Kongegården

Kongegården
General information
Location	Korsør
Address	Algade 25A, 4220 Korsør
Country	Denmark
Coordinates	55°19′41.3″N 11°8′22.45″E
Completed	1761

Kongegården, also known as the Rasmus Langeland House, after its first owner, Rasmus Langeland, is a Rococo-style building now operated as a local cultural centre in Korsør, Denmark.The building was listed in the Danish registry of protected buildings and places in 1918.

History

The building was constructed for merchant Rasmus Langeland in 1761. He had acquired the property in 1757. It adjoined his own house in Algade. His plan was to use the building as a high-end guesthouse for wealthy travellers waiting for better weather before crossing the Great Belt. In 1759, he had opened a guesthouse in a rented building next door. In 1766, the license was transferred to his new building. Its first name was Store Værtshusgård. This name was later changed to Kongegården.

Langeland was also involved in shipping, whaling and ship-building. He went bankrupt in 1776. Kongegården had still not been sold at the time of his death in 1780.

In 1780, Kongegården was sold by auction to the Marcus Lauritzen (1737–95) . He owned a number of properties in Korsør. His ships were sent to Iceland where they bought up dried fish which was then sold in Spain. Another ship was sent to the Danish West Indies. He kept Kongegården until his death in 1795.

In 1796, Kongegården was acquired by Poul Berg. His marriage to a wealthy widow had made him the wealthiest merchant in Korsør. He kept the estate until 1812.

A later owner was Peder Thorvald Pedersen (1854-1933) . He inherited the property 1877. In 1801–02, he commissioned Aage Langeland-Mathiesen (a descendent of Rasmus Langeland) with restoring the neglected building complex.

In the late 1980s, Kongegården was acquired by Korsør Municipality and Foreningen Kongegården and converted into the self-owning foundation Kongegårdsfonden. Since 1993, it has been operated as a local cultural centre.