Strandbjerg, also known as Villa Standbjerg, is a mansion 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 ...

Hørsholm Municipality Hørsholm Municipality () is a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in the Capital Region in the northern part of the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 31 km2, and has a total population ...

, situated 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 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. The building was confiscated by the Gestapo during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

History

Origins

Strandbjerg's history as a country house dates back to the first half of the 19th century. It is believed that it may have been the direct inspiration for the fictional country house of the same name in

Jens Christian Hostrup Jens Christian Hostrup (20 May 1818 in Copenhagen – 21 November 1892 in Frederiksberg) was a Danish poet, dramatist and priest. Comforting and encouraging the people, he created poems that filled the hearts of his compatriots. His precise pers ...

's 1847 play ''Eventyr op Fodrejsen'' (''Tale of a Journey on Foot''). Hostrup stayed at nearby

Kokkedal Kokkedal () is the municipal seat of Fredensborg Municipality and a northern settlement in the urban area of Hørsholm, located on the coastline of northern Zealand, Denmark, between the two towns, Nivå and Hørsholm, 30 km north of Cope ...

when he wrote the play. It belonged to the businessman Carl Ruben from 1898 to 1912. A new house was possibly built for him to designs by

Carl Brummer Carl Harald Brummer (12 July 1864 – 14 February 1953) was a Danish architect who was influential in the design of homes at the beginning of the 20th century. Early life and education Brummer was born in Bogense as the son of Hans Frederik Brum ...

in around 1902.

Levin and the new building

In 1915, Strandbjerg was acquired by lawyer Carl Levin and his wife Anna Levin (née Ferslew). Anna Levin was the daughter of Jean Christian Ferslew. Together with her brother Christian, she owned C. F. Jean Ferslew & Co. Her husband served as CEO of the company. In 1916. Levin charged the architect Bernhard Ingemann with the design of a new mansion for the site. Ingemann had already designed the country house Strandtofte for businessman Franz Nordstrand a little down the road (Rungsted Strandvej 77, 19121. He was also charged with the design of the new Hørsholm City Hall (1918). The new house was completed in 1918. The old house was used as residence for his gardener and referred to as Clermont.

Later history

In 1922, Villa Strandbjerg was acquired by ''hofjægermester'' Aage Krabbe (1862-1933). His widow Ellen Frederikke Hartnack (1864-1940) owned Strandbjerg until at least 1937. During

, Strandbjerg was confiscated by the Gestapo. Mearby Tungsted Beach Hotel and Cilla Sol were also used by the Gestapo. The building's basement was used as prison cells. In 1948, Villa Strandbjerg was taken over by Copenhagen Municipality. On 1 June 1948, it opened as an asylum for 42 ill women. It closed in 1990. In 1993, it was acquired by PFA. The main building was aubsequently converted into apartments. The surrounding park was built over with additional apartment buildings.

Architecture

The facade is dominated by a three-bay median risalit tipped by a triangular pediment. The edges of the median risalit and the corners of the building are accented with

lesene A lesene, also called a pilaster strip, is an architectural term for a narrow, low-relief vertical pillar on a wall. It resembles a pilaster, but does not have a base or capital. It is typical in Lombardic and Rijnlandish architectural building ...

References

External links

Prison cell
in Villa Strandbjerg
Strandbjerg and Hostrup

Strandbjerg and Gestapo

Levin and Kleis
{{Copenhagen historic houses Houses in Hørsholm Municipality Houses completed in 1916 1902 establishments in Denmark World War II sites in Denmark