The Colonel's House, Tommarp

Royal manor first recorded 1258

Tommarps kungsgård is near Kvidinge in northwest Skåne. As long ago as 1258, Danish nobleman Joen Lille was recorded as the owner of Tommarp. In the early 17th century another Dane, Admiral Ove Gjedde, acquired Tommarp. The stonework above the doorway to the west range incorporates a cartouche bearing the arms of Gjedde and his wife Dorte Urne, Tommarp's last Danish owners.

Owned by the Swedish Crown

Following the Treaty of Copenhagen in 1660, the estate formed part of the lands ceded to Sweden in exchange for Bornholm. The building became a royal manor and from 1691 to 1869 served as the commander's residence for the local army division. When commander's residences were abolished in the late 19th century, Tommarp became a tenant farm. In the early 20th century, it paid the highest rent of any tenant farm to the Crown. The carpenter's workshop and equipment, the mill and some cottars' houses survive from this time.

From walled fortress to Renaissance castle

Around 1300, a square walled fortress was built, with a defensive tower in the northwest corner. The tower is the oldest part of the present building. In the mid 15th century, the walls were lowered and the tower was extended to form residential quarters - now the north range.

Around the turn of the 17th century, new ranges were added and the castle acquired a fully enclosed courtyard. At the same time, the building was transformed into a stately Renaissance castle in the style of the Danish King Christian IV. The interior was remodelled in the 1760s to the designs of H G von Kierting, and the castle took on an enclosed, monolithic character with a hipped roof.

The castle today comprises four ranges with around 30 rooms on two floors surrounding a courtyard. Many interior features from the 18th and 19th centuries survive, such as doors, panelling and stoves. Fragments of frescos from the early 17th century have been found. The castle is surrounded by a leafy, overgrown 19th-century park.

Galleri Tomarp Kungsgård

In autumn 1998, Galleri Tomarp Kungsgård opened its art gallery in the building, allowing public access to the castle for the first time. The building has been a national historic monument since 1935 and managed by the National Property Board (SFV) since 1994. SFV restored the building's façade in 1998.