Hvidøre

In a seaside suburb called Klampenborg, just north of Copenhagen city centre, is a beautiful white building.  A long time ago, it used to belong to Empress Dowager Dagmar of Russia.  

Hvidøre on a grey day

In fact, it used to be a palace with views of Øresund between Denmark and Sweden.  It has a long history.   Since as early as the 16th century, before it was rebuilt in its current form, it had a host of royal residents.  The building was demolished and rebuilt in the 1870s and then purchased by King Christian IX’s daughters, Queen Alexandra of England and her sister, Dagmar.  They lived there each year between September and November, until the outbreak of the first world war, when travel became too difficult.  And, at the time of the Russian Revolution, Dagmar escaped Russia, and Hvidøre became her home until her death in 1928.  

Today, it is used as a training facility and conference centre for a pharmaceutical company.    

In spite of its corporate associations, we can enter the charm of Hvidøre and meet my friend, who truly is the current ‘Dagmar’.  

Kirsten is an artist.  She paints vibrant, colourful and dynamic paintings of flowers.  I told her that one day, her paintings may hang in Louisiana (modern art museum in Copenhagen).  I hope so.  They represent so much joy, positivity, expansive energy and delight. 

Dagmar’s daughter, Grand Duchess Olga, also moved into Hvidøre with her husband and two sons; and she, too, used to be an artist.  Some of her work currently hangs in the reception rooms there.

Kirsten is working from the inside out to transform her colleagues into artists....and she is succeeding.  I assisted in one of her team building art workshops a couple of years ago.  We got dressed in what looked like space suits - white disposable overalls and shoe coverings and transformed a large meeting room into an art studio by laying out huge tarpaulins.  She instructed her workshop participants to create art any which way, using paint guns, hands, sponges and paint brushes of all sizes.  And they had a ball, and they created beautiful art.  Many tell her afterwards that she has inspired them to paint and draw at home.

Hvidøre is like a fine hotel and training facility rolled into one.  It has a top class kitchen staffed by some of the nicest men I know who prepare delicious haute cuisine.  It is one of the best dining experiences in Copenhagen - everything is made on-site, trips are regularly made abroad to gather inspiration and if you wanted a snack in the middle of the night, one of the chefs will make it for you.    It accommodates overseas staff on business trips to Denmark as well as participants who attend training held on-site.  

So while Kirsten provides historical tours of the property and graciously greets and takes care of these visitors, she is on a mission.  In her spare time, she paints and exhibits her work publicly, whilst in her paid job, she looks after Hvidøre and runs art workshops within the organisation on the pretext of team-building.  

When I visited her recently in August, I was lucky because we had Hvidøre to ourselves -there were no guests and the kitchen staff had left for the day.  She welcomed me as if she  was the lady of the house.  

Kirsten in front of one of  Grand Duchess Olga's paintings 

In spite of Hvidøre’s royal history and its current role in meeting the needs of its guests, it is like a big old house, admittedly with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and a beautiful grand piano in one of the drawing rooms, but the furniture isn’t over the top.  It has a nice mixture of modern Danish design and more traditional European furniture.  It has a warm and welcoming ambience that lacks the stuffiness and mustiness of European castles and palaces.  It is small enough that it feels like a house and Kirsten loves it like it is her own home.  

Very soon, she is going to St Petersburg on a business trip to do further research into Hvidøre’s royal history.  No doubt she will take her engaging and vibrant self, much like her flowers, to Russia, where she will attempt to weave the past and the present together and most likely inspire artists and art lovers in those she encounters.

Kirsten's website:
http://kirstenoergaard.dk/wordpress/