century, belonging to the monastery of Nonneseter.From 1685-1693, the manor belonged to Jørgen Thormøhlen (1640–1708), a shipowner, innovator and entrepreneur after having been transferred to the members of the Lunge family some time before that. In 1705, Anders Bruun, vicar of Bergen Cathedral, purchased the manor renaming it Cronstad. Christian Gerhard Ameln, a merchant, purchased it in 1781, constructing several new buildings and clearing the fields. Ameln also constructed a new one-floored manor house.Joachim Friele (1793–1881), a merchant, wine importer and successful exporter, bought Kronstad in 1840. Inspired by the French Château Margaux, he hired architect Ole Peter Riis Høegh (1806–1852) to reconstruct the building. At the time, it was one of the largest private mansions in the district.Today, it is owned by Bergen and Hordaland UN Veteran Association and the Active War Participants Association, and is being rented out for various uses. The building is one of the finest late-Empire style buildings in Bergen.