Bakkehuset () is a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

on Rahbeks Allé in the

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...

district 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. Dating from the 1520s, it has served a number of functions over the years, including as a farmhouse,

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

, private home,

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

and

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

. It is particularly associated with the

Danish Golden Age The Danish Golden Age () covers a period of exceptional creative production in Denmark, especially during the first half of the 19th century.Kulturnet DanmarkGuide to the Danish Golden Age Although Copenhagen had suffered from fires, Battle of Co ...

when it was owned by Knud Lyne Rahbek and his wife, Kamma Rahbek, used it as a venue for her '' salons''.

History

Early history

Bakkehuset can be traced back to the 1520s. Strategically located on the main road from Copenhagen to

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

, it long served as an

. When Claus Wendorff died in 1649, his widow unsuccessfully tried to get an extension of the license to operate the inn. A new owner, captain Claus Wendorff, obtained a new license in 1755. Former prime minister Count Johan Ludvig Holstein acquired the property in 1756. The land was conviently situated close to

Frederiksberg Palace Frederiksberg Palace () is a Baroque architecture, Baroque residence, located in Frederiksberg, Denmark, adjacent to the Copenhagen Zoo. It commands a view over Frederiksberg Gardens, originally designed as a palace garden in the Baroque style. ...

and his intention was to build a new country house at the site but the plans had still now been carried out when he died in 1763. Instead the property was taken over by his building master, Johan Christian Conradi, who completed his refurbishment of the property which still served as an inn the year after. When Conradi went bankrupt in 1777 the estate once again changed owners. Knud Lyne Rahbek was a permanent guest from 1787 until 1802 when he acquired the property and made it his private home.

The Rahbek years

Cultural venue

After the Rahbek's took over Bakkehuset, it quickly became a popular social venue for the city's literary and intellectual establishment. Among the many regular visitors were

Adam Oehlenschläger Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger (; 14 November 177920 January 1850) was a Danish poet and playwright. He introduced romanticism into Danish literature. He wrote the lyrics to the song ''Der er et yndigt land'', which is one of the national anthe ...

, who was married to Kamma's sister Christina, Anders Sandøe Ørsted, who was married to Oehlenschläger's sister Sofie,

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

, Jens Baggesen, Jens Collin, Rahbek's fellow director at the Royal Theatre— Poul Martin Møller, Bishop Mynster and Bernhard Severin Ingemann. The maintenance of a busy social life was expensive and neither Rahbek, nor Kamma had much means to make do with. They rented out rooms to supplement their incomes, and Kamma managed to make the most out of their meagre means. Later the house has served as a summer residence for people such as Johan Ludvig Heiberg, Johanne Luise Heiberg and N. F. S. Grundtvig.

Kamma's garden

The Bakkehuset estate included 3.5 hectares of land. Kamma enthustically, almost scientifically, established a garden with a small pond, lawns, flowers and many rare plants on the premises. It was one of the first private English style gardens to be laid out in Denmark.

Later history

One of the originally three wings was allowed to fall into despair and was ultimately demolished. For a while the building was used as a psychiatric hospital before it moved to Ebberødgård outside

Birkerød Birkerød () is a town in Rudersdal Municipality in the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is surrounded by several lakes and small woodlands. Birkerød station is located on the Nordbanen, Hillerød radial of the S-train suburban networ ...

. The museum at Bakkehuset opened in 1925.

Bakkehuset today

The museum consists of a series of memorial rooms dedicated to some of the notabilities who have lived in the building over the years. The building is located next to the Carlsberg area, the former industrial site of the Carlsberg Breweries, which is now under redevelopment into a new dense district in Copenhagen. A small park will be located next to the museum.

References

External links

Official website

Source

Source
{{authority control 1925 establishments in Denmark Biographical museums in Denmark Hans Christian Andersen Historic house museums in Copenhagen Houses completed in the 16th century Listed houses in Copenhagen Listed buildings and structures in Frederiksberg Municipality Listed residential buildings in Copenhagen Literary museums in Denmark Museums established in 1925