The manor

The von Ehrenheim family home at Gronsoo represents a rich and diverse example of Swedish fine arts and handicrafts from three centuries combined with wellpreserved interiors. It is a remarkable example of a living cultural environment embracing the palace, park and orchard together with farming and forestry.

Chancellor Johan Skytte, tutor to the future king Gustavus Adolphus built Gronsoo manor between 1607 and 1611. To Skytte, the manor was not only his home, but also a sign of his newly won status in society. The manor is one of the few built during the period of poverty between the era of Vasa palaces and the elaborate palaces of the Era of Swedish Supremacy. It was built in Renaissance style of grey stone and brick after French models, with a saddle roof, roof turrets and four square corner towers. On the ground floor one can still study well-preserved 17th century decorations.

 

The gardens

"As it stands, the entire estate creates a powerful impression, characterised by grandeur and filled with surprises in every season of the year. The disciplined greenery around the stone house surrounds it like walls which seem to protect it as it stands on the brow of the hill jutting out into Lake Mälaren." (Sigurd Wallin: Gronsoo)

Gronsoo Palace, built in 1611 by Chancellor Johan Skytte, was surrounded from the very beginning by gardens, which were developed successively and today offer a unique view of Swedish garden history. A visitor on a guided tour of the gardens can see traces and structures from at least five different periods of Swedish garden architecture.

The early 17th century Renaissance style orchard area, is well preserved and contains the oldest commercial apple orchard in Sweden today.

The foundation

The creation of Grönsöö Cultural and historical foundation is the core strategy to preserve the environment

The surviving strategies

Grönsöö is today an Estate of 720 ha where the operations are, forestry, agriculture, fruit orchards, renting out houses, tourism and cultural heritage management. In the latest decades the business idea of Grönsöö is to keep it as living, lived in heritage environment. In order to make that possible, in a modern society, two strategies have been deployed, the establishment of Grönsöö cultural and historical foundation and the opening of Grönsöö to the public.

Other operations

The basis of Grönsöö is the agricultural estate

The estate covers 720 hectares land. The most of the area is forests with 550 hectares productive forests mainly spurces and pines. The agricultural area is 70 hectares. The fruitorchards 9,5 hectares.

On the estate there is ten houses and seven vacationhouses that is rented out.

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