Liselund - Camping Møns Klint

LISELUND PARK AND MANOR HOUSE1.PLANAccess through the avenue ofchestnuts2. Parking lot and toilet building3. The Swiss cottage with the gardener’slodge. Old walnut treesin front of the house and the icecream stall at the hill behind it4. The lily pond, the mirror of thecastle5. The castle, regular guided toursduring the summer season6. "The kitchen park"7. The writer’s lake with hazelcoveredinlets and the pyramidlake with the Pan monument8. Small stream supplying thelakes with streaming water,ending in the sea under the cliff9. The hill in the wood, which wasplanted in the 1770s10. The large lake with its island atthe bottom of the beam-shapedclearing11. The stone of Graces with theinscription: "Elles attendent icileur soeur"12. The deep ravine with the devil’sbridge13. The cliff cross14. Path leading from the clearingto the beach15. The Norwegian cottage, the logcabin at the highest spot of thepark. To the east of this yet anotherhidden privy16. The monumental group ofsweet chestnut trees17. The Chinese summer house18. "The new castle", built in 1887,today a hotel118P17Let your pure crystal watersAlways reflect onlyThe grace of natureAnd the image of pleasure2 31610Antoine de la Calmette154695711Louis Gurlitt. 1842. Statens Museum for kunst.1281413Morning gift to LiseLiselund Park was established at the end of the 1700s andis one of the finest Danish and Scandinavian examples ofRomantic "English" gardening. A poetic spot, which epitomizesthe whole worldin the spirit of the times.In 1783 the present Liselundwas bought by theowner of Marienborg onwestern Møn, prefectLord Antoine de la Calmette(1752-1803). Hewas educated as a cornetin the Royal Guard andwas in 1777 appointedcaptain.In 1777 he was married to Anna Cathrine Elisabeth Iselin,called Lise (1759-1805). Everything points to a very happymarriage, and throughout their marriage Antoine showedher "the chivalrous, romantic worship of an indefatigablelover". A foreign diplomat characterized her in the followingway:"A woman who presents herself to perfectionand whom you should indisputably count among beautifulladies".The couple was at home in literature and art, and on theirformative travels in Europe they became enthusiasticabout Rousseau’s philosophy of nature, which they foundin Romantic gardens, theyvisited. It was where partsof the inspiration of Liselundcame from. The parkwas laid out in the yearsabout 1790 with Antoinehimself as prime mover.The park as well as thebuildings are constructedto the last detail with lovefor the place and the personwho gave the park itsname: Liselund is a lovegift to Lise.Portrait of Antoine and Lise de la Calmette– painted in 1782 of Jens Juel (1745-1802)The Golden bride of LiselundUnfortunately both Antoine and Lise died young. Their onlyson, Lord Charles de la Calmette (1781-1820) was marriedto Martha Mackeprang (1788-1877) in 1810. Lord de laCalmette was not lucky in finances, and as the couple waschildless, Liselund was sold to Frederic Huitfeldt Levetzauat the death of the Lord. Lady de la Calmette stayed atLiselund castle as a widow for 57 years. It is said that untilher dying day she was firmly convinced that she was stillthe owner of the place – and that the new owner let herstay in her belief. Martha had numerous friends. Some ofthe greatest artists of the Golden Age, like Oehlenschläger,Andersen and Thorwaldsen, were among the guests atLiselund. The poet Vilhelm Birkedal paid tribute to her by this:She is sitting so quiet.A golden bride in spite of widow hair,Her youth loves´ memoryShe has guarded in half hundred years.With her love for the place it was as if she had "breathedthe soul of nature into her soul"; she was "the clearestimage of the grove" (‘lund ‘ means grove). White was herfavourite colour, everything around had to be white: doves,ducks, hens, turkeys, even the peacocks and the white roethat followed her like a dog. No visual memories of heryouth were touched or moved. We owe it to Martha that