Sophienholm

A lakeside country house with a Golden Age soul

Sophienholm is a former country estate perched above the tree-fringed shores of Bagsværd Lake, a short hop from central Copenhagen yet surrounded by greenery and water. Originally built in 1768–69 for Theodor Holmskiold, director of the Danish postal service, the house was named after his wife Sophie and soon became one of the area’s most refined retreats. Later owners expanded and reshaped the property, but its essence as a cultured refuge just outside the capital has remained. From the outside, Sophienholm still reads as a classic landsted – a country house designed as much for leisure and conversation as for everyday living. It feels intimate in scale compared with city palaces, but carefully composed, with balanced wings, tall windows and views that always lead your eyes back to trees, lawns and water.

Classical architecture framed by an English romantic park

Around 1800 the wealthy merchant Constantin Brun commissioned French architect Joseph-Jacques Ramée to transform Sophienholm, giving it the strict French classicist look that defines the main building today. Clean lines, clear symmetry and restrained decoration contrast beautifully with the softer, rolling landscape outside. Ramée also redesigned the grounds in the style of an English landscape garden, complete with winding paths, open lawns and orchestrated sightlines towards the lake. The park still carries touches of those romantic ambitions. Historic features such as the porter’s lodge, a former Norwegian house and a Chinese pavilion once added an almost theatrical quality to walks through the estate, and while not all original garden structures survive, the sense of curated nature is unmistakable. Mature trees, long views across the water and scattered sculptures make the grounds as much an open-air gallery as a simple picnic setting.

Salons, artists and the spirit of the Danish Golden Age

Sophienholm’s most storied chapter belongs to Constantin Brun’s wife, Friederike Brun, a writer and cosmopolitan salon hostess. In the early 1800s she turned the estate into a lively cultural meeting place, inviting leading figures of the Danish Golden Age – poets, composers and thinkers – to summer stays filled with readings, music and conversation. Names such as Adam Oehlenschläger and other literary contemporaries found inspiration here, and the house and park slipped into poems and songs of the era. This salon culture gave Sophienholm an unusual blend of domestic intimacy and intellectual ambition. It was a private home, yet also a stage for ideas, performances and artistic experimentation. Echoes of that period linger in the way the rooms are used today: not as static historic interiors, but as flexible spaces where art and dialogue continue to unfold.

From private estate to public art hall

In the late 19th century the Aller publishing family took over the estate, and in 1963 Sophienholm passed into public ownership under Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality. After careful restoration, the house reopened as an art venue, and it now functions as a kunsthal – an exhibition hall for changing shows rather than a fixed collection. Exhibitions span Danish contemporary art, historical themes and curated projects that often resonate with the building’s heritage. A highlight is the CoBrA Room in the former stable buildings, where a ceiling connected to the experimental CoBrA art movement links Sophienholm’s Golden Age past with 20th-century avant-garde energy. Outdoor sculptures punctuate the lawns and paths, and temporary installations occasionally spill into the park, making a walk here as visually engaging as a tour through the galleries inside.

Visiting today: art, café and slow strolls by the water

Today Sophienholm is equal parts cultural venue and peaceful escape. Inside, light-filled rooms host two to five major exhibitions a year, alongside smaller shows and events such as talks, workshops and concerts. The on-site café makes good use of the lake views, encouraging long pauses between gallery visits. Outside, the park is freely accessible and invites unhurried wandering along the shoreline, with benches, gentle slopes and shaded corners that suit both quiet reflection and relaxed family outings. Whether you come primarily for art, architecture, a lakeside walk or a mixture of all three, Sophienholm offers a compact slice of Danish cultural history wrapped in greenery and water views, easily fitted into a half-day or leisurely afternoon.