Orenæs – a forest estate owned in generations by the Wilhjelm family

The woodlands, that today are the primary part of Orenaes Estate, were on an auction in 1869, purchased by Johannes P. S. Wilhjelm from Oellingsoee on Lolland. The fifth generation of the family is today the owner of the estate.

History
The Kingdom of Denmark was after the battle with Germany, which ended with the defeat at Dybboel in 1864, forced to sell parts of it’s properties in order to finance the rebuilding of it’s armed forces.

Johannes P.S. Wilhjelm purchased the woodlands, that today are the primary part of Orenaes Estate and erected a manor house next to the water on one of the northern peninsulas of the island Falster. He continued with the purchase of farmland in the vicinity of the manor house and established what today is known as Orenaes.
The estate is made up of about 230 hectares farmland and 600 hectares of woodlands, hereof about 200 hectares are unproductive meadows, islands, and coast.

The manor house was in 1981 torn down and a new house was built on the same site.
J.P.S. Wilhjelm descendants and owners of Orenaes are in chronological order: George P.U. Wilhjelm, Otto Wilhjelm, Nils Wilhjelm and the present owner Lars Wilhjelm.

Production
The farmland has since 1974 been leased to local farmers. The production is based on a traditional crop rotation of grain, sugarbeet, potato and grass seed.
The woodlands are all situated right down to the sea. More than 80 percent of the area is covered with deciduous hardwoods with the majority being Sycamore and Beech. The main product is traditional round logs, but also a fair amount of firewood is locally sold.

Management
The staff on Orenaes is limited to one gamekeeper. Besides the work and administration of the woodlands, a number of old traditional thatched roofed forest houses are maintained and leased to tenants.
The Orenæs is furthermore involved in administration of neighbouring forest estates.

The preservation and maintenance of the estate, a proper work environment and a sustainable production, is all part of the family’s primary target.