Bernt Johan Collet

COLLET’s head office is located at Lundbygaard Manor, whose history dates back to the 14th century. In 1661 King Frederik III assigned the manor to the Danish military commander, Svend Povlsen. During the Dano-Swedish wars he was involved in various heroic exploits, which the popular Danish writer Carit Etlar later chronicled in the novel Gøngehøvdingen. After Svend Povlsen went bankrupt, the manor was returned to the Danish crown and in 1774 it was separated from the southern Zealand crown lands. In 1824 the manor passed into the hands of the Collet family and is now owned by the seventh generation of the family. The current owner is former minister of defence, Chamberlain and Master of the Royal Hunt, Bernt Johan Collet. The museum houses a private collection of artefacts dating from pre-historic times and the early and late Stone Ages. The exhibits were unearthed by Master of the Royal Hunt Holger Collet, who, together with a conservator, excavated finds from a Maglemosian settlement, part of which was located on the manor grounds.