Leufstabruk - Orangery and Mansion

© This post was originally uploaded and written by Tyra at the blog Tyra's Garden http://waxholm.blogspot.com

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Leufstabruk Orangery and Mansion -

Leufstabruk Orangeri och Herrgård

When we meet Leufsta today she is dressed in December colours, it is cold and already dark despite it is just three o’clock when we walk through the baroque gardens of Leufstabruk. Last time I visited Leufsta it was September at the end of summer and it was still nice and warm. Very different yet she is still a beauty so calm and serene, a few hours in this place and your are relaxed. We have just visited the Christmas market in the 17th century Orangery, filled with Christmas goddies, knitted hats and mittens, hand made pottery and other handicrafts made of wood or iron. A lot of very nice things and I bought a pretty blueish green pitcher that will be nice to serve the 'glögg' molded wine in.

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Orangery at Leufsta is from the 17th century and did survive the big ravages and huge fires by Russians in 1719. The floors in the Orangery are smooth, rustic and very beautiful, the stone walls are thick, I guess at least 70 cm thick and in the big room there are two enormous tiled stoves they must be 6 x 2 meters, huge and very impressive. I know that these tiled stoves are filled with sand and that is a great way to accumulate the heat, I wish that I could have one of those tiled stoves in my greenhouse.
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There isn't very much to see in the gardens, I mean growing things but I like to look at the structures in a baroque gardens during the winter it is especially nice if there is snow of course. Although this time it wasn't the gardens we were here for, our goal was the Christmas market and a tour of the mansion at Leufstabruk. Leufsta was founded in 1596 by the way. It was a special Christmas tour 'Leufsta mansion at Christmas' how the life was here during the Christmas time. How the mansion was decorated, what they ate and how the Christmas traditions were back in the 17-18 and 19th century, most interesting and very beautiful.

Orangeriet klarade rysshärningen och branden 1719
Omkring 1880 uppfördes här en trädgård i tysk stil på den nuvarande barockträdgårdens plats. Den innehöll bland annat en staty av en vallonsmed, exotiska växter som övervintrade i orangeriet och en damm med en sprudlande fontän. Orangeriet uppfördes under senare delen av 1600-talet och var brukets enda stenbyggnad när Leufsta brändes ner av ryssarna 1719.

Släkten De Geer och vallonerna
När kronan 1641 sålde ut sina kronobruk köpte holländaren Louis De Geer upp Lövsta. Bruket skulle komma att ägas av släkten De Geer i flera generationer. Med de invandrade ägarna inleddes en 200-årig storhetstid inom svensk järnhantering. Louis De Geer värvade smeder och masugnsbyggare från sin gamla hembygd, Vallonien, i nuvarande södra Belgien

TYRA

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