Author Topic: Hviodore  (Read 74634 times)

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Chris Snyder

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Hviodore
« on: February 09, 2004, 07:43:45 PM »
Does anyone know if the summer house of the Dowager Empress Marie and her sister Alexandra is still standing, or who may own it?  It was in Denmark and called Hviodore.

Offline BobAtchison

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Re: Hviodore
« Reply #1 on: February 10, 2004, 02:41:52 PM »
It was sold some time ago and is in private hands.  Maybe someone can tell us more.

Bob

Nick Nicholson

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Re: Hviodore
« Reply #2 on: February 11, 2004, 10:02:57 AM »
Bob,

According to the late Alexander Romanov, Hvidore was sold through great difficulty (it was jointly owned by GDsses Olga and Xenia, and the British Royal Family) and has passed through many hands.  He had heard that the house had been altered beyond recognition on the inside (this was in 1996.)

Nick

Offline Greg_King

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Re: Hviodore
« Reply #3 on: February 12, 2004, 02:23:09 AM »
Hvidore was sold in July, 1929 to Jacob Koefoed, a former wine merchant, while the contents has been sold at auction a few months earlier.  At one time it served as a clinic.  Now it serves as a conference center for the Novo-Nordsik Pharmaceutical Company.  Not a lot remains inside of the original layout-the rooms are largely still there, and there are some architectural details, but substantial changes have been made.  In the last few years (perhaps as many as 6-8, I can't recall) there were several articles by Coryne Hall, published in "Royalty Digest," that contained a number of photographs of the rooms as used by the Dowager Empress and Queen Alexandra.  And in the October, 2003 issue of "Majesty Magazine," Coryne also wrote about the house, and the article contains a number of photographs showing the Dowager Empress's rooms.

Greg King

Chris Snyder

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Re: Hviodore
« Reply #4 on: February 12, 2004, 03:21:51 PM »
Thanks alot Greg for all of this information!  I am glad to hear that the last residence of the Dowager Empress is still standing.  Do you know how I might go about getting the publications you mentioned?  I am very curious to see additional photos.  I have seen only a few of them so far and the house looked just lovely, so I would like to see more.

Janet_Ashton

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Re: Hviodore
« Reply #5 on: February 13, 2004, 03:24:45 PM »
To Chris Snyder re. the magazines: -

both these publications have websites:


www.majestymagazine.com

www.picrare.com for Royalty Digest.

I don't subscribe to either since royalty generally isn't really my "thing", but I've heard nothing but excellent reports of Royalty Digest - and both magazines do back issues, I think, with contact details on the websites

Janet

Thomas_A.

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Re: Hviodore
« Reply #6 on: April 29, 2004, 11:24:08 AM »

You say that the Dowager Empress owned Hvidore together with her sister Queen Alexandra.

Did they inherit it from their parents or what else caused that?

Sarai_Porretta

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Re: Hviodore
« Reply #7 on: April 29, 2004, 11:52:11 AM »
Quote
You say that the Dowager Empress owned Hvidore together with her sister Queen Alexandra. Did they inherit it from their parents or what else caused that?


I have always read that the sisters purchased the house together, so it was not an inheritance. As to the history of the house and who they purchased it from, I don't have any details.

kirsten blæsborg

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Re: Hviodore
« Reply #8 on: April 29, 2004, 12:57:46 PM »
I know abourt Hvidøre, and it is still standing indeed!
I live in Copenhagen not far from Hvidøre and I think it is now a clinic for diabetics.
Kirsten Blæsborg

Offline BobAtchison

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Re: Hviodore
« Reply #9 on: April 29, 2004, 01:02:35 PM »
Maybe we can find a volunteer to write a page for us on Hviodore?

Bob

Sarai_Porretta

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Re: Hviodore
« Reply #10 on: April 29, 2004, 02:05:01 PM »
This website (http://www.hvidoeregroup.org) is from the group that now uses Hvidøre. There is a picture of the house on the main page. On the site it states: "Hvidøre is a stately country mansion, which for 50 years was used as the Novo diabetes hospital. It is now a training and conference centre owned by Novo Nordisk A/S, which works in partnership with the study group." Novo Nordisk is a healthcare company specializing in diabetes care. They have owned Hvidøre since 1937.

PS - Sometimes the page doesn't load. If the link doesn't seem to be working, you can still see it if you go to Google and type Hvidøre. It is the first site that appears (make sure you type Hvidøre exactly and not Hvidore). Click on "cache" to see the site.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Sarai_Porretta »

Sarai_Porretta

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Re: Hviodore
« Reply #11 on: May 07, 2004, 01:28:51 PM »
Here is a brief history of Hvidøre house

Origin of the name:"Hvidøre originally meant 'a white gravelly beach,' and refers to the sandy spit of land at the foot of the cliff on which the house now stands, overlooking the blue waters of the Øresund dividing Denmark from southern Sweden."

History of the house: The house was built on the site of a centuries-old royal castle that was demolished in 1871 by Counsellor Frederik Bruun. In its place, Mr. Bruun built a mansion as a summer residence for his family, known as Hvidøre. The architect of the house was Johan Schrøder. The house blended features from the English and Italian Renaissance, with details taken from classical Greek architecture.

Counsellor Bruun died in 1887, but the house was kept by his widow until 1906, when she put it up for sale. It was then bought by Queen Alexandra and her sister Empress Marie. They lived in the house every year from September to November until the outbreak of WWI.

Marie was exiled there in 1919 and lived there until her death in 1928. As Greg King explained in an earlier post, the house was sold in 1929 to a Mr. Jacob Koefoed. He owned it until 1937, when the Novo pharmaceutical company purchased it to convert it into a diabetic sanatorium. In 1949, it became a diabetes hospital and research facility, which lasted until 1992. It is now a training and conference centre still owned by Novo.
« Last Edit: November 12, 2009, 05:47:40 AM by Svetabel »

akjfin

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Re: Hviodore
« Reply #12 on: June 08, 2004, 09:31:48 AM »
Hi!
I am sure you have already learned more about H-v-i-d-o-r-e, where Empress Dagmar, as the Danish call her, lived until her death in 1926.
Yes, the house still exists. After MF and Queen Alexandra, the house was sold to a private owner and in 1939 it was bought by Novo, a medical company and turned into a sanatorium for diabetics under the name Hvidore Hospital. In 1970 the house was extended again but "in style" so that the original house still looks untouched, so to speak.
Lived in Denmark for 4 years and passed the house on "Strandvejen", the coastal boulevard, quite often and admired it each time!
Regards,
akjfin

akjfin

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Re: Hviodore
« Reply #13 on: June 08, 2004, 09:34:06 AM »
And oops, of course, stupid me - should have looked further down! Much more info there -.
akjfin

NAAOTMA

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Re: Hviodore
« Reply #14 on: August 28, 2004, 12:42:23 PM »
Just finished the book LITTLE MOTHER OF RUSSIA which has lots and lots of info on Hvidore. One of the pieces of information I was charmed by is the following: when Alexandra and Dagmar were redecorating, they had the saying "East is East, West is West, Home Is Best" inscribed on the fireplace of one of the downstairs rooms-off the top of my head I think it was the billiard room. Two ladies who got joy and pleasure from nesting in this place that was totally their own. Melissa K.