History

The year was 1911
In the middle of western Sweden, Knut Henrik Littorin built the most impressive building ever to have been seen in the area. The fortune it took to construct this magnificent castle had been earned from investments in Russian oil and gas…

He was the son of a wealthy man, Sven Henrik Littorin, who in 1856 bought the farmland around Bjertorp. The estate was run rationally and efficiently, which led to the purchasing of the famous Bjertorp Stud Ranch, where prized horses were raised. A few years before they died, Knut Henrik bought the farm from his parents; however, he soon felt it was time to move to Russia with his family. The farm was then managed by his brother Sten.

Knut Henrik was born in 1860 and received his education at the Handel's Institute in Gothenberg. After graduating he was employed by Nobel's oil corporation in Russia, where he quickly advanced from being an office boy to the manager and board director of the company. In 1913, he was named to the Norwegian council in Moscow. Through investments in Russian oil entities and other companies, he was able to amass a substantial fortune, of which some money was invested in Bjertorp. To the memory of his father and mother he built a palace-like building on the exact spot where he grew up as a child. In 1914, after three years of construction, the castle was finally finished. During the Russian revolution in 1917, Littorin was able to flee the Bolsheviks by horse drawn carriage. Near the Finnish border he was stopped by a Russian patrol. By this time he had already changed clothes and places with the coachman, who was executed on the spot with a single gunshot to the neck.

Upon arrival home he was able to adjust to his new home, a castle. Here he lived a reserved life and associated almost exclusively with his friends from Russia.