Harsdorff House

Harsdorff House
Harsdorffs Hus
The Harsdorff House viewed from Kongens Nytorv
General information
Architectural style	Neoclassicism
Location	Copenhagen
Country	Denmark
Coordinates	55°40′47.92″N 12°35′12.56″E / 55.6799778°N 12.5868222°E / 55.6799778; 12.5868222Coordinates: 55°40′47.92″N 12°35′12.56″E / 55.6799778°N 12.5868222°E / 55.6799778; 12.5868222
Construction started	1779
Completed	1780
Owner	Karberghus
Design and construction
Architect	Caspar Frederik Harsdorff

The Harsdorff House is a historic property located on Kongens Nytorv in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built by Caspar Frederik Harsdorff in 1780 and was in the same time to serve as inspiration for the many uneducated master builders of the time.-

Caspar Frederik Harsdorff became professor of perspective at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1766. In 1770 he succeeded Nicolas-Henri Jardin as royal building master and the following year he took over his residence in the south wing of Charlottenborg Palace.The Royal Academy's secretary, C. E. Biehl, had a residence next to the palace. His daughter, Charlotte Dorothea Biehl, spend some of her childhood in the building. After Biehl's death the worn-out building was designated for demolishion and Harsdorff was consuted on the matter. He proposed that the site was given to him and he would then build a house which could serve as inspiration for the builders of the increasing number of bourgois houses in the city. Architects who had studied at the Academy were in general only used by the state and members of the aristocracy. The king accepted the offer. Construction began in 1779 and was completed in 1780.

A Frenchman, Eugen Vincent, who had previously served as cook for Prince Ferdinand, opened Restairant Vincent in the building in the first half of the 19th century. The restaurant was later operated by his widow Eva Severine Vincent (née Rasmussen) and son Alexander Vincent under the name Madame Vincent. It was visited y Jules Verne during his visit to Copenhagen in 1861.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was based in the building from 1864 until 1923, hvor 1983 when it relocated to Christiansborg Palace and the Yellow Mansion in Amaliegade. The building was restored by Fogh & Følner in 1999.