Munkeruphus (literally "Munkerup House") is a former
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 ...
located in
Munkerup
Munkerup is a coastal district of Hornbæk-Dronningmølle in the north of Zealand, Denmark. It is located in Gribskov Municipality, two kilometres to the west of Dronningmølle and four kilometres east of Gilleleje. In 2009, Munkerup had a popula ...
now part of
Dronningmølle–
Hornbæk
Hornbæk () is a seaside resort town on the north coast of the Danish island of Sjælland, facing the Øresund which separates Denmark from Sweden. It is part of Helsingør Municipality and is located 12 km northwest of Helsingør. It is mai ...
, on the north coast of
Zealand
Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...
,
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 ...
. A rare example of
America
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
n influence in
Danish architecture
The architecture of Denmark has its origins in the Viking Age, revealed by archaeological finds. It was established in the Middle Ages when first Romanesque architecture, Romanesque, then Gothic architecture, Gothic churches and cathedrals, wer ...
, the building now serves as an exhibition space.
History
Munkeruphus was built in 1916 for civil engineer Frederik Raaschou and his family by the two young architects Terkel Hjejle and Niels Rosenkjær.
In 1958 it was acquired by artist and designer
Gunnar Aagaard Andersen
Gunnar Aagaard Andersen (14 July 1919 – 29 June 1982) was a Danish sculptor, painter, designer and architect whose work belongs to the Concrete art movement.
Early life and education
Born in Ordrup to the north of Copenhagen, Aagaard Andersen ...
and his wife. Aagaard had previously lived in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
from 1946 to 1951 where he had co-founded ''Groupe Espace'', a collaborative between artists and architects who worked with spatial art, and he made it the centre of an active artistic environment with many visiting colegees visiting from abroad.
In 1986 it was purchased by the
Capital Region Authority and subsequently listed by the
Danish Heritage Agency. For a few years it was left empty but in the autumn of 1988 it was ceded to a foundation with the aim of transforming it into an exhibition space for changing exhibitions. It was renovated with support from private benefactors and opened the doors to its first exhibition on
26 August 1989.
Architecture
Munkeruphus was designed with inspiration from the
Arts and Crafts Movement
The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America.
Initiat ...
and American
Colonial Revival architecture
The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture.
The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...
.
It is a two-story, T-shaped structure with a
horizontal board siding, topped by a
shingled hip roof
A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including Tented roof, tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other ve ...
. The almost symmetrical main facade is nine
bay
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
s long but the second window from each side and on both floors is omitted, save in the ground floor of the left hand side where a smaller window creates a small deviation from the dominating symmetry of the facade. The main entrance is through a double-leafed
French door
A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide securit ...
with a glass
transom. On the north (rear) side, another wing has been designed to optimize views of the sea.
[
]
Park
Set back from the coastal road between Hornbæk
Hornbæk () is a seaside resort town on the north coast of the Danish island of Sjælland, facing the Øresund which separates Denmark from Sweden. It is part of Helsingør Municipality and is located 12 km northwest of Helsingør. It is mai ...
and Gilleleje
Gilleleje () is a fishing town and seaside resort on the north coast of the peninsula North Zealand, Denmark. The town is located at the northernmost point of the island of Zealand. It is one of the main towns of the Gribskov municipality in Regio ...
, at the end of an unpaved driveway, the house is on a 16-hectare lot which consists of parkland with lawns, winding paths and many mature trees. The rear slopes reach all the way to the sandy beaches along 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 ...
and the park affords views of Nakkehoved and Hornbæk along the coast as well as Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
on the other side of the water. There are also a number of outdoor sculptures on the premises.
Munkeruphus today
Munkeruphus is operated as a self-owning institution. It plays host to 5–6 exhibitions a year about art, crafts, design, architecture or other themes. It also serves as a venue for lectures and indoor as well as outdoor concerts. There is also a café which serves light lunch meals, cakes and hot and cold drinks in the ground floor of the rear wing.
See also
* Rudolph Tegner Museum
The Rudolph Tegner Museum is set in the middle of a protected area just south of Dronningmølle on Zealand's north coast, some 50 km north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The museum is dedicated to the oeuvre of the sculptor Rudolph Tegner (1873–1 ...
References
External links
Official website
Danish-French avantgarde art 1945-1980
{{Gribskov Municipality
Museums in the Capital Region of Denmark
Houses in Gribskov Municipality
Houses completed in 1916
Colonial Revival architecture
Listed buildings and structures in Gribskov Municipality
Art museums and galleries in Denmark