The pyramid at Austrått

You are now looking at what is probably Europe’s first known park pyramid, and the centre of Norway’s first Baroque landscaped park. The Pyramid was constructed here in 1665 as a memorial to Austrått’s then owner Ove Bjelke’s Father - Jens. According to tradition it marks Jens Bjelke’s birthplace which was the old Manor house at Austrått. This was apparently torn down in 1650 by Ove Bjelke when he started work on erecting the main building. In comparison to many of the inscriptions on the main building, which are in Greek and Latin, the memorial text on the pyramid honouring Jens Bjelke is written in both Latin and Danish. Therefore, accessible to a wider audience than just those who were let in behind the gates of the Manor. From 2017 – 2019 the Cultural Enterprise at Ørland and NTNU science museum conducted geophysical surveys at Austrått and found many building tracks around the pyramid. Right before the information board you can see what looks like the remains of a typical medieval stone house. This, together with the other construction lines in the ground can give us an insight into the probably complex and self-built Manor from pre-1650. If there is no wind you can try going up to the pyramid and calling out the text written there towards the main building. Strangely, the echo here is so strong that the main building repeats your words in full. According to garden historians, this may have been planned to surprise the public.