Rungstedlund
Encyclopedia
Rungstedlund, also known as the Karen Blixen Museum, is a country house in Rungsted
on the Øresund coast just north of Copenhagen
, Denmark
, notable for its association with the author Karen Blixen
, who lived there for most of her life. She was born on the estate in 1885, and returned there after her years in Kenya
, chronicled in her book Out of Africa
, to do most of her writings. The property is today managed by the Rungstedlund Foundation as a historic house museum.
and Johannes Ewald
. Ewald lived there from 1773 to 1775 and wrote many of his poems, including The Delights Of Rungsted. An Ode. The locale also inspired him for The Hishermen, a singspiele remembered for Kong Christian Stod Ved Højen Mast, the Danish royal anthem
.
The inn closed in 1803. Aron David, who owned it from 1821 to 1868, merged it with the adjoining properties Rungstedgaard, Sømandshvile og Folehavegaard.
In 1879 the estate was purchased by Wilhelm Dinesen, father of Karen Blixen
, and after his marriage to Ingeborg Westenholz in 1881 they took up residence there. At that time the estate consisted of four wings but two burned in 1898 and were never rebuilt.
Karen Blixen spend her childhood at Rungstedlund and took up residency there again after she returned from Africa
in 1931. She lived there until her death in 1961 and did most of her writings in the Ewald Room. She is interred in the park.
In 1958 Karen Blixen and her siblings founded the Rungstedlund Foundation which was to own and manage the estate after her death. The Karen Blixen Museum was founded in 1991.
, which Karen Blixen co-founded in 1960 together with other Danish intellectuals. The house also hosts the award ceremony of the annual Rungstedlund Award on Karen Blixen's birthday. The grounds are used for a traditional Danish Saint John's Eve event with a bonfire and speeches..
Karen Blixen's grave is located at the foot of Ewald's Mound.
Rungsted
Rungsted is a neighborhood in the city of Hørsholm in the Hørsholm Municipality of Øresund, north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The center of Hørsholm is located two kilometers west of Rungsted...
on the Øresund coast just north of Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, notable for its association with the author Karen Blixen
Karen Blixen
Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke , , née Karen Christenze Dinesen, was a Danish author also known by her pen name Isak Dinesen. She also wrote under the pen names Osceola and Pierre Andrézel...
, who lived there for most of her life. She was born on the estate in 1885, and returned there after her years in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, chronicled in her book Out of Africa
Out of Africa
Out of Africa is a 1985 romantic drama film directed and produced by Sydney Pollack, and starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep. The film is based loosely on the autobiographical book Out of Africa written by Isak Dinesen , which was published in 1937, with additional material from Dinesen's book...
, to do most of her writings. The property is today managed by the Rungstedlund Foundation as a historic house museum.
History
The property traces its history back to 1520 when it was owned by the Crown. The oldest part of the current house dates from about 1680 when it was a combined inn and agricultural estate. Notable guests who stayed at the inn include Ludvig HolbergLudvig Holberg
Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian double monarchy, who spent most of his adult life in Denmark. He was influenced by Humanism, the Enlightenment and the Baroque...
and Johannes Ewald
Johannes Ewald
Johannes Ewald was a Danish national dramatist and poet.-Biography:Ewald, normally regarded as the most important Danish poet of the 2nd half of the 18th Century, led a short and troubled life, marked by alcoholism and poor health...
. Ewald lived there from 1773 to 1775 and wrote many of his poems, including The Delights Of Rungsted. An Ode. The locale also inspired him for The Hishermen, a singspiele remembered for Kong Christian Stod Ved Højen Mast, the Danish royal anthem
Honors music
The honours music for a person, office or rank is music played on formal or ceremonial occasions in the presence of the person, office-holder, or rank-holder, especially by a military band...
.
The inn closed in 1803. Aron David, who owned it from 1821 to 1868, merged it with the adjoining properties Rungstedgaard, Sømandshvile og Folehavegaard.
In 1879 the estate was purchased by Wilhelm Dinesen, father of Karen Blixen
Karen Blixen
Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke , , née Karen Christenze Dinesen, was a Danish author also known by her pen name Isak Dinesen. She also wrote under the pen names Osceola and Pierre Andrézel...
, and after his marriage to Ingeborg Westenholz in 1881 they took up residence there. At that time the estate consisted of four wings but two burned in 1898 and were never rebuilt.
Karen Blixen spend her childhood at Rungstedlund and took up residency there again after she returned from Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
in 1931. She lived there until her death in 1961 and did most of her writings in the Ewald Room. She is interred in the park.
In 1958 Karen Blixen and her siblings founded the Rungstedlund Foundation which was to own and manage the estate after her death. The Karen Blixen Museum was founded in 1991.
Karen Blixen Museum
Karen Blixen's home has been preserved largely unchanged with its original furniture, decor and book. The museum also features a complete collection of her oil paintings. The museum also hosts special exhibitions about the author's life and writings.Other uses
Rungstedlund is also the home of Danish AcademyDanish Academy
Danish Academy is an independent organisation founded in 1960 by a circle of Danish intellectuals "to promote Danish esprit and language, especially within the field of literature". It has up to 20 members, currently 18, and is based at Rungstedlund, the former home of author Karen Blixen who was...
, which Karen Blixen co-founded in 1960 together with other Danish intellectuals. The house also hosts the award ceremony of the annual Rungstedlund Award on Karen Blixen's birthday. The grounds are used for a traditional Danish Saint John's Eve event with a bonfire and speeches..
Rungstedlund Park
The park covers an area of 16.6 hectacres. Most of the grounds have been laid out as a bird sancturary. There are also flower gardens where every day during the summer season fresh flowers are cut for decorating the house.Karen Blixen's grave is located at the foot of Ewald's Mound.