Enfilade

Published by Museum Tusculanum Press and distributed by The University of Chicago Press:

John Erichsen and Mikkel Venborg Pedersen, The Danish Country House (Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 2014), 253 pages, ISBN: 978-8763543064, 51€ / $80.

Denmark’s many manors are a treasure trove of natural and cultural riches. As well as the scenic beauty and magnificent architecture they have to offer, they also stand as monuments to more than five centuries of Danish history. The landscapes and buildings of Denmark’s manors form a fascinating universe and a key part of the country’s cultural heritage. Denmark’s famous fairytale author Hans Christian Andersen and the internationally renowned storyteller Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen) were both fascinated by the unique atmosphere of the Danish country house, which—as their fairy tales and stories reveal—was a lasting source of inspiration in their writings. Also today, the cultural and natural environment of the manor appeals to the heart and soul. This book provides the reader with the key to understanding and experiencing this cultural heritage. More than one hundred of Denmark’s 700 manors are now partially or wholly open to the public. This book is your guide to them all.

John Erichsen, M.A. in History and Art History, is the former director of The Museum of Copenhagen and Vice Director of The National Museum of Denmark. Since 1997 he has run the cultural history research and publishing company HISTORISMUS. He has published extensively, also on the cultural history of the manor.

Mikkel Venborg Pedersen, PhD and DPhil. in European Ethnology and Cultural History. Senior researcher at The National Museum of Denmark. He has worked professionally with both elite and mass culture in Early Modern Europe, and has published extensively on cultural history, as well as on ethnological and historical theory and methodology.