Skaugum

The estate is located in Asker, 19 km (12 mi) southwest of Oslo, by the foot of the mountain Skaugumsåsen. The estate consists of 48 ha (120 acres) of agricultural lands and 50 ha (120 acres) of woodlands.

Skaugum
Skaugum in 1932
Location within Norway
General information
Type	Manor
Architectural style	Functionalism
Location	Asker, Norway
Coordinates	59°51′14.74″N 10°26′34.95″E / 59.8540944°N 10.4430417°E / 59.8540944; 10.4430417
Completed	1932
Owner	Norwegian royal family
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Arnstein Arneberg

The estate was originally Church property during the Middle Ages, and passed through several owners until 1909, when Fritz Wedel Jarlsberg bought it. When Crown Prince Olav and Crown Princess Märtha were married in 1929, Wedel-Jarlsberg sold it to the couple. In 1937, Prince Harald was born on the estate.

Wedel-Jarlsberg's Swiss chalet style-residence, designed by Herman Backer and completed in 1891, burned to the ground in 1930. The Norwegian architect Arnstein Arneberg was commissioned to design a new structure, entirely on the foundations of the old building. The new building was also built of stone to avoid future fires.

Second World War

During the Nazi occupation of Norway, SS-General Wilhelm Rediess resided at Skaugum for a short period while Reichskommissar Josef Terboven later would make the estate his official residence in June 1940.^{[citation needed]} Shortly after Hitler's death, Terboven was dismissed from his position by Karl Dönitz and committed suicide in the manor bunker on 8 May 1945 by blowing himself up with fifty kilograms of dynamite.

Residence of the heir apparent

In 1968, King Olav V gave the estate as a wedding gift to his son Crown Prince Harald (later King Harald V) and his wife Crown Princess Sonja, while the King himself relocated to the Royal Palace in Oslo. King Harald would repeat this gesture, giving the estate as a wedding gift to his son, Crown Prince Haakon, and his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit when the couple married in 2001.^{[citation needed]}

Unlike the Royal Palace and Oscarshall, Skaugum is owned privately by the royal family and is therefore not open to the public. Like all royal residences in Norway, the estate is protected by the Royal Guards.

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  The original Skaugum building prior to the fire in 1930
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  Aerial view of Skaugum
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  The royal family at Skaugum during a 1974 visit from Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
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  Skaugum seen from the estate garden
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  Skaugum seen from the west

• Semsvannet and vicinity - millennial site
• List of official residences

• Skaugum Estate page at the official Norwegian Royal website