The Heering House (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

: Heerings Gård) is a Neoclassical house overlooking Christianshavn Canal in the

Christianshavn Christianshavn (literally, "ingChristian's Harbour") is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of th ...

neighbourhood of Copenhagen, Denmark. It takes its name after Peter Frederik Suhm Heering (1792-1875) who owned it from 1838 until his death in 1875 and it continued to serve as headquarters for his company,

Peter Heering Heering Cherry Liqueur is a Danish liqueur flavored with cherries. It is often referred to simply as ''Peter Heering'' or ''Cherry Heering'' in cocktail recipes. Heering Cherry Liqueur has been produced since 1818, and the company is purveyor ...

, until 1977. The building is now home to the Nordea Foundation and a museum dedicated to banks and saving banks, as well as six residences available to foreign researchers and specialists.

History

Early history

Christian Gedde - Christianshavns Kvarter No

The property was listed as No. 60 in Christianshavn Quarter in Copenhagen's first

cadastre A cadastre or cadaster is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes and bounds, metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented gra ...

of 1689. It was at that time owned by Kirsten Nielsen, widow of brewer Espen Nielsen. The property was acquired by brewer and timber merchant Peter Casse (1697-1782). He was originally from Flensbiurg. Gasse was also active in the slave trade. He was responsible for sending around 20 ships to the West Indies with slaves. He was elected as councilman in. In 1749, he was one of the members of the Herman congregation who applied for royal permission to build Frederick's German Church. He was also elected as one of the "directors" of the construction process. In 1753 he constructed a new brewery building on the rear of his property. The property was listed as No. 163 in the new cadastre of 1756. Casse was also the owner of a warehouse at Bådsmandsstræde 4. He kept the property until his death. He is buried in the crypt of Christian's Church (Chapel 2).

Kofoed family

In 1785 it was acquired by

Hans Peder Kofoed Hans Peder Kofoed (c. 1 October 1743 – 3 January 1812) was a Danish brewer, merchant and shipowner who became wealthy from trade on the Danish West Indies.. He constructed the townhouse on Christianshavn in Copenhagen that is now known as th ...

(1743– 1812), a sea captain from

Bornholm Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...

. He constructed a large new building fronting the street, probably designed to designs by the architect Georg Erdman Rosenberg. Kofoed lived in the building with his wife, Marie Kofoed (1760 - 1838), and an adopted son from Saint Croix. When Marie Kofoed became a widow in 1812, she involved herself in philanthropic work in the local community, supporting unmarried women and widows of seamen financially, and continued to live in the house until her own death in 1838.

The Heering era

The house was then purchased by Peter Frederik Suhm Heering who needed more space for his expanding business enterprises. He had begun a production of Cherry Heering liqueur in 1818 which had gained world-wide success. In 1833 he had also made a move into shipping, acquiring a

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

built in

Svaneke Svaneke (''Swencke'' in 1410, from old Danish ''swan'' swan and ''*wīka'' inlet) is a small town on the eastern coast of the Baltic island of Bornholm, Denmark. It lies mainly in Svaneke parish and partly in Ibsker parish. It is Denmark's east ...

on Bornholm. And by 1858, his company, Heering Line, operated a fleet of ten merchant ships which sailed on South America and the Mediterranean Sea. After Peter Heering's death in 1875, the property remained in the Heering family for another four generations.

Later history

In 1977 the property was purchased by the Private Bank (''Privatbanken'') in 1977. Parts of the building was then rented out to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1999 the property changed hands once again when it was acquired by the Nordea Foundation. From 2008 to 2011 it underwent a DKK 100 mio. renovation.

Architecture

The main wing towards the street is built in the Neoclassical style. It is 16 bays long and consists of three storeys and a six-bay attica topped by a baluster-balustrade. A sculpted cow's claw on the keystone above the gateway dates from the first owner of the house,

, and is a reference to his family name, Kofoed, which translates as "cow's foot" and is a name commonly associated with his native island of Bornholm. A lateral wing on the rear of the building was added in 1926–1927 to a design by Bent Helweg-Møller (1883-1956). It received an award from the City in 1929. The site also comprises the original brewery building which dates from 1759.

Nordea Foundation

The Nordea Foundation (''Nordea-fonden'') now has its secretariat in the building. The renovation also installed six residences which are available on grant to foreign researchers and specialists under the foundation's residence program.

Bank and Saving Museum

The Bank and Saving Museum (''Bank- og Sparekassemuseet'') was founded by the Private Bank at

Børsen Børsen (Danish for "the Exchange"), also known as Børsbygningen ("The (Stock) Exchange building" in English), is a 17th-century stock exchange in the center of Copenhagen. The historic building is situated next to Christiansborg Palace, the seat ...

in 1857 to mark the 100-years anniversary of the bank's foundation. The displays include the former office of Carl Frederik Tietgen (1829–1901), the bank's founder and director over four decades, who has also been labelled as the most significant Danish entrepreneur of all times. After his death in 1901, the office was transferred to the bank's new headquarters at C.F. Tietgens Hus on Børsgade and left untouched until the opening of the museum. The museum also features a bank branch, complete with all inventory from c. 1900, and other artifacts from the history of the Danish bank sector. The museum also has a large exhibition space for changing exhibitions in an adjoining building.