Counts of Wedel-Jarlsberg

Coat of Arms of the Feudal Counts of Wedel-Jarlsberg.

Jarlsberg Manor

TheCount of Wedel-Jarlsberg(alsoWedel Jarlsberg) is a title of theNorwegian nobilityand of theDanish nobility.The family of Wedel-Jarlsberg is a branch of the larger familyvon Wedel,which comes fromPomerania,Germany.Family members have had a significant position in the 18th and 19th centuries' Norwegian history.

Coat of Arms over the door to the Sem Church family chapel at Jarlsberg Hovedgård

Feudal CountJohan Caspar Herman Wedel-Jarlsbergplayed in 1814 an active role in the constitutional assembly atEidsvoll,and was the first native Norwegian to hold the post ofGovernor-general of Norway(representing the absent king as head of the Norwegian cabinet) during the union with Sweden.

History

The family's oldest known ancestors lived inPomerania,but it is assumed that the family originated inHolsteinand that is named forWedel,a small town (now a suburb) just outsideHamburg.Gustav Wilhelm von Wedel (1641–1717) entered the service ofDenmark–Norwayand became commanding general in Norway in 1681. He bought the estate of Jarlsberg and received the title of count in 1684. Among his descendants were countHerman Wedel-Jarlsberg,a noted politician in the first part of the 19th century.

Peder Anker Wedel-Jarlsberg(1875–1954) served as Lord Chamberlain for King Haakon VII from 1931 to 1945 and was one of the King's closest confidants for over thirty years. He was married to Hermine Egeberg, a daughter of the major industrialistEinar Westye Egeberg.Among their descendants are the last three counts and owners of Jarlsberg, his son Johan Caspar Herman Wedel Jarlsberg (1902–1970), his grandson Gustav Wilhelm Wedel-Jarlsberg (1931–1999) and his great-grandsonCarl Nicolaus Wedel Jarlsberg(born 1973). Peder Anker Wedel-Jarlsberg was also the grandfather of the businessmenChristopher PausandPeder Paus,and the great-grandfather of the designerPontine Paus.

Barons of Wedel-Jarlsberg

Several members of the Wedel-Jarlsberg family, and mainly younger sons and daughters of the count, had baronial dignity.

1821

The 1821 Law of Nobility abolished noble privileges and the recognition of noble titles in Norway, but, however, allowed the current bearers to keep the recognised noble status and titles for their lifetime. Thus, the title Feudal Count of Wedel-Jarlsberg did not end until the death of Feudal Count Peder Anker Wedel-Jarlsberg (1809–1893).

Jarlsberg Hovedgård

Main article:Jarlsberg Manor

Jarlsberg Manor three kilometres northwest of the centre of the town ofTønsberginVestfold,Norway has traditionally been the residence of members of the Wedel-Jarlsberg family.

Gallery

• 
  Gustav Wilhelm Wedel Jarlsberg (1641-1717)
• 
  Count Johan Caspar Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg (1779-1840)
• 
  Ferdinand Carl Maria Wedel Jarlsberg(1781-1857)
• 
  Baron Fredrik Hartvig Herman Wedel Jarlsberg(1855-1942)

See also

• Danish nobility
• Norwegian nobility

External links

• Tönsbergsfjord to Jarlsberg
• Gamle Tønsberg: Jarlsberg
• Jarlsberg hovedgård