Kvinnherad

Kvinnherad lies on the southern shores of Hardangerfjord, where mountains overlook farms and sheltered waters. Its medieval stone church at Rosendal stands near the great estate that became the Barony of Rosendal. Lands at Hatteberg, Mel and Seim formed the core of a large property assembled by the Mowat family, whose holdings included farms across western Norway.

Karen Mowat inherited extensive estates and married the Danish nobleman Ludvig Rosenkrantz. They built a new residence at Hatteberg, completed in 1665 and named Rosendal after the Rosenkrantz family. In 1678, after Karen's death, the estate was raised to a barony under Ludvig. The manor and its lands expressed the wealth and influence of a family whose property extended far beyond the shores of Kvinnherad.