Rydhave (also known as Villa Rydhave) is the official residence of the American ambassador to Denmark. The

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

is situated at Strandvejen 259, on the border between

Charlottenlund Charlottenlund is a suburban area on the coast north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the administrative seat of Gentofte Municipality. Bordered to the east by the Øresund, to the South by Hellerup and to the north by Klampenborg, it is one of the ...

and

Skovshoved Skovshoved is a former fishing village on the Øresund coast north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The area is part of Charlottenlund postal district and Gentofte Municipality. Local landmarks include Skovshoved Church, Skovshoved Hotel and the listed Ar ...

Gentofte Municipality Gentofte Municipality () is a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in the Capital Region of Denmark (''Region Hovedstaden'') on the east coast of the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. It covers an area of , and has a total pop ...

History

Early history

The house was built in 1885 for Emil Edvard Schnackenburg (18181894) and was designed by the architect

Vilhelm Petersen Vilhelm Valdemar Petersen (5 April 1830 – 3 July 1913) was a Denmark, Danish architect who became Royal Building Inspector from 1892 until his death. He was the father of architect Knud Arne Petersen. Biography Vilhelm Petersen was born i ...

. Emil Edvard was the son of Carl Gotlieb Schnackenburg and Henriette Elisabeth Schnackenburg. He grew up on the family's estate in

Vejle Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality (''Municipalities of De ...

, Brandbjerg, which was sold by his father in 1840. He had later married to Caroline Marie Bracht (1829–1908), whose father, Henning Johannes Peter von Bracht, owned Rydhave at

Holstebro Holstebro is the main town in Holstebro Municipality, Denmark. The town, bisected by Storå, Denmark, ''Storåen'' ("The Large Creek") and has a population of 37,487 (1 January 2025). most likely Rydhave Brikyard at his father-in-law's estate.

Carl Drost, 19001918

Caroline Marie Schnackenburg sold Villa Rydhave to Carl Drost (1852–1926) in 1900. He had made a fortune in the coal trade. In 1903, together with two partners, he bought Sindshvile at

Kvistgård Kvistgård is a small town in the southwestern outskirts of Helsingør, Helsingør Municipality, some 40 kilometres north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is situated in the fork between the Helsingør Motorway to the east, separating it from Espergær ...

. A brickyard had just been constructed on the estate. Drost headed the operations until 1905. Drost moved to

Hørsholm Hørsholm () is an urban area on the Øresund coast approximately north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers most of Hørsholm Municipality and straddles the borders neighbouring Fredensborg Municipality and Rudersdal Municipality. Hørsholm proper ...

in 1918. He is buried in a large mausoleum at Hørsholm Cemetery.

Hansen, 19181942

In 1918, Drost sold Villa Rudhave to Christian G. Hansen (1863–1941). Hansen expanded the estate with a number of adjacent properties located to the north. The house was subsequently expanded with the assistance of the architect Axel Høeg-Hansen. The garden was redesigned by Birger Errboe. Hansen was originally from

Nordborg Nordborg (), is a town with a population of 5,680 (1 January 2025),Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

in 1915. He was married to Annetta Stephania Rozzi.

World War II

In 1942, Villa Rydhave was sold to Ejendomsselskabet af 8' Juni 1932. On 15 December, it was acquired by Das Auswärtige Amt as a new home for

Werner Best Karl Rudolf Werner Best (10 July 1903 – 23 June 1989) was a German jurist, police chief, SS-''Obergruppenführer'', Nazi Party leader, and theoretician from Darmstadt. He was the first chief of Department 1 of the Gestapo, Nazi Germany's secret ...

Residence for the American ambassador

After the liberation in 1945, Villa Rydhave was confiscated by the Danish government. Best was placed under

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

in the building. In 1946, it was acquired by the American government as the official residence of the American ambassador to Denmark.

References

External links

Renderings
from the 1918 expansion {{Gentofte Municipality 1880s architecture in Denmark Diplomatic residences in Copenhagen Houses in Gentofte Municipality