The history of Munkedal and Munkedal Manor
In 1234, the Norwegian king Håkon Håkonsson had a monastery built in Dragsmark on Bokenäset. A monastic county was formed where land properties from e.g. Munkedal was included.
These landed properties provided the monks with sustenance, they sailed via the Gullmarsfjord into Munkedal where they, among other things, caught salmon. It is believed that these monks gave the place its name, which was originally called Foss parish.
It is said that the monks had a herb garden on the hill above Munkedal's manor, and that they also used water power in some way. Where the river flows past Herrgården, there have already been mills and sawmills in the 16th century. At the beginning of the 19th century, new sawmills were built and then sawmill houses were built which are still there. Now also smithies, a vadmal stamp, a paint shop and a brandy distillery were built, which were subsequently converted into grain stores and foundries.
In 1805, Niklas Herman Nordberg bought the property and built a new saw and mill as well as housing for millers and sawmasters. In 1819 the son Herman Julius took over and in 1823 Munkedal's Manor was built on the foundation of an old building. HJ Nordberg builds Munkedal's manufacturing plant in 1829. At first, forged nails were manufactured here, but a few years later the business expanded with the manufacture of bar iron. An office building was erected in 1836, which we call today the guest room wing.
The building that is today a new conference room of 73 m² and is called Munken was initially a delivery point for milk and butter to the staff and was later used as a garage.
In the 1860s, the profitability of the iron industry in Munkedal declined, and it was a difficult time for the town. In 1871, the Munkedal paper mill was started, and in the 1880s as many as 200 people were employed. The mill created the foundation of today's society and is still the most important industry in Munkedal today.
Over the years, the manor house has been used as a residence for the mill's directors and their families. In 1944, Shipowner Haakon Onstad took over Munkedal's paper mill and then moved in with his family. Heirs of Haakon Onstad today own Munkedal's Manor. In the late 1960s, the mill's then director Göran Langenskiöld moved in with his family. He is the last to use the Manor as a private residence. The mansion has also been used as a representation and banquet hall by Munkedals AB, but since the renovation in 2005, the mansion is run under the auspices of Munkedal forest, which runs hotel, conference and banquet hall operations.
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