The French Embassy in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

is the main

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to the

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of Denmark, metropolitan ...

. It is located in the Thott Palace at

Kongens Nytorv Kongens Nytorv ( lit. "The King's New Square") is a public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was laid out by Christian V in 1670 in connection with ...

4 in

central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. The ambassador since July 6, 2018 is Caroline Ferrari, in replacement of François Zimeray.

Thott Palace

The building now housing the French Embassy was built for the Danish naval hero

Niels Juel Niels Juel (8 May 1629 – 8 April 1697) was a Danish admiral and a naval hero. He served as supreme command of the Dano-Norwegian Navy The history of the Danish navy began with the founding of a joint Dano-Norwegian navy on 10 August 1510, ...

from 1683 to 1686 as the just second building on

which, inspired by the royal squares of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, had been laid out by

Christian V of Denmark Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decree ...

in the years following his coronation in 1670. With his victory in the Battle of Køge Bay, Niels Juel had won fame and wealth. His new mansion was designed by

Lambert van Haven Lambert van Haven (16 April 1630 - 9 May 1695) was a Danish-Norwegian architect, master builder and painter. He was born in Bergen, the son of the artist Solomon van Haven who had already succeeded in winning the favour of the Danish-Norwegian mo ...

as an L-shaped building in the Dutch Baroque style. After Niels Juel's death in 1697, the king,

, arranged for his official mistress and mother to five of his children,

Sophie Amalie Moth Sophie Amalie Moth, Countess of Samsøe (28 March 1654 – 17 January 1719) was the officially acknowledged royal mistress of King Christian V of Denmark. Together they had six acknowledged illegitimate children, all of whom bore the surname G ...

, to take over his mansion. She immediately passed it on to him and the king's eldest son,

Christian Gyldenløve Christian Gyldenløve, Count of Samsøe (Copenhagen, 28 February 1674 – Odense, 16 July 1703), was a Danish nobleman and military officer. He was one of five illegitimate children fathered by Christian V of Denmark with Sophie Amalie Moth. H ...

, who around 1700 extended the building with a third wing. In 1769, the palace was acquired by

Otto Thott Otto Thott (13 October 1703 – 10 September 1785) was a Danish Count, minister of state, and land owner. During his lifetime, he acquired Gavnø Castle and one of the largest private collections of book and manuscripts in Denmark. Ear ...

, who had the facade towards modernized to the design of

Nicolas-Henri Jardin Nicolas-Henri Jardin (22 March 1720 – 31 August 1799) was a French architect. Born in St. Germain des Noyers, Seine-et-Marne, Jardin worked seventeen years in Denmark–Norway as an architect to the Danish royal court. He introduced neoclassicis ...

in 1763–64. The property remained in the belonging of the Thott family until 1930 when it was purchased by the French state and turned into the French Embassy in Denmark.

Cultural activities

The Embassy is today also used as a venue for a multitude of activities including conferences, lectures, wine tastings and guided tours.

References

Denmark–France relations {{France-gov-stub

Thott Palace

Cultural activities

Further reading

References