Alchemist's House


The Alchemist's House, situated at Nyhavn 59, is a historic property overlooking the Nyhavn Canal in central Copenhagen, Denmark.

History

The house was built in 1689 for coppersmith and alchemist Henrik Ehm.
The building was long used as a hostel under the name Limfjorden. It later changed its name to Hotel Stockholm and later Hotel Dania. Guests included theNorwegian writer Knut Hamsun who stayed there under the name "postmaster Hansen from Oslo". A suite in the hotel also housed members of several Russian noble families who had to flee Russia the revolution. These included Maria Feodorovna's lady-in waiting who lived there at the empress- expense.
The building was later purchased by the architect Palle Suenson and put through a comprehensive renovation. The building was listed on the Danish Registry of Protected Buildings and Places in 1945.

Architecture

The house was then a two-storey building with a two-bay wall dormer. The attic was converted into a full storey some time 1743 and 1746 and a fourth floor was added in the second half of the 1880s.
The building is four bays wide and has a balcony in front of the two central bays on the third floor. It features a Salvator Mundi sculpture between the two central windows on the first floor.

Today

Most of the building has now been converted into offices but it also contains a few apartments. Restaurant Streckers is based in the ground floor of the building.