The Schäffer House is an 18th-century, bourgeois townhouse located at Magstræde 6 in the Old Town of

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 ...

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 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 can be 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 the United States, most nati ...

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 the 23rd of October 1728. It destroyed approximately 28% of the city (me ...

. 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 (, ) 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 Court of Denmark. Also ...

. 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 at

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 Jepsto ...

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 but they had both turned to

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

. Johan Gierløf had started a lucrative import of porcelain from Saxony while the brother had become the proprietor of Store Kongensgade Faience Manufactury. On 5 April 1759, Gierløf was licensed as a wholesaler (). In 1768, he purchased a property in Stormgade 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 () 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 the city centre by the Inner Harbour, ...

. 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 of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented graphically in ...

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