Estrup Hovedgård, Vejen

Close to the former main road between Esbjerg and Kolding, a little west of Vejen is the smaller manor house.

In fact, the main road has gone over Estrup's courtyard, because the main building from 1721 is located south of the road, while the farm buildings have been located north of it -  the barns have been exposed to fire and have not been rebuilt after the last fire in 1976. It was Hans Bachman who was responsible for the construction – and he also owned the manor house Sønderskov, which is located close to Estrup. Up until 1861, you actually had to go through the gates of the farm when you followed the road. 

The current three-winged main building in the Renaissance style was built by Hans Blachmann in 1721, and he chose to build on top of the masonry from a building from the 1500s.

In this part of Jutland there were not many manor houses. We know about Estrup Manor since 1553, when  the farm was owned by Lene Rosenkrantz, the widow of Thomas Juel, who also owned the manor house Sønderskov a few km from Estrup. He was also an avid witch hunter. 

There was probably a village around Estrup in those times, but it is believed to have been abandoned after the Swedish wars and associated Polish mercenaries in 1657-1660. The Polish soldiers brought the plague to the area, and it hit Malt Parish, in which Estrup is located, as well as neighboring parishes. In 1695, Estrup Manor was sold to Christian Claudi, the first bourgeois lord on the farm. He also owned Skodborghus, which was located by the river Kongeå.

Around 1860, the building's façade and expression were rebuilt. 

Estrup Manor with its forest and agricultural land is today owned by a private foundation, and the building can only be seen from the outside. In recent years, the buildings have undergone extensive renovation with a new roof and interior renovation.