Munkeruphus (literally "Munkerup House") is a former

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

located in Munkerup now part of Dronningmølle– Hornbæk, on the north coast of Zealand,

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. A rare example of

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

n influence in

Danish architecture 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 a ...

, the building now serves as an exhibition space.

History

Munkeruphus was built in 1916 for civil engineer Frederik Raaschou and his family by the two young architects Terkel Hjejle and Niels Rosenkjær. In 1958 it was acquired by artist and designer

Gunnar Aagaard Andersen Gunnar Aagaard Andersen (14 July 1919 – 29 June 1982) was a Danish sculptor, painter, designer and architect whose work belongs to the Concrete art movement. Early life and education Born in Ordrup to the north of Copenhagen, Aagaard Andersen at ...

and his wife. Aagaard had previously lived in

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 ...

from 1946 to 1951 where he had co-founded ''Groupe Espace'', a collaborative between artists and architects who worked with spatial art, and he made it the centre of an active artistic environment with many visiting colegees visiting from abroad. In 1986 it was purchased by the Capital Region Authority and subsequently listed by the Danish Heritage Agency. For a few years it was left empty but in the autumn of 1988 it was ceded to a foundation with the aim of transforming it into an exhibition space for changing exhibitions. It was renovated with support from private benefactors and opened the doors to its first exhibition on 26 August 1989.

Architecture

Munkeruphus was designed with inspiration from the Arts and Crafts Movement and American Colonial Revival architecture. It is a two-story, T-shaped structure with a horizontal board siding, topped by a shingled

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...

. The almost symmetrical main facade is nine

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

s long but the second window from each side and on both floors is omitted, save in the ground floor of the left hand side where a smaller window creates a small deviation from the dominating symmetry of the facade. The main entrance is through a double-leafed French door with a glass

transom Transom may refer to: * Transom (architecture), a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window, or the window above such a bar * Transom (nautical), that part of the stern of a vessel where the two sides of its hull meet * Operation Tran ...

. On the north (rear) side, another wing has been designed to optimize views of the sea.

Park

Set back from the coastal road between Hornbæk and Gilleleje, at the end of an unpaved driveway, the house is on a 16-hectare

lot Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...

which consists of parkland with lawns, winding paths and many mature trees. The rear slopes reach all the way to the sandy beaches along the

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width v ...

and the park affords views of Nakkehoved and Hornbæk along the coast as well as

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

on the other side of the water. There are also a number of outdoor sculptures on the premises.

Munkeruphus today

Munkeruphus is operated as a self-owning institution. It plays host to 5–6 exhibitions a year about art, crafts, design, architecture or other themes. It also serves as a venue for lectures and indoor as well as outdoor concerts. There is also a café which serves light lunch meals, cakes and hot and cold drinks in the ground floor of the rear wing.

References

External links