The 17th Century

Colonel Samuel Christoph von Plessen

1685-97: The worst 12 years in Møn's history! Colonel Samuel Christoph von Plessen arrived with 4 out of 6 battalions of King Christian the 5th's royal Life guard on horse. He became head of the county on Møn and moved into Nygård (Marienborg today), but he also had to find housing for the life guard and the horses. So instead of rebuilding Stege, which was almost ruined, he took the stones from the destroyed buildings and made improvements on Nygård.
In 1690 Plessen tore down what was left of the two gate towers at Skammestræde and Langestræde and the town wall to get stones to improve on Nygård and to build 400 chimneys to the Guard Houses, each chimney needed 300 stones. It is this demolition of Stege's fortress that is known as the "the biggest robbery in Møn's history". Though in the last standing gate tower, Mølleporten,he established a prison with two light and two dark cells but other than this alteration nothing was rebuilt in Stege. As the Colonel also was the head of the county he was to care for taxes to be collected, but he did not, so no money was gathered to the town and nothing was handed over to the national bank.
In 1696 a new commission was sent to Møn, the poor condition of the county was discovered, and Plessen was imprisoned.
All of Møn was in ruins, there was no administration in Stege, nothing worked properly, it could only get better.

The King spared the people of Møn of taxes for 2 years, but it would take 100 years before Møn had fully recovered from the damages caused by Plessen.

(More stories about Plessens reign on Møn will be presented here in the future...)

Corrections made: 12/9-2003