Jarlsberg was a former countship that forms a part of today's Vestfold county in Norway.
The former countships of Jarlsberg and Larvik were merged into a county in 1821. Jarlsberg and Larvik's County (Jarlsberg og Larviks amt) were renamed Vestfold in 1919. [1]
Created in 1673 as Griffenfeldt Countship (Griffenfeld grevskap), it was after a few years known as Tønsberg Countship (Tønsberg grevskap) until 1684, when the name became Jarlsberg. Dating to 1681, the countship was associated with members of the Dano-Norwegian noble family, Wedel-Jarlsberg. [2] The countship was abolished in 1893 in accordance with Norway's nobility law, but the manor is still in its own family.
Jarlsberg was originally created as a countship in 1673 for Peder Schumacher Griffenfeld, a Danish statesman and Chancellor of Denmark during the reign of King Christian V of Denmark. Schumacher received in 1671 an armorial grant with the name Griffenfeld. [3] The creation involved that Count Griffenfeld, in addition to owning 14 percent of the countship's land, received large tax revenues and also the right to appoint all civil and ecclesiastical officials, including officers and judges, who would serve within the countship. [4]
After Griffenfeld's arrest in 1676, in the aftermath of the Scanian War, his properties and the countship was renamed Tønsberg Countship and were transferred by King Christian V to Ulrik Fredrik Gyldenløve, the Count of Larvik. Gyldenløve, an illegitimate son of King Frederick III of Denmark, was the Viceroy (Statholder) of Norway. [5]
In 1683, Ulrik Fredrik Gyldenløve sold Tøsnberg countship to Gustav Frederik Wilhelm Wedel. Von Wedel was an ancient nobility from Holstein, which received naturalization patent in 1681 as Friherre von Wedel by king Christian V. Field Marshal Wedel, who had become commanding General in Norway in 1681, received the title Lensgreve patent with the name Wedel af Jarlsberg in 1684 and introduced the name Jarlsberg, which means ‘Earl’s Hill’. [6]
Count Peder Griffenfeld was a Danish statesman and royal favourite. He became the principal adviser to King Christian V of Denmark from 1670 and the de facto ruler of the dual kingdom of Denmark-Norway in the first half of the 1670s. In 1673 he was appointed as Chancellor of Denmark, elevated to count, the highest aristocratic rank in Denmark-Norway, and received the Order of the Elephant, the country's highest order. At the behest of his enemies at court, Griffenfeld was arrested in early 1676 and convicted of treason, a charge that historians agree was false. He was imprisoned for 22 years, mainly at Munkholmen in Norway.
Fredriksvern was an important Norwegian naval base, just south of Larvik in Vestfold. It is named after Fredrik V Denmark-Norway. The town of Stavern has in many ways come to be because of this naval base.
Fortification Upgrades (1673–1675) was a re-organization of military forces and strengthening of the defenses of Norway. The Norwegian army in this period became much better prepared for conflict with Sweden than in any previous period. It numbered 12,000 men in five regiments of infantry, 6 companies of cavalry, and an artillery division with 76 field pieces. An additional Norwegian regiment was serving in Denmark.
Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve, Landgrave of Laurvig was Governor-general of Norway from 1664–1699. He was the leading general in Norway during the Scanian War, whose Norwegian leg is conventionally named the Gyldenløve War after him. In Norway he was also the Landgrave of Laurvig.
The aristocracy of Norway is the modern and medieval aristocracy in Norway. Additionally, there have been economical, political, and military elites that—relating to the main lines of Norway's history—are generally accepted as nominal predecessors of the aforementioned. Since the 16th century, modern aristocracy is known as nobility.
Count Johan Caspar Herman Wedel Jarlsberg was a Norwegian statesman and nobleman. He played an active role in the constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814 and was the first native Norwegian to hold the post of Governor-general of Norway with the authority of a viceroy, representing the absent king of Norway as head of the Norwegian cabinet during the union with Sweden.
Anthony Coucheron was an engineering officer. Coucheron played an important role in the history of Norwegian and Danish fortifications. As Sweden grew to be a great power in the 17th century, there were frequent wars in the Baltic region, and conflict was common along the borders between Sweden & Denmark-Norway. Easy invasions routes from Sweden were fortified on the Danish-Norwegian border with new or upgraded fortresses during this period, effectively establishing the modern borders between Norway & Sweden. Anthony Coucheron played a major role in fortification of the border, both in Norway and Denmark in addition, he participated with honor in combat during the Gyldenløve War.
Sem or Semsbyen is a village in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The village is located about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to the west of the city of Tønsberg. The village of Vear lies about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to the southeast of Sem, along the shore of the Tønsbergfjorden. The historic Sem Church is located just northeast of the village.
Eidsfoss is a village in Holmestrand Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The village is located at the southern end of the lake Eikeren, about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of the village of Hof and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of the village of Vestfossen. The village itself is mostly located on a small isthmus of land between two lakes, with a river connecting them.
The Count of Wedel-Jarlsberg is a title of the Norwegian nobility and of the Danish nobility. The family of Wedel-Jarlsberg is a branch of the larger family von Wedel, which comes from Pomerania, Germany. Family members have had a significant position in the 18th and 19th centuries' Norwegian history.
Ove Juul was a Danish nobleman who served as Vice Governor-general of Norway under Ulrik Fredrik Gyldenløve from 1669 to 1674.
Johan Vibe was a Danish military officer and engineer, who was appointed Governor-General of Norway from 10 April 1708 until his death.
Events in the year 1779 in Norway.
Peder Anker, Count of Wedel-Jarlsberg was a Norwegian courtier, military officer and estate owner. He served as Lord Chamberlain for King Haakon VII of Norway from 1931 to 1945 and was one of the King's closest confidants for over thirty years. In 1946 he succeeded his brother as head of the house of Wedel-Jarlsberg and feudal count (lensgreve), the highest rank of the Dano-Norwegian nobility and equivalent to Duke in other countries.
Events in the year 1671 in Norway.
Jarlsberg Manor is a manor located about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) northwest of the centre of the town of Tønsberg in Tønsberg Municipality, Vestfold county, Norway. It has traditionally been the residence of members of the Wedel-Jarlsberg family and the Count and Countess of Jarlsberg who led the County of Jarlsberg.
is a town/city in Larvik Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of the large municipality which stretches inland for over 50 kilometres (31 mi) from the coast. The town is located near the Skaggerak coast, wedged between the Larviksfjorden to the south, the lake Farris to the north, and the river Lågen along the east side of the town. The town was established in 1671. The town became a self-governing municipality on 1 January 1838 under the formannskapsdistrikt law. The town remained self-governing until 1 January 1988 when it was merged with the neighboring town of Stavern and three neighboring rural municipalities to form a much larger Larvik Municipality.
The Countship of Larvik aka Landgraviate of Larvik was created on 29 September 1671 when Brunla amt was made into the county of Laurvigen. It covered today's Larvik and Tjøme municipality, and parts of Sandefjord municipality.
Bolle Luxdorph was a Danish civil servant and landowner. He was ennobled under the name Luxdorph in 1679. He owned the estates Rosengaard, Sandbygaard, and Sørupgaard. He left them to his daughter, Hedevig Ulrika Luxdorph, who would later marry Christopher Knuth, 1st Count of Knuthenborg. His other child, Christian Luxdorph, was the father of Bolle Willum Luxdorph.
Sem is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The 102-square-kilometre (39 sq mi) municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1988. The area is now part of Tønsberg Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Semsbyen. Other villages in Sem included Barkåker, Eik, Husvik, Husøy, Ringshaug, and Tolvsrød.