Austrått
In about 1462 she married the Swedish knight Magnus Green and sold Austrått to his stepfather, Philippa's new husband, Henrik Jensson.
About Otte little is known, but his daughter, son-in-law and granddaughters are well known to posterity: Chancellor and Lord High Steward of Norway Nils Henriksson ("Gyldenløve") (~1458–1523) and his wife, the famous Ingerd Ottesdatter (featured in the Ibsen play - "Fru Inger til Austrått") (~1470–1555) owned the estate ~1500–1552.
Through his marriage with Inger Ottesdatter, Lord Nils, whose family also had a hereditary claim to Austraat, resolved the conflicting claims between the families' rights of inheritance[9][10] Fru Inger Ottesdatter (Lady Ingerd of Austrått) played a key role in assuring Austrått was historically noteworthy.
Through the marriage of her daughters to immigrated Danish nobles who had high positions in the kingdom, she exercised a unique influence, and became the leading figure in one of the most tragic chapters in Norwegian history".
[10] Although the political and economic change to a Lutheran state church during the reformation happened quickly, it was some time before it was widely accepted by the people.
On the other hand, Fru Inger was not above reproach; she harboured a pretender to the Swedish throne[10] and behaved aggressively in several dubious inheritance-related legal actions.
[12] During the struggle Fru Inger and her son-in-law, Lord Vincence Lunge harbored a pretender to the Swedish throne, nominally the son of Sten Sture, at Austrått.
Even after the fraud had been exposed, one of Inger's sons-in-law, Vincense Lunge,[13] continued to support the pretender - presumably to limit competition for the estate of Austrått - until Hansson was killed in Rostock.
[14][10] In 1552, the widow Inger transferred the Austrått estate to her daughter Lucie Nilsdatter and son-in-law Jens Tillufssøn Bjelke.
Ove Bjelke was educated in Padua, Italy, and sources indicate[15] that both the central tower and pillar are based on comparable structures there.
He left Austrått for Denmark in 1698, in 1699 and handed control of the property to his creditors, who included Den norske krigshospitalkasse and other public financial institutions.
This first Holtermann sold a portion of the estate properties in Stjørna, and is probably responsible for modifications of the manor such as the addition of a mansard roof to the main hall.
Both in Eiler's and in his son Ove Bjelke Holtermann's[20] (1782–1857) ownership period many tenant farms were sold, reducing the size of the estate.
[22] The characteristics of Ove Bjelke Holtermann's Austråttfe bred cattle was a deep red body colour with a white head.
His widow Anna Andrine Holtermann arranged to sell land in Tarva, before she sold Austrått in 1873 to Ole Rise (1835-1899) from Oppdal Municipality.
Hammer sold Austrått by auction in 1914 – it was purchased by a consortium,[30] consisting of timberman Simen A. Landet, brewery owner Gunnerius Flakstad and attorney Hans Christian Bull Heyerdahl'.
The extent of the properties was probably at its largest since at the time Jens Bjelke managed the legacy of his mother, Fru Margrethe Thott, which included Tønnøl as the head estate.
Bjelke was by far the largest property holder; the next closest man on the list was Governor Christoffer Knudsen Urne with a real estate holding of 558 tønne.
Of the 83 farms which Jens Bjelke held as part of the Austrått estate, the record shows that the largest number were in Ørland parish (Orland, Bjugn and Stjørna).
Imposing manor houses, common to the other Scandinavian countries and to much of western Europe during the Renaissance, were scarce in Norway since the native nobility lacked the necessary means.
The chapel, with its noticeably thicker walls, comprises one side of the current main building, standing approximately 13 meters up to the ridge.
The coffins of Ove Bjelke, of his first two wives Maren Juul and Regitze Giedde, as well as of a later owner, Judge Søren Dass (who died in 1757) lie in the burial chamber beneath the church.
Statues of two young angels, and of four male figures from the Old Testament (Moses, Joshua, Elia and probably Gideon) are on the west end of the courtyard.
Coats of arms and bible verses which attest to Lord Ove Bjelke origin and status are carved above the gallery arches.
and "Then shall he say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from me, ye cursed…'" Similarly the location of the caryatid-like figures from the Old Testament also emphasizes who the lord of the manor sees as his peers: the lawmaker, the military leader and the prophet are at his level and to his right.
There is an inscription in Latin over the main door, inside the gallery: With God's help Ove Bjelke has committed to preserve this edifice for his heirs.
A square, stone pyramid southwest of the fortress bears a plaque with the inscription: «Her bær den Sted nu Korn som fordum haffuer baaren den dyre Rigens Mand af Herren sielff udkaaren Jens Bielcke, som i Fem og Fyrretiuffe aar Rett Landsens Fader och To Kongers Kandtzler waar».
The estate manager, Julian Frengen, and neighbor Peder Hagemo were two of the men who played an important role in the efforts to rescue the church furnishings.
The owners had no prospects for restoring the facility after the fire, and offered to given the manor to the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments.
Fortunately Austrått Manor had been extensive measured and the buildings carefully described by the architect Lorentz Harboe Ree, and art historian Fredrik B. Wallem years before the fire.
