Gustmeyer House

The Gustmeyer House (Danish: Gustmeyers Gård) is a historic property on Ved Stranden, opposite Christiansborg Palace on Slotsholmen, in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built in 1797 to a Neoclassical design by Johan Martin Quist. The Nobel Prize-winning physicist Niels Bohr was born in the building. McKinsey & Company is now based in the building.

Gustmeyer House
Gustmeyers Gård
The principal facade facing Ved Stranden
General information
Architectural styleNeoclassical
LocationCopenhagen, Denmark
CountryDenmark
Current tenantsMcKinsey & Company
Construction started1796
Completed1797
ClientFrederik Ludolf Gustmeyer
OwnerATP Ejendomme
Design and construction
ArchitectJohan Martin Quist

History

18th century

The merchant Carl Hieronimus Gustmeyer owned the property in the first half of the 18th century. After his death in 1756, His son took over the property.[1] The building was destroyed in the Copenhagen Fire of 1795. The current building at the site was completed the following year to a design by Johan Martin Quist. Quist was one of a handful of master builders who obtained a near monopoly on the rebuilding of the city after the fire.[2]

19th century
The house painted by Sally Henriques

Frederik Gustmeyer lost the family fortune during the economic crisis that resulted from Denmark's involvement in the Napoleonic Wars. A later owner of the property was Nicolai Abraham Holten. He sold it when he was appointed as director of Øresund Custom House in Helsingør in 1839.

Advertisement for A. Anckers Manufactur Varelager

The building was then home to a clothing company, A. Anckers Manufactur Varelager.

The Adler family, c. 1890

Former foreign minister Ludvig Nicolaus von Scheele lived in the building from 1868 until 1873. It was then acquired by the businessman and politician David B. Adler who resided at No. 14 until 1878.[2]

One of Adler's daughters, Ellen (1860-1930), married the physician and physiology professor Christian Bohr (1855-1911) in 1881. Their two sons, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Niels Bohr and the mathematician Harald Bohr, were both born in the building.[2]

20th century

The house was owned by King George I of Greece from 1903 until his assassination in 1913. He was a son of Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel.[2]

The building later served as headquarters for Kjøbenhavns Brandforsikring.[3]

Architecture

The Neoclassical building is one of Copenhagen's first examples of a bourgeois residence with free-standing columns.

The property also includes two lateral wings which connect the main wing to a rear wing facing Admiralgade which served as warehouse for Gustmeyer's business. There is also a one-storey building in the central courtyard which dates from the same time as the rest of the complex.

Gustmeyer House today

The entire property was refurbished by royal building inspector David Bretton-Meyer for the consultancy McKinsey & Company in 1985-1986. The building is today owned by ATP Properties.

References
  1. "Carl Hieronimus Gustmeyer" (in Danish). Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  2. "Ved Stranden 14/Admiralgade 24" (in Danish). indenforvoldene.dk. Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
  3. "Kjøbenhavns Brandforsikring". coneliand.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 15 March 2018.

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