The Karen Blixen Museum, located 10 km outside of

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, "at the foot of the Ngong Hills", is the former African home of Danish author

Karen Blixen Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke (born Dinesen; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962) was a Danish author who wrote works in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, used in English-speaking countrie ...

, famous for her 1937 book '' Out of Africa'' which chronicles life at the estate.

History

Located in what was then

British East Africa East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Bri ...

, the bungalow-style house which is now the Karen Blixen Museum was built in 1912 by the Swedish engineer Åke Sjögren,National Museums of Kenya: Karen Blixen , accessed 22 February 2011. The house and its attached property were bought in 1917 by

and her husband, Baron

Bror von Blixen-Finecke Baron Bror Fredrik von Blixen-Finecke (25 July 1886 – 4 March 1946) was a Swedish nobleman, writer, and African professional hunter and guide on big-game hunts. He was married to Karen Blixen (née Dinesen) from 1914 to 1925. Personal li ...

with the intention of operating a coffee

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

. After the Blixens separated in 1921, Karen Blixen continued to live at the house and run the plantation until she returned to Denmark 1931 for good. Her life here is chronicled in her most famous book, '' Out of Africa'', as well as in her book ''Shadows on the Grass''."Karen Blixen Museum" (in Kenya), Josephine Thangwa, National Museums of Kenya, webpage:
Museums-Kenya-KBlixen
. After Blixen's death in 1962, the house was donated by the

Danish government The Cabinet of Denmark ( da, regering) has been the chief executive body and the government of the Kingdom of Denmark since 1848. The Cabinet is led by the Prime Minister. There are around 25 members of the Cabinet, known as "ministers", all of wh ...

in 1964 to the new Kenyan government as an independence gift and was opened to the public in 1986 as one of Kenya's national museums, following the popularity of the 1985 movie, '' Out of Africa''. However, this site was not where the '' Out of Africa'' was filmed, as the pictures were taken in Blixen's first farmhouse, Mbagathi, nearby, where she lived between 1914 and 1917. Nowadays the museum is situated in the upscale Nairobi suburb named "

Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic la ...

," which was created by the land re-parceling of the coffee farm, after Blixen's return to Denmark. The Karen Blixen Museum is open every day between 09:30 and 18:00, including on weekends and public holidays. Visitors have the opportunity to take part in continuously offered guided tours of the house, which features rooms designed in both the original decor and with props from the 1985 film.Magical Kenya: Karen Blixen Museum, Nairob

accessed 22 February 2011, The grounds, which feature original equipment from the coffee farm, are also available for touring. There is also a gift shop. The grounds of the museum are available to rent for weddings, corporate functions, and other events.

Notes

External links

Museum Shop

Museum website

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

{{Coord, 01, 21, 07, S, 36, 42, 45, E, source:enwiki-plaintext-parser, display=title Houses in Kenya Biographical museums in Kenya Buildings and structures in Nairobi Women's museums Buildings and structures associated with the Dinesen family Karen Blixen Tourist attractions in Nairobi History of women in Kenya