Orupgaard 3.04

Orupgaard is a manor house located east of Nykøbing and north of Idestrup on the Danish island of Falster. With a history dating from the 13th century, Orupgaard today manages over of farmland and forest as well as an equestrian facility at Brændte Ege Avlsgaard.HistoryOrupgaard is first mentioned in the Danish Census Book in 1231 as Oræthrop. It consisted of a few small farms managed by Nykøbing Palace on behalf of the Crown. Around 1660, they were merged into one property. After Orupgaard was completely destroyed by fire in 1718, the land was leased out to farmers until 1766 when Christian Hincheldey bought the estate. In 1809, Hincheldey's widow sold it to the English baron Charles August Selby (1755–1823) who built a fine new manor which he left to his son Charles Borre de Selby.In 1840, Edward Tesdorpf, the son of a Hamburg merchant, bought the estate, introducing a style of innovative farming which was widely recognized as a model to be emulated. He thoroughly drained and fertilized the land, brought in new breeds of cattle and built a dairy, achieving a five-fold increase in production by 1890. In 1938, his son Frederik, who had interited the estate, sold it to Knud Højgaard (1878 –1968), a civil engineer, who completely redesigned the building in the style of an English country home. His son, Erik Højgaard who administered the estate from 1954, was among the first to fully mechanize farm production in the area. The owner today is Thomas Højgaard.