THE CASTLE BUILDING

Entrance hall with limestone floors and whitewashed walls. Half a flight of stairs down are the living room, courtyard office, library, guest restroom, and a large, bright country kitchen with an old-fashioned “set stove” and a French gas range. Adjacent to this is an old vaulted cellar (wine cellar). The kitchen entrance is in a separate tower room, and each floor has its own service corridors and staircases. A working kitchen with a dining area. A billiards room and a large living area with access to the park and a patio. Beautiful reception floor featuring an elegant parlor with a large open fireplace (the so-called Adlerstenska fireplace), a dining room seating approximately 20 people. The Royal Room. A cabinet. Several parlors, bedrooms, and bathrooms. Tiled stoves. Additional guest rooms on the upper level with an adjoining bathroom and a separate restroom. Large reception room with a tiled stove.

OTHER BUILDINGS

A stone-clad outbuilding with space for a conservatory, boiler room, and exhibition space totaling 600 square meters. A bookkeeper’s outbuilding/carport for two cars and a large workshop/storage area of approximately 170 square meters (no water supply). The manor stable/workshop, 300 square meters (with its own well).

HISTORY

Gärsnäs is mentioned as a farm in sources dating back to the 14th century. Gärsnäs is a complex of buildings and towers, some of which date from the late Middle Ages, but its appearance today is primarily shaped by a medieval-romantic renovation carried out in 1873.

When the Danish queen decided to lift the ban on fortifying estates, a number of landowners began building castles in Skåne. Anders Sinclair built Gärsnäs Castle, beautifully nestled in the cultural landscape of Österlen. During the 1640s, the then-owner, Falk Lykke, decided to expand the “main house” with a residential wing and a stately tower. The result was a very well-built structure with limestone walls over a meter thick. The interior is bright and beautiful, from the winding tower staircases to the cross-vaulted cellars. The stately residence Falk created—for which he demolished the entire village, including the church, to obtain the building materials—culminates in the two large halls on the middle floor.

It was here that Jöran Adelersten met his end when he “broke his own neck” in a rather unsuccessful attempt to remove a bone from a roast that had become lodged in his throat. However, many pleasant suppers and dinners have been held here right up to the present day—Anders Sinclair hosted a party for King Christian, Carl von Linné transcribed his daily notes from his journey through Skåne, and perhaps Charles XII and Christian Albrecht von Grothusen sat here discussing the finances of the war before setting out for the Long War.

The house features a mix of styles from different eras. All that remains of the late Renaissance period at Gärsnäs is a limestone fireplace surround, which is now built into the tower staircase. In out-of-the-way places like attics and basements, Baroque elements remain, with their beautiful locks and hinges, but perhaps the fireplace in Lykke’s new kitchen is the best-preserved detail from this era.

The Schönström family’s Sengustavian-style renovation is evident in the fireplace surround in the grand hall, as well as in the door panels and windows. Ferdinand Mehldahl’s 1873 renovation, commissioned by the Rosenkrantz family, focused primarily on the exterior and the third floor.

Gärsnäs has been featured in several articles, including in *Gods & Gårdar* No. 1/99 and No. 5/02.

RENOVATIONS

Heating: New pellet boilers were installed in 2007 or 2008. These provide excellent heating; the current owner has not needed to use oil as a supplemental heat source. New pressure tanks were installed in 2009 and 2012. Heat is distributed well, even to the radiators high up in the house. New expansion tanks were installed in 2013.
The windows are painted with linseed oil paint; approximately 80% of the windows that needed renovation were replaced in 2010–2011.
The copper roof was completely re-roofed in the 1950s–1960s by previous owners. According to the seller, the copper roof, which has a high gold content, is in very good condition.