Store Godthåb is a former late 18th-century
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 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
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 ...
. It is located on
Godthåbsvej (No 79), which is named after the property, just west of its intersection with
Nordre Fasanvej. The main building, a former barn and a third building were listed on the
Danish registry of protected buildings and places in 1954.
History
Store Godthåb is an example of the country houses which were built in the area after it had been auctioned off by the state in 1765. The house was built in 1770 for Henrich Wium, a manufacturer of
face powder
Face powder is a Cosmetics, cosmetic product applied to the face to serve different functions, typically to beautify the face. Originating from ancient Egypt, face powder has had different social uses across cultures and in modern times, it is ty ...
and
starch
Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diet ...
. It is believed that
Johan Christian Conradi designed the building. At that time, the estate covered large areas of land, both north and south of present-day Godthåbsvej.
Wium went bankrupt in 1775. Godthåb was therefore sold in forced auction. The buyer was
Abraham Schneider, owner of the nearby Grøndal. He was the son-in-law of
Joost van Hemert and thus the brother-in-law of
Peter van Hemert and
Gysbert Behagen. A few years later, Schneider came into economic difficulties and merged Godthåb and Grøndal into one large estate, demolished Grøndal's old buildings and renovated Wium's old main building. On 31 March 1785, Godthåb was divided into 17 lots and sold in public auction. Five of the lots, including the one with the main building, were sold to Johan Hansen. In 1787, he sold Godthåb to Frederik Fugl.
In 1792, Godthåb was sold to Baron Lucas de Bretton, a plantation owner from the
Danish West Indies
The Danish West Indies () or Danish Virgin Islands () or Danish Antilles were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with , Saint John () with , Saint Croix with , and Water Island.
The islands of St ...
. The price was 52.000
Danish rigsdaler
The rigsdaler was the name of several currencies used in Denmark until 1875. The similarly named Reichsthaler, riksdaler and rijksdaalder were used in Germany and Austria-Hungary, Sweden and the Netherlands, respectively. These currencies were of ...
, which was to be paid in
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose
Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
and
rum
Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...
. Godthåb reverted to Fugl in 1795 when Bretton proved unable to pay.
After the turn of the century, the land was gradually sold off in lots as the area along Godthåbsvej was built over, first with a low sprawl of one to three storeys and towards the end of the century by higher apartment buildings.
Buildings
The property consists of three buildings surrounding a courtyard. The main building consists of two storeys under a high
half-hipped tile roof. The two other buildings are a gardener's house from 1702 and a barn from about 1850. All three buildings and the courtyard were listed in 1954.
See also
*
Bakkehuset
References
External links
SourceSourceSource
{{DEFAULTSORT:Store Godthab
1770 establishments in Denmark
Houses completed in 1770
Listed houses in Copenhagen
Listed agricultural buildings in Copenhagen
Listed buildings and structures in Frederiksberg Municipality
Listed residential buildings in Copenhagen