House of Nobility (Norway)

The House of Nobility (Norwegian Ridderhuset) in Norway is a corporation which acts as an interest group and represents the Norwegian nobility.
Name
The Norwegian name "Ridderhuset " literally translates to "House of Knights", as the knights (Ridder) also belong to the higher ranks of the greater Norwegian nobility, sometimes also together with more elevated titles such as , Hird Knights , Counts () and Barons but is named HOUSE of NOBILITY in English, keeping in line with the Scandinavian tradition. Both Finland and Sweden have opted to do the same. Most of the noble Norwegian families are so called untitled nobility, .
Function
The House of Nobility serves as the representative institution for the Norwegian nobility and is officially registered as such in The Norwegian National Registry of Entities (Brønnøysundregistrene)
Its officially registered function is "to unify and manage Norway's Nobility and its interests" Although the order still exists it has taken on a less public role than it once had.
Later there has been several institututions filling the functions of the House of Nobility such as The Council of the Realm, and later Herredagen
== The House of Nobility`s new residence ==
As of 2020 the institution is currently planned to move its base of operation to an ancient Crown estate located in Viken county, Norway in co-operation with local museum authorities.
The ancient Crown estate is named Elingaard and is situated on the Onsøy peninsula outside of Fredrikstad
The estate was formerly owned by King Haakon V of Norway and passed down through his descendants as inheritance to King Haakons great-great granddaughter Aasa Ulfsdatter
who owned until her death in 1433 AD.
The estate was later bought by the noble family Brockenhuus in the 16th century. Chancellor of Norway Jens Bjelke acquired the estate through marriage with Sophie Brockenhuus in 1610. It was later inherited by his son, Admiral Henrik Bjelke. The building burned down in 1645 but was rebuilt in the Renaissance style. In the 18th century the estate was transferred to the House of Huitfeldt through marriage.<ref name"Borges 2007"/> It was later owned by various groups, before it was acquired by the state. The building itself is also open to the public and is also operated today as a museum and used as venue for other events.<ref name":1" />
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