The history of Thorskogs Grand Manor House dates back to 1249, when
the Norwegian King Haakon Haakonson the Elder, and the Swedish
Earl, Birger Jarl met and sat down at ”Torskebacke”
(the Norwegian name of Thorskog) and signed the
‘permanent’ peace treaty between Norway and Sweden.
However, there was peace but not for long and it took another 400
years until 1658 before it and the County of Bohuslän became
Swedish.
In 1730 Olof Wenngren arrived at Thorskog and founded a
business. He built the original Manor House on the site of
today’s house. He also laid out the ponds and the park. He
was highly honoured, became an aristocrat and left in his will the
right for the Manor to carry his heraldic sign.
The Thorskogs Grand Manor House you see today was built in 1892
by Shipyard Magnate Petter Larson. In 1865 he founded a shipyard on
the Manor House side of the river Göta Älv. The shipyard was very
profitable and made him a rich man. Eskil Larson, his son,
inherited his father’s company in 1912. Eskil died, aged 50,
in 1926. His widow sold the Grand Manor and then followed a
succession of private owners.
Thorskog Grand Manor was bought by the current owners, Lena and
Tommy Jonsson in 1986 and they transformed the slumbering old Manor
into an stylish oasis for stressed businessfolk and admirers of the
good life.