Nørholm Manor

Nørholm Manor, also known as Nørholmen, is a historic manor house and agricultural estate located in the municipality of Grimstad within Agder county, Norway. Spanning approximately 185 hectares, the property stands as one of the most notable farms in the traditional district. While the estate has long been associated with noble families of Danish origin, its current main building dates back to 1830. The structure was significantly expanded and renovated in the neoclassical architectural style by its most famous owner, the Nobel Prize-winning author Knut Hamsun, who purchased the property in 1918.

The historical significance of Nørholm is deeply intertwined with the life and work of Knut Hamsun. The financial award from his Nobel Prize in Literature allowed him to expand the grounds and live as a farmer, mirroring the protagonist of his celebrated novel, Growth of the Soil. During his tenure, Hamsun also constructed several roads across the estate to improve its infrastructure. Following his era, the property remained within the Hamsun family for generations, serving as a tangible link to the author's personal history and literary legacy in southern Norway.

Today, the manor is preserved through the efforts of the Nørholm Foundation, which was established in 1995 by Victoria Hamsun, following an earlier conservation initiative started in 1989 by Ellinor Hamsun. The estate is currently managed by Ole Andreas Hamsun Rustad, the great-grandson of Knut and Marie Hamsun, who operates the farm in cooperation with the foundation. Although a separate cottage on the grounds was sold in 2011 and is no longer part of the family holdings, the main manor and its surrounding agricultural lands continue to be maintained as a protected cultural heritage site.