The Schäffer House is an 18th-century, bourgeois townhouse located at

Magstræde Snaregade and Magstræde are two of the oldest streets in the Old Town of Copenhagen, Denmark, linking Gammel Strand at their eastern end with Rådhusstræde to the west. Snaregade extends from the small square at the Gammel Strand metro station t ...

6 in the Old Town of

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 ...

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 building is also called after Diderich Schäffer for whom it was built. Schäffer's interior Rococo decorations from the first floor are now on display in the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

as part of the Magstræde Apartment.

History

Diderich Schäffer

The property was in 1689 as No. 43 in Snaren's Quarter owned by brewer Henrik Andersen. The property was together with most of the other buildings in the area destroyed in the

Copenhagen Fire of 1728 The Copenhagen Fire of 1728 was the largest fire in the history of Copenhagen, Denmark. It began on the evening of 20 October 1728 and continued to burn until the morning of 23 October. It destroyed approximately 28% of the city (measured by coun ...

. The current building on the site was constructed in 1733-34 by master builder

Philip de Lange Philip de Lange (c. 1705 – 17 September 1766) was a leading Dutch-Danish architect who designed many different types of building in various styles including Dutch Baroque and Rococo. Early life and family Philip de Lange was probably born ...

for court joiner Diderich Schäffer. He had been called to Denmark in circa 1730 to work on the new

Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...

. He lived in the ground-floor apartment and had his workshop in the rear wing and possibly part of the side wing. The more elegant apartment on the first floor was rented out. In 1755–56, Schäffer constructed the country house

Schæffergården Schæffergården, formerly Jægersborghus, is a Rococo-style mansion located on Jægersborg Allé in Jægersborg, Gentofte Municipality, some 15 kilometres north of central Copenhagen, Denmark. The listed main building was built by court carpente ...

Jægersborg Jægersborg is a suburban neighbourhood in Gentofte Municipality, some 12 km north of central Copenhagen, Denmark. History The whole area was from at least 1401 a royal estate known as Ibstrup (the earliest sources refer to it as Jepstor ...

north of Copenhagen. His plan was to sell it but it proved difficult and he ended up owning it until 1771. He died in 1778.

Johan Gierløf

The property was on 11 June 1749 sold to Johan Gierløf. Johan Gierløf (1709-1800) was the fifth son of brewer Chr. Gierløf and Rachel Jørgensdatter. He had together with his brother Christian continued the family's brewery in

Vestergade Vestergade ( lit. "West Street") is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, linking Gammeltorv in the northeast with the City Hall Square in the southwest. The street defines the southern boundary of Copenhagen's Latin Quarter. Most of the build ...

but they had both turned to

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

. Johan Gierløf had started a lucrative import of porcelain from Saxony while the brother had become the proprietor of

Store Kongensgade Faience Manufactury Store Kongensgade Faience Manufactury, active from 1722 to the late 1770s, was a faience ceramics manufacturer located on Store Kongensgade in Copenhagen. It was the first manufacturer of faience in the Nordic countries. It is especially remembe ...

. On 5 April 1759, Gierløf was licensed as a wholesaler (). In 1768, he purchased a property in

Stormgade Stormgade ( lit. "Storm Street") is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs from Frederiksholm Canal to H. C. Andersens Boulevard where it turns into Tietgensgade before continuing along the rear side of Tivoli Gardens and Copenhagen Cen ...

but without parting with the house in Magstræde. The historian and civil servant Ove Malling lived in the building from 1776 to 1780. The naval officer Peder Norden Sølling lived in the building in 1787–88. He is most notable for founding Bombebøssen in

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 ...

. Johan Gierløfkept the house in Magstræde until his death in 1800.

19th century

The property was in the new

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 19+7 listed as Snaren's Quarter, No. 30. It was by then still owned by Gherløf's heirs. At the time of the 1840 census, Snaren's Quarter, No. 30 was home to a total of 39 people. At the time of the 1860 census, it was home to a total of 31 people.

Architecture

The house is five bays wide and has a three-bay central projection. The rounded pediment was added in 1850. The rear side of the building is built with exposed timber framing. The gateway opens to a long, narrow courtyard. A 13 bay long side wing with exposed timber framing extends from the rear side of the building along the left-hand side of the courtyard. A rear wing is located at the bottom of the courtyard.

Interior

Schäffer's rich interior Rococo decorations from his house are now on display in the

References

External links

Magstræde 6
at indenforvoldene.dk {{Copenhagen historic houses Listed residential buildings in Copenhagen Timber framed buildings in Copenhagen