{{Short description|Historic house in Copenhagen (Denmark)}} {{Infobox building | name = Moltke's Mansion | native_name = | image = Moltkes Palæ 02.jpg | image_alt = | caption = Moltke's Mansion | former_names = | alternate_names = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_alt = | map_caption = | building_type = | architectural_style = [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]] | structural_system = | cost = | location = [[Frederiksstaden]], [[Copenhagen]] | client = [[Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve]] | owner = [[Association of Craftsmen in Copenhagen]] | current_tenants = | landlord = | location_country = [[Denmark]] | coordinates = {{coord|55.6833|12.5892|type:landmark_region:DK|display=inline,title}} | altitude = | construction_start_date = 1700 | completion_date = 1702 | inauguration_date = | demolished_date = | height = | diameter = | other_dimensions = | floor_count = | floor_area = | main_contractor = | architect = [[Ernst Brandenburger]] | structural_engineer = | services_engineer = | civil_engineer = | other_designers = | quantity_surveyor = | awards = | url = | references = }} The '''Moltke's Mansion''' is a town mansion on the corner of [[Bredgade]] and [[Dronningens Tværgade]] in [[Copenhagen]], [[Denmark]]. It is one of several town mansions in [[Frederiksstaden]], although it actually predates the neighbourhood by half a century. It was built for [[Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve]] between 1700 and 1702 and was originally known as Gyldenløve's Little Mansion (in contrast to his larger mansion, now known as [[Charlottenborg Palace]], at [[Kongens Nytorv]]). It received its current name in 1842, after it was acquired by [[Adam Wilhelm Moltke]], the first [[List of Prime Ministers of Denmark|Danish Prime Minister]] under the Danish [[constitutional monarchy]].
The [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]] mansion has rich sandstone decorations featuring elephants and lion heads and is also notable for its interior decorations by [[Erik Pauelsen]].
==History==
===Gyldenløve's Little Mansion=== A house was built on the site in the 1680s by Jørgen Henriksen Gosebuch. It was acquired by [[Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve]], the illegitimate son of King [[Frederick III of Denmark|Frederick III]], who demolished it and had a new mansion built in its place. Built by [[Ernst Brandenburger]] from 1700 to 1702, it became colloquially known as "Gyldenløve's little mansion" as opposed to "Gyldenløve's large mansion", later known as [[Charlottenborg Palace]], at [[Kongens Nytorv]]. The house was located in [[New Copenhagen (17th century)|New Copenhagen]], the area which had been incorporated into the fortified city when the [[Østervold|East Rampart]] was straightened in 1647, but in a marshy area which had still seen little redevelopment. [[Sophie Amalienborg]], a royal pavilion for entertainment, had been located close by but it burned down in 1689, although it was re-built to a smaller design around the same time as Gyldenløve completed his mansion.<ref name=Inhabitants>{{cite web|url=http://www.hvfkbh.dk/The-Inhabitants.949.aspx|title=Moltkes Palace, The inhabitants|publisher=Selskabet for Københavns Historie|accessdate=2010-07-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425014206/http://www.hvfkbh.dk/The-Inhabitants.949.aspx|archive-date=2012-04-25|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Danneskiold-Laurvig era=== [[Image:Grevel. Danneskiold Laurwigske Palais.jpg|thumb|Count Danneskiold-Laurvig's mansion in c. 1750]] Upon Gyldenløve's death in 1704, the property was passed on to his son, Count [[Ferdinand Anton Danneskiold-Laurvig]], who owned it until his death in 1754. Under his ownership, the mansion was altered between 1716 and 1723 by [[Johan Cornelius Krieger (architect)|Johan Cornelius Krieger]]. When [[Frederiksstaden]] was founded a few years prior to Danneskiold-Laurvig's death, a number of mansions were built in the area, particularly along [[Bredgade]], one of the new district's main arteries, gradually urbanizing the environs.<ref name=Inhabitants/>
[[Image:Grev Danneskjold-Laurvigens palæ, Moltkes Palæ (Rach & Eegberg).png|thumb|left|Count Danneskiold-Laurvig's mansion in c. 1750]] The next owner was Frederik Ludvig Danneskiold-Laurvig, Danneskiold-Laurvig's oldest son, but after his death in 1762 his widow sold the house to his brother.
[[File:Christian Gedde - Sankt Annæ Øster Kvarter No. 209.jpg|thumb|No. 209 seen in a detail from [[Gedde's maps of Copenhagen|Christian Gedde's map]] of St. Ann's East Quarter, 1757]]
The mansion then became the focal point of a minor scandal when the brother, Count Christian Conrad Danneskiold-Laurvigen, abducted a young actress, Mette Marie Rose, whom he had fallen for, and hid her in the house. Whether it was because the girl or her father disapproved of the liaison remains unclear, but King [[Frederick V of Denmark|Frederick V]] was infuriated by the affair. Danneskiold-Laurvigen was sent exiled to his fief in [[Norway]] and had to pay a penalty of 10,000 [[Danish rigsdaler]] to a noble cause plus an annual compensation to the girl.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hvfkbh.dk/Beboerne.768.aspx|title=Moltkes Palæ:Beboerne|language=Danish|publisher=Moltkes Palæ|accessdate=2011-10-01|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425013815/http://www.hvfkbh.dk/Beboerne.768.aspx|archivedate=2012-04-25}}</ref>
===Residence of a merchant and a queen=== [[Image:Frédéric de Coninck by Daniel Orme.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Frédéric de Coninck]] painted by [[Daniel Orme]] in 1799]]
When Conrad Danneskiold-Laurvigen died in Norway in 1783, the mansion was acquired by [[Frédéric de Coninck]] and Niels Lunde Reiersen, two affluent business partners who had created a large trading company with a fleet of 70 ships. De Coninck, who lived in the mansion from 1784 to 1793, carried out costly alterations of the interiors.
After the [[Christiansborg Palace (1st)|Fire of Christiansborg Palace]] in 1794 the royal family was left homeless. While the rest of the family took up residence in [[Amalienborg Palace]], until then four aristocratic mansions, Dowager Queen [[Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel|Juliana Maria]], widow of King Frederick V, bought de Coninck's mansion in Bredgade and lived there until her death two years later.
===Golden Age venue=== [[File:Den Moltkeske Malerisamling i KØbenhavn.png|thumb|Moltke's Painting Collection drawing by [[C. V. Nielsen]]]]
After the dowager queen's death, the mansion was acquired by another affluent merchant, [[Constantin Brun]], a [[Germany|German]] trader who had become royal administrator of trade in the [[Danish West Indies]] and was also building a successful private trading empire. His wife was the writer and salonist [[Friederike Brun]] who had a large international network which included prominent names such as [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]], [[Friedrich Schiller]], [[August Wilhelm Schlegel]], [[Johann Gottfried Herder]], [[Wilhelm Grimm]], [[Bertel Thorvaldsen]], and the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] writer [[Germaine de Staël|Madame de Staël]] with whom she formed a close friendship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sophienholm.dk/side.asp?ID=32|title=Salonlivet|publisher=Sophienholm|language=Danish|accessdate=2010-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719132216/http://www.sophienholm.dk/side.asp?ID=32|archive-date=2011-07-19|url-status=dead}}</ref> Her [[salon (gathering)|literary salon]]s mainly took place at [[Sophienholm]] during the summer season but in winter time at the mansion in Bredgade. Among the Danish artists who regularly attended her salons were [[Jens Immanuel Baggesen|Jens Baggesen]], [[Adam Oehlenschläger]], [[Johanne Luise Heiberg]], [[Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse|C.E.F Weyse]], [[Bernhard Severin Ingemann|B. S. Ingemann]] and [[Kamma Rahbek]].
In 1836, after the Bruns died within a few months of each other, the mansion was purchased by Heinrich Lütthans who was a lieutenant-colonel in the Civic Guard. He was bourgeois through and through, but nevertheless continued the tradition of playing host to aristocrats. Their home also exerted a special pull on young students from the nearby Regensen dormitory due to the family's five pretty daughters. Regular guests included the poet [[Christian Winther]], who eventually married the oldest daughter of the house, Julie, after repeated complications.
===Moltke era=== [[File:Grev Moltkes arbejdsværelse.jpg|thumb|Count Moltke's study photographed by [[Frederik Riise]]]]
Adam Wilhelm Moltke was already residing in the mansion at the time of the 1840 census. He lived there with his wifeMarie Elisabeth Moltke. their five children (aged two to 15), the tutors Otto Mandrup Schjøtz and Christian Henrich Brasch, the retired turner Andreas Lund, a cook, a coachman, a caretaker, four male servants, a governess, a female cook, a seamstress and six maids.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.danishfamilysearch.dk/census1840/sogn2887/placenamelist/?pname=Dronningens+Tv%c3%a6rgade++278+a%26b|title=Folketælling - 1840 - Dronningens Tværgade 278 a&b|language=da|website=Danishfamilysearch.dk|access-date=7 December 2022}}</ref>
Moltke purchased the mansion in 1852. He had served as [[List of Prime Ministers of Denmark|Prime Minister of Denmark]] from 1848 to 1852, was now a member of the [[Landstinget]] as well as a large landowner. His family had lacked a suitable home in the city after ceding their previous mansion, one of the four Amalienborg mansions, to the royal family. Their old residence had been known as Moltke's Mansion and this name was transferred to their new property. After the harvests at Bregentved Manor and other family holdings, he would move his entire household to Copenhagen.
From 1878 to 1880 the mansion was extended with seven bays along Dronningens Tværgade by the architect Theodor Zeltner. On the top storey, a skylit gallery was built for Moltke's extensive and valuable art collection. The collection was opened to the public.
Over the next generations, the mansion stayed in the Moltke family but with advances in infrastructure and technology the need for a Copenhagen home became less evident. In the 1920s, the journey from Bregentved to Copenhagen, which had previously taken two days by carriage, could be made in less than two hours, and business could often be handled by telephone.
The Moltkes therefore decided to dispose of Moltke's Mansion and in 1930 it was sold to the Craftsmen's Guild in Copenhagen.
===Craftsmen’s Guild of Copenhagen=== One year after acquiring Moltke's Mansion, the guild also purchased the neighbouring property, at 41 Bredgade, which was also owned by the Moltkes, and embarked on another expansion of the old property, building a new wing with an assembly hall.
==Architecture== [[Image:Moltkes Palæ - window.jpg|thumb|150px|Window detail]]
The mansion is built in the [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]] style and consists of two floors and a cellar. The main facade on Bredgade is nine bays long with giant pilasters in the centre. The side on Dronningens Tværgade was originally considerably shorter but was extended by seven bays at the end of the 19th century in a style matching the rest of the building.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.astoft.co.uk/kbh/palaeuk.htm#Lindencrones%20Palæ|title=Palatial Mansions in Copenhagen|publisher=Astoft|accessdate=2011-09-30}}</ref>
The rich sandstone decorations, with elephants, lion's heads and flowering vines, and the balustrade with sculptures date from [[Johan Cornelius Krieger (architect)|Krieger]]'s alterations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indenforvoldene.dk/dronningens%20tvaergade%202-2a.html|title=Dronningens Tværgade 2-2a|language=Danish|publisher=indenforvoldene.dk|accessdate=2011-10-01|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424231131/http://www.indenforvoldene.dk/dronningens%20tvaergade%202-2a.html|archivedate=2012-04-24}}</ref>
==Interior== [[Image:Furesøen (Erik Pauelsen).jpg|thumb|200px|left|One of [[Erik Pauelsen]]'s overdoors, depicting a harvest scene from the Dronninggård estate]]
The mansion contains the Dronninggaard Salon which was decorated by the artist [[Erik Pauelsen]] during the period when Frédéric de Coninck lived there. It takes its name from ''Dronninggård'', his country house at Furesøen Lake north of Copenhagen. Pauelsen's decorations include two large murals and three [[overdoor]]s as well as views and topographical paintings from the house's idyllic setting.
The Dronninggaard Chambers is located on the first floor of the palace with windows facing Bredgade, adjoining the Green Chambers and across from the Large Assembly Hall.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moltkes.com/The-Dronninggaard-Chambers.888.aspx|title=The Dronningegaard Chamber|publisher=Moltkes Palæ|accessdate=2011-10-03}}</ref> The adjoining Green Room is decorated with Erik Paulsen's paintings of the [[Eremitage Palace|Hermitage Lodge]] and the [[Øresund|Sound]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moltkes.com/The-Green-Chambers.887.aspx|title=The Green Chamber|publisher=Moltkes Palæ|accessdate=2011-10-03}}</ref>
The Golden Hall is decorated with murals by [[Bjørn Nørgaard]] presenting the history of craftsmanship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moltkes.com/The-Golden-Hall.884.aspx|title=The Golden Hall|publisher=Moltkes Palæ|accessdate=2011-10-03}}</ref>
==Moltke's Mansion today== Moltke's Mansion is still owned by the [[Association of Craftsmen in Copenhagen]]. It is used as a venue for banquets, meetings and small conferences.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moltkes.com/|title=Middag, mad og møder i Moltkes Oalæ|language=Danish|publisher=Moltkes Palæ|accessdate=2011-09-30}}</ref>
==Restaurant AOC== [[Image:AOC - Copenhagen.jpg|thumb|200px|Restaurant AOC]] The cellar houses the 2-[[Michelin Guide|Michelin-starred]] Restaurant AOC. The restaurant is owned by the sommelier Christian Aarø and received its first star in 2012 with [[Ronny Emborg]] as head chef.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aok.dk/restaurant-og-cafe/restaurant-aoc-aaroe-co#what:Restaurant%20og%20caf%C3%A9|title=Restaurant AOC - Aarø & Co|publisher=AOK|accessdate=2012-03-17}}</ref> He left AOC in 2013 to become head chef at [[Hotel D'Angleterre]] and was succeeded by Søren Selin who came from a position as head chef at Alberto K at [[Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Copenhagen|Radisson Blu Royal Hotel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aok.dk/restaurant-og-cafe/soeren-selin-ny-koekkenchef-paa-aoc|title=Søren Selin ny køkkenchef på AOC|language=Danish|publisher=AOK|accessdate=2013-03-07}}</ref>
==List of former owners== * 1680-1686 [[Jørgen Henrik Goesbruch]] * 1686-1704 [[Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve]] * 1704-1754 [[Ferdinand Anton Danneskiold-Laurvig]] * 1754-1762 [[Frederik Ludvig Danneskiold-Laurvig]] * 1762-1763 [[Anna Joachimine Ahlefeldt]] gift Danneskiold-Laurvig * 1763-1783 [[Christian Conrad Danneskiold-Laurvig]] * 1783-1788 [[Niels Lunde Reiersen]] / [[Frédéric de Coninck]] * 1788-1794 [[Frédéric de Coninck]] * 1794-1796 [[Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]] * 1796-1836 [[Constantin Brun]] * 1836-1852 [[J. Heinrich Lütthans]] * 1852-1860 [[Adam Wilhelm Moltke]] * 1860-1875 [[Frederik Georg Julius Moltke|Frederik Georg Julius Augustsen Moltke]] * 1875-1930 [[Frederik Christian Frederiksen Moltke]] * 1930- [[Association of Craftsmen in Copenhagen]]
==See also== * [[Amalienborg#Christian VII's Palace|Christian VII's Palace]], also known as Moltke's Palace
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Moltkes Palæ (Bredgade)}} * [http://www.moltkes.com/page830.aspx Moltke's Mansion], official website * [http://www.restaurantaoc.dk/ Restaurant AOC], official website * [http://kunstbib.dk/en/collections/architectural-drawings/samlingen/000030094/3 Renderings] at [[Danish National Art Library]] * [https://www.danskeherregaarde.dk/historie/adelspalaeer Source]
{{Copenhagen historic houses}}
[[Category:1702 establishments in Denmark]] [[Category:Buildings and structures of the Moltke family]] [[Category:Houses completed in 1702]] [[Category:Houses in Copenhagen]] [[Category:Listed residential buildings in Copenhagen]] [[Category:1700s architecture in Denmark]]