Harsdorff House

Last updated
Harsdorff House
Harsdorffs Hus
Harsdorffs Hus 01.jpg
The Harsdorff House in July 2024.
Harsdorff House
General information
Architectural style Neoclassicism
Location Copenhagen
Country Denmark
Coordinates 55°40′47.92″N12°35′12.56″E / 55.6799778°N 12.5868222°E / 55.6799778; 12.5868222
Construction started1779
Completed1780
Owner Karberghus
Design and construction
Architect(s) Caspar Frederik Harsdorff

The Harsdorff House (Harsdorffs Hus) is a historic property located on Kongens Nytorv in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built by Caspar Frederik Harsdorff in 1780 and was in the same time to serve as inspiration for the many uneducated master builders of the time. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was based in the building from 1864 to 1923.

Contents

History

Background and construction

The small buildings located next to Charlottenborg seen on a drawing from the middle of the 18th century Charlottenborg 1749 (2).png
The small buildings located next to Charlottenborg seen on a drawing from the middle of the 18th century

Caspar Frederik Harsdorff (1735–1799) became professor of perspective at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1766. In 1770 he succeeded Nicolas-Henri Jardin (1720–1799) as royal building master and the following year he took over his residence in the south wing of Charlottenborg Palace. The Royal Academy's secretary, Christian Æmilius Biehl, had a residence next to the palace. His daughter, Charlotte Dorothea Biehl (1731–1788) spend some of her childhood in the building. After Biehl's death the building was designated for demolition and Harsdorff was consulted on the matter. He proposed that the site was given to him and he would build a house which could serve as inspiration for the builders of the increasing number of bourgeois houses in the city. [1] [2]

Architects who had studied at the Academy were in general only used by the state and members of the aristocracy. The king accepted the offer. [3] Construction began in 1779 and was completed in 1780. The building was never actually used by Harsdorff personally. [4]

Tenants

Harsdorff House photographed in 1866 Harsdorffs Hus 1866.jpg
Harsdorff House photographed in 1866
Jacques Eugene Pierre Vincent Jacques Eugene Pierre Vincent (1806-1849).jpg
Jacques Eugene Pierre Vincent

Frenchman, Eugen Vincent, who had previously served as cook for Prince Ferdinand, opened Restaurant Vincent in the building in the first half of the 19th century. The restaurant was later operated by his widow Eva Severine Vincent (née Rasmussen) and son Alexander Vincent under the name Madame Vincent. It was visited by Jules Verne during his visit to Copenhagen in 1861. [5]

The merchant and politician Alfred Hage (1803-1872) lived in the building from 1862 and until his death in 1872. [6] Court photographer Jens Petersen (1829-1905) operated a photographic studio in the building from 1865 to 1875. [7]

Rotboll photographed in his office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Peter Elfelt, 1015 Udenrigsministeriet by Peter Elfelt.jpg
Rotböll photographed in his office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Peter Elfelt, 1015

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was based in the building from 1864-1923. It was then based at Christiansborg Palace and the Yellow Mansion in Amaliegade until its new building at Asiatisk Plads was completed in 1983. [8]


Architecture

Caspar Frederik Harsdorff favoured French classicism inspired by ancient Greece and Rome. [9]

The odd-shaped corner site inspired Harsdorff to build a property with three different model facades. The more monumental, central section is decorated with Ionic order pilasters and crowned by a triangular pediment with relief decoration.

The house came to serve as inspiration for hundreds of houses in the rebuilding of Copenhagen during the years after the Great Fire of 1795. [10]

Today

The building was restored under the direction of architectural firm Fogh & Følner in 1999. [9] [11] The building is now owned by real estate company Karberghus A/S. The tenants include the Harsdorffs Hus Office Club.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick V of Denmark</span> King of Denmark and Norway from 1746 to 1766

Frederick V was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig-Holstein from 6 August 1746 until his death in 1766. A member of the House of Oldenburg, he was the son of Christian VI of Denmark and Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caspar Frederik Harsdorff</span> Danish architect (1735–1799)

Caspar Frederik (Friedrich) Harsdorff, also known as C.F. Harsdorff, was a Danish neoclassical architect considered to have been the leading Danish architect in the late 18th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kongens Nytorv</span> Public square in Copenhagen, Denmark

Kongens Nytorv is a public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was laid out by Christian V in 1670 in connection with a major extension of the fortified city, and has an equestrian statue of him at its centre. The initiative moved the centre of the city from the medieval area around Gammeltorv, at that time a muddy medieval marketplace, to a cobbled new square with a garden complex, inspired by the Royal city planning seen in Paris from the early 17th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kunsthal Charlottenborg</span> Danish art exhibition gallery

Kunsthal Charlottenborg is an exhibition building in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the official exhibition gallery of the Royal Danish Academy of Art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georg David Anthon</span> Danish architect (1714–1781)

Georg "George" David Anthon was a German-born Danish architect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gammelholm</span> Neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark

Gammelholm is a predominantly residential neighbourhood in the city centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is bounded by the Nyhavn canal, Kongens Nytorv, Holmens Kanal, Niels Juels Gade and the waterfront along Havnegade. For centuries, the area was the site of the Royal Naval Shipyard, known as Bremerholm, but after the naval activities relocated to Nyholm, it came under residential redevelopment in the 1860s and 1870s. The new neighbourhood was planned by Ferdinand Meldahl and has also been referred to as "Meldahl's Nine Streets". Apart from the buildings which face Kongens Nytorv, which include the Royal Danish Theatre and Charlottenborg Palace, the area is characterized by homogeneous Historicist architecture consisting of perimeter blocks with richly decorated house fronts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amagertorv</span> Square in central Copenhagen, Denmark

Amagertorv is a public square in the district of Indre By in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Today it forms part of the Strøget pedestrian zone, and is often described as the most central square in Copenhagen. Second only to Gammeltorv, it is also one of the oldest, taking its name from the Amager farmers who in the Middle Ages came into town to sell their produce at the site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Højbro Plads</span>

Højbro Plads is a rectangular public square located between the adjoining Amagertorv and Slotsholmen Canal in the City Centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. It takes its name from the Højbro Bridge which connects it to the Slotsholmen island on the other side of the canal while Gammel Strand extends along the near side of the canal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johan Martin Quist</span> Danish architect

Johan Martin Quist or Qvist was a Danish architect who made a significant contribution to the city of Copenhagen. Together with those of Andreas Hallander, his classically styled buildings form part of the legacy of 19th-century Danish Golden Age architects who reconstructed areas of the old town which had been destroyed in the Copenhagen Fire of 1795.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Næss (architect)</span>

Hans Pedersen Næss was a Danish architect. He was one of a generation of Neoclassical architects educated under Nicolas-Henri Jardin and Caspar Frederik Harsdorff; he mainly designed manor houses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thott Mansion</span>

The Thott Mansion is a listed town mansion located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built for the naval officer Niels Juel in the 1680s but his Baroque mansion was later adapted to the Neoclassical style by the French architect Nicolas-Henri Jardin in 1763. The building takes its current name after the Thott family who owned it from 1750 to 1930. It now houses the French embassy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copenhagen Amber Museum</span> Amber museum in Denmark

The Copenhagen Amber Museum is a museum on Kongens Nytorv in central Copenhagen, Denmark. The museum is owned by House of Amber. The museum holds an extensive collection of amber antiques and artifacts, including a wide array of entombed insects from prehistoric times. The collection comprises one of the largest piece of amber in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Møstings Hus</span>

Møstings Hus is a small Neoclassical country house now used as an exhibition space in the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. A pond lies in front of the building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strædet</span>

Strædet is the colloquial name of a popular shopping and café street in the Old Town of Copenhagen, Denmark, linking Højbro Plads on Strøget at its eastern end with Regnbuepladsen next to City Hall to the west. The official street names are Læderstræde, Kompagnistræde and Farvergade. The shops along the street are generally smaller and more eclectic than the flagship stores on neighbouring Strøget. It is dominated by art galleries and antique shops. It is known for its rich gay culture with LGBT citizens, shops, bars, restaurants and coffeehouses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brønnum House</span> Historic building in Copenhagen, Denmark

Brønnum House is a richly decorated 1860s apartment building situated adjacent to the Toyal Danish Theatre's Stærekassen extension and the Harsdorff House on Kongens Nytorv in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was constructed as one of the first new buildings when the former Gammelholm naval dockyards was transformed into a new residential neighborhood. Café Brønnum, frequented by actors from the adjacent theatre, was based in the building for more than 100 years. The homes of the wealthy Jewish businessman Martin Henriques and Bernhard Hirschsrpung on the first and second floor were both frequented by some of the leading cultural figures of their time. The building was listed in the Danish registry of protected buildings and places in 1995. The building is now owned by Karberghus. It houses a high-end cocktail bar on the ground floor and serviced offices on the upper floors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie Henriques</span> Danish painter

Marie Henriques was a Danish painter who created landscapes, figure paintings and portraits, initially in the Realist style but increasingly under the influence of Impressionism. She also painted watercolours of ancient architecture and sculpture. In 1916, she was a founding member of the Society of Women Artists .

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Hage</span> Danish merchant, politician, landowner, patron of the arts and philanthropist

Peter Anton Alfred Hage was a Danish merchant, politician, landowner, patron of the arts and philanthropist.

<i>The Danish Constituent Assembly</i> Painting by Constantin Hansen

The Danish Constituent Assembly is a monumental oil painting by Constantin Hansen depicting the Danish Constituent Assembly's first meeting on 23 October 1848 at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark. The painting was commissioned by merchant and National Liberal politician Afred Hage in 1860 and later donated by his widow to the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød where it is now on display.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hof- og Stadsretten</span> Danish court

Hof- og Stadsretten was a modern-style court of justice introduced in Denmark, specifically for Copenhagen, by Johann Friedrich Struensee in 1771. In 1805, it was merged with the new Landsoverret for Eastern Denmark as Den kongelige Landsoverret samt Hof- og Stadsret. It was replaced by the Københavns Byret and Østre Landsret in 1919.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kanneworff House</span>

The Kanneworff House, situated at the acute-angled corner of Bredgade and Store Strandstræde, next to Nyhavn, is the smallest and oldest building on Kongens Nytorv in central Copenhagen, Denmark. The modest dimensions and unassuming design bear testament to the fact that its construction in fact predates that of the square on which it is now located.The building was listed on the Danish registry of protected buildings and places in 1918. It takes its name after Lars Kanneworff, a retailer of gentlemen's clothing who bought it in 1836, in the hands of whose family it remained for almost a hundred years. Copenhagen Amber Museum is now located in the building.

References

  1. "Harsdorff, Caspar Frederik 1735-99". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  2. "Jardin, Nicolas Henri 1720-99". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  3. "Harsdorffs Hus, Kongens Nytorv 3-5". Selskabet for Københavns Historie (in Danish). Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  4. "Borgerhuset". multimediakontoret.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  5. "Jules Verne i København i billeder". jules-verne.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  6. "Alfred Hage - handelsmand". Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. 17 July 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  7. "J. P. Petersen". fotohistorie.com (in Danish). Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  8. "Kongens Nytorv 3-5". indenforvoldene.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Harsdorffs Palæ, København". aarkark.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  10. "1. Harsdorffs Hus". Golden Days (in Danish). Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  11. "Fogh & Følner". Den Store Danske. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2020.

Other sources