The second in a series on Moscow's beautiful embassies and ambassador's homes.
Amid the fashionable homes of Moscow's long-vanished nobility that surround Ulitsa Prechistenka is a butter-yellow mansion where sumptuous soirees are still commonplace. In its classically inspired Empire style, the Embassy of Denmark maintains the aristocratic elegance of its 19th-century heyday.
"The house survived both Napoleon and Hitler," said Ambassador of Denmark Christian Hoppe, noting that many of the mansion's contemporaries were lost to the fires Muscovites lit in their attempt to stave off Napoleon's invasion in 1812.
Recently a reconstruction of the sprawling single-story mansion, which houses both the embassy and the ambassador's residence, was completed. Together with the construction of an additional office wing, the modernization cost the Danes approximately $5 million, Hoppe said.
The ambassador and his wife Magdalena de Leon Hoppe, a native of Guatemala, and their two daughters, Alicia and Elizabeth, aged 13 and 9 respectively, took up residence a year ago, when their now-elegant quarters were being reconstructed, Hoppe said. Their new home and workplace had the appearance of a war zone; in one of the embassy's offices, a ceiling had even collapsed, he recalled.
In the end, the Hoppes lost one of their five bedrooms to the visa department, but gained impressive lodgings to rival those of their predecessors.
When Danish architects undertook the project they met a number of surprises. In the earliest part of the house, which dated back to the late 1700s, they found that the building's log structure had begun to rot. Despite the allocation of additional resources this necessitated, buying an additional building in this prestigious neighborhood was forbiddingly expensive.
The mansion has quite a colorful history. As one story goes, on the cusp of the Revolution the mansion was purchased in 1915 by Margarita Morozova, widow of tycoon Mikhail Morozov and generous patron of the arts. But the Bolsheviks seized the stately home and placed Morozova under house arrest, relegating the celebrated hostess to basement quarters. Morozova made good use of her seclusion by writing her memoirs.
At this time, the rest of the house served as a sort of depot for art works from all over Moscow. Upon the nationalization of privately-held art works, a committee led by renowned art historian Igor Grabar examined the seized booty and in turn distributed it to state museums around the country.As the large house was not quite appropriate in scale for Soviet-era housing, in the mid-1920s this white elephant became the Norwegian Embassy. Starting in 1924 when official diplomatic relations between Russia and Denmark were established, the latter was quartered in a nearby house that now houses the Canadian Embassy.
When Germany occupied Denmark during World War II, the Danes were forced to break off ties with the Soviets and leave Moscow.
With the end of the war, Stalin reshuffled embassy assignments and Denmark acquired its current quarters.
Today the walls of the now-restored residence are swathed in warm, muted pastels, which complement the impressive collection of paintings on loan from the Danish National Gallery of Art in Copenhagen. As one ascends to the foyer, one is greeted by a monumental painting depicting the coronation of King Christian VIII in 1839. The oversized artwork serves as a primer in Danish cultural history. It includes several Danish heroes, like fairy-tale writer Hans Christian Andersen.
The Hoppes also enjoy the embassy's Danish antique furniture found in the main halls. Looking to French models the classical lines of this mid-19th century furniture complements the architectural design of the Empire-style house, which likewise took its cue from contemporary French design.
"It is a great old house with a charming atmosphere," said Hoppe as he glanced around the sitting room with its elegantly coffered, barrel-vaulted ceiling and its grotesque painting of a man being tortured.
The sitting room is furnished with the Hoppes' own pieces, most of which the couple purchased when posted at UN headquarters in New York. While much of the furniture is English -- by way of the United States -- the walls are adorned with Danish landscapes and maps of Hoppe's homeland.
But what catches the eye as particularly representative of this Scandinavian country, is the Danish Modern furniture found in the dining room and Ambassador Hoppe's office. This 1960s furniture is striking for its simple lines with their subtle, tapering curves, which along with the warm tone of the natural wood, tempers the modern aesthetic.
When entertaining their frequent Danish guests, Jan, the embassy's Danish chef, does not disappoint."He is outstanding," said Hoppe. "He cooks Danish food with a French touch." In addition to traditional fish dishes, the Hoppes often serve Danish beer and aquavit, the national liquor.
Amid the fashionable homes of Moscow's long-vanished nobility that surround Ulitsa Prechistenka is a butter-yellow mansion where sumptuous soirees are still commonplace. In its classically inspired Empire style, the Embassy of Denmark maintains the aristocratic elegance of its 19th-century heyday.
"The house survived both Napoleon and Hitler," said Ambassador of Denmark Christian Hoppe, noting that many of the mansion's contemporaries were lost to the fires Muscovites lit in their attempt to stave off Napoleon's invasion in 1812.
Recently a reconstruction of the sprawling single-story mansion, which houses both the embassy and the ambassador's residence, was completed. Together with the construction of an additional office wing, the modernization cost the Danes approximately $5 million, Hoppe said.
The ambassador and his wife Magdalena de Leon Hoppe, a native of Guatemala, and their two daughters, Alicia and Elizabeth, aged 13 and 9 respectively, took up residence a year ago, when their now-elegant quarters were being reconstructed, Hoppe said. Their new home and workplace had the appearance of a war zone; in one of the embassy's offices, a ceiling had even collapsed, he recalled.
In the end, the Hoppes lost one of their five bedrooms to the visa department, but gained impressive lodgings to rival those of their predecessors.
When Danish architects undertook the project they met a number of surprises. In the earliest part of the house, which dated back to the late 1700s, they found that the building's log structure had begun to rot. Despite the allocation of additional resources this necessitated, buying an additional building in this prestigious neighborhood was forbiddingly expensive.
The mansion has quite a colorful history. As one story goes, on the cusp of the Revolution the mansion was purchased in 1915 by Margarita Morozova, widow of tycoon Mikhail Morozov and generous patron of the arts. But the Bolsheviks seized the stately home and placed Morozova under house arrest, relegating the celebrated hostess to basement quarters. Morozova made good use of her seclusion by writing her memoirs.
At this time, the rest of the house served as a sort of depot for art works from all over Moscow. Upon the nationalization of privately-held art works, a committee led by renowned art historian Igor Grabar examined the seized booty and in turn distributed it to state museums around the country.As the large house was not quite appropriate in scale for Soviet-era housing, in the mid-1920s this white elephant became the Norwegian Embassy. Starting in 1924 when official diplomatic relations between Russia and Denmark were established, the latter was quartered in a nearby house that now houses the Canadian Embassy.
When Germany occupied Denmark during World War II, the Danes were forced to break off ties with the Soviets and leave Moscow.
With the end of the war, Stalin reshuffled embassy assignments and Denmark acquired its current quarters.
Today the walls of the now-restored residence are swathed in warm, muted pastels, which complement the impressive collection of paintings on loan from the Danish National Gallery of Art in Copenhagen. As one ascends to the foyer, one is greeted by a monumental painting depicting the coronation of King Christian VIII in 1839. The oversized artwork serves as a primer in Danish cultural history. It includes several Danish heroes, like fairy-tale writer Hans Christian Andersen.
The Hoppes also enjoy the embassy's Danish antique furniture found in the main halls. Looking to French models the classical lines of this mid-19th century furniture complements the architectural design of the Empire-style house, which likewise took its cue from contemporary French design.
"It is a great old house with a charming atmosphere," said Hoppe as he glanced around the sitting room with its elegantly coffered, barrel-vaulted ceiling and its grotesque painting of a man being tortured.
The sitting room is furnished with the Hoppes' own pieces, most of which the couple purchased when posted at UN headquarters in New York. While much of the furniture is English -- by way of the United States -- the walls are adorned with Danish landscapes and maps of Hoppe's homeland.
But what catches the eye as particularly representative of this Scandinavian country, is the Danish Modern furniture found in the dining room and Ambassador Hoppe's office. This 1960s furniture is striking for its simple lines with their subtle, tapering curves, which along with the warm tone of the natural wood, tempers the modern aesthetic.
When entertaining their frequent Danish guests, Jan, the embassy's Danish chef, does not disappoint."He is outstanding," said Hoppe. "He cooks Danish food with a French touch." In addition to traditional fish dishes, the Hoppes often serve Danish beer and aquavit, the national liquor.
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