Rungstedlund, also known as the Karen Blixen Museum, is a
country house
image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...
in
Rungsted
Rungsted, also known as ''Rungsted Kyst'', is an affluent suburban neighborhood in Hørsholm Municipality on the Øresund coast north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The center of Hørsholm is located two kilometers west of Rungsted. At the Øresund coast ...
on the
Øresund
Øresund or Öresund (, ; ; ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Denmark–Sweden border, Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width var ...
coast just north of
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
,
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
, notable for its association with the author
Karen Blixen
Baroness Karen Christentze von Blixen-Finecke (born Dinesen; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962) was a Danish author who wrote in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, used in English-speaking countries; Ta ...
, who lived there for most of her life. She was born on the estate in 1885, and returned there after her years in
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
, chronicled in her 1937 book ''
Out of Africa
''Out of Africa'' is a memoir by the Danish people, Danish author Karen Blixen. The book, first published in 1937, recounts events of the eighteen years when Blixen made her home in Kenya, then called East Africa Protectorate, British East Africa ...
'', to do most of her writings. The property is today managed by the Rungstedlund Foundation as a
writer's house museum.
History
The property traces its history back to 1520 when it was owned by the Crown. The oldest part of the current house dates from about 1680 when it was a combined inn and agricultural estate. Notable guests who stayed at the inn include
Ludvig Holberg
Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Denmark–Norway, Dano–Norwegian dual monarchy. He was infl ...
and
Johannes Ewald. Ewald lived there from 1773 to 1775 and wrote many of his poems, including ''The Delights Of Rungsted. An Ode''. The locale also inspired him for ''The ´Fishermen'', a
singspiele
A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with Musical ensemble, ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often Stroph ...
remembered for ''
Kong Christian stod ved højen mast
"Kong Christian stod ved højen mast" (; ), or simply "Kong Christian", is the unofficial royal anthem of Denmark that officially has equal status of national anthem together with "Der er et yndigt land". However, it is almost exclusively used ...
'', the Danish
royal anthem
The anthem for a person, office or rank is music played on formal or ceremonial occasions in the presence of the person, office-holder, or rank-holder, especially by a military band. The head of state in many countries is honored with a prescrib ...
.
The inn closed in 1803. Aron David, who owned it from 1821 to 1868, merged it with the adjoining properties
Rungstedgaard, Sømandshvile og
Folehavegård.
In 1879 the estate was purchased by Wilhelm Dinesen, father of
Karen Blixen
Baroness Karen Christentze von Blixen-Finecke (born Dinesen; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962) was a Danish author who wrote in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, used in English-speaking countries; Ta ...
, and after his marriage to Ingeborg Westenholz in 1881 they took up residence there. At that time the estate consisted of four wings but two burned in 1898 and were never rebuilt.
Karen Blixen spent her childhood at Rungstedlund and took up residency there again after she returned from
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
in 1931. She lived there until her death in 1962 and did most of her writings in the Ewald Room. She is interred in the park.
In 1958 Karen Blixen and her siblings founded the Rungstedlund Foundation which was to own and manage the estate after her death. The Karen Blixen Museum was founded in 1991.
Karen Blixen Museum
Karen Blixen's home has been preserved largely unchanged with its original furniture, decor and book. The museum also features a complete collection of her oil paintings. The museum also hosts special exhibitions about the author's life and writings.
In 2013 the Karen Blixen Museum joined the Nordic museum porta
CultureNordic.com
Other uses
Rungstedlund is also the home of
Danish Academy, which Karen Blixen co-founded in 1960 together with other Danish intellectuals. The house also hosts the award ceremony of the annual
Rungstedlund Award on Karen Blixen's birthday. The grounds are used for a traditional Danish
Saint John's Eve
Saint John's Eve, starting at sunset on 23 June, is the eve of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, feast day of Saint John the Baptist. This is one of the very few feast days marking a saint's birth, rather than their death. The Gospel of Luke ...
event with a bonfire and speeches.
Rungstedlund Park
The park covers an area of 16.6 hectares. Most of the grounds have been laid out as a bird sanctuary. There are also flower gardens where every day during the summer season fresh flowers are cut for decorating the house.
Karen Blixen's grave is located at the foot of Ewald's Mound.
See also
*
Karen Blixen Museum, Kenya
*
Dinesen-Motzfeldt-Hettinger Log House
References
External links
*
*
Source
{{authority control
Houses in Hørsholm Municipality
Museums in the Capital Region of Denmark
Historic house museums in Denmark
Blixen, Karen
Literary museums in Denmark
Museums established in 1991
1991 establishments in Denmark
Listed buildings and structures in Hørsholm Municipality
Buildings and structures in Denmark of the Dinesen family
Karen Blixen