Hesselagergard

Hesselagergard, or Hesselager Manor, near Gudme on southeastern Funen in Denmark, is considered the oldest Renaissance building in the country. Building began in 1538 under the patronage of Johan Friis, starting from an earlier late Gothic, castle like structure, and continued through further phases including an added story and towers around 1548 and further work to about 1550. The manor is especially noted for its ornate hipped, round gables inspired by Venetian Renaissance church architecture, an early Northern European use of the form that predates comparable French and Austrian examples by decades. Hesselagergard remains a private residence and a protected historic property, held by the Blixen-Finecke family since 1985.