The French Embassy in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

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 denotes ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to the

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply Denmark, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united by the Constitution of Denmark, Constitutional Act, which applies to the entire territor ...

. It is located in the Thott Palace at

Kongens Nytorv Kongens Nytorv (literal translation, lit. "The King's New Square") is a town square, public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the Pedestrian zone, pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was l ...

4 in central

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. The ambassador since June 15, 2022 is Christophe Parisot, in replacement of Caroline Ferrari.

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 naval officer. He served as supreme commander of the Dano-Norwegian Navy during the late 17th century and oversaw development of the Danish-Norwegian Navy. Background Niels Juel was born ...

from 1683 to 1686 as the just second building on

which, inspired by the royal squares of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, 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 dec ...

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, Landgrave 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. ...

, 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. Early ...

, 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 neoclassic ...

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