Early history The original house was built for
Hofmarschall Henrik Ulrik Lützow in 1687. The two-storey, nine-bay house was possibly designed by General Building Master
Lambert van Haven. Lützow's property was listed in Copenhagen's first
cadastre of 1689 as No. 261 in the city's West Quarter (Vester Kvarter). In 1706, the house was expanded with a wide bay at both ends of the main wing and two perpendicular wings to the rear. The architect of this expansion was possibly
Johan Conrad Ernst.
Holstein family 's
Hafnia Hodierna showing the Holstein Mansion as it appeared prior to the expansion in 1756. In 1726, Privy Councillor
Johan Georg Holstein purchased the mansion. It was after his death in 1739 passed on to his son
Johan Ludvig Holstein. In 1739, he also acquired the
Ledreborg estate near
Roskilde. He kept the town mansion in Stormgade as his winter residence. The property was in the new cadastre of 1756 listed as No. 281. of Copenhagen's West Quarter, 1757. The mansion was after Johan Ludvig Holstein's death in 1763 passed on to his son
Christian Frederik Holstein. In 1767, he commissioned court sculptor
Jacob Fortling to carry out another expansion of the Holstein Mansion. The property was after Christian Frederik Holstein's death in 1799 passed on to his son Christian Edzard Holstein-Ledreborg. His property in Stormgade was listed in the new cadastre of 1806 as No. 187.
changing ownersm 18071827 The house remained in the hands of the Holstein family until it was acquired by
Supreme Court Justice
Christian Colbjørnsen in 1807. In 1810, Colbjørnsen sold the property to Amond Ammondsen. Ammondsen, a ship captain who had made a fortune on the China trade, was active on Copenhagen's turbulent property market during the
economic crisis that followed the British bombardments of 1801 and 1807. On 7 January 1810, he had sold the smaller property
Vandkunsten 8 after owning it for less than a year. In 1811, he sold the Holstein Mansion to Bille Schack. Later the same year, Bille Schack sold it to
Christian Cornelius Lerche of
Lerchenborg. Lerche had recently retired from his position as prefect of
Holbæk County. In 1818, he was created a count.
Royal Museum of Natural History The Holstein Mansion was acquired by the Crown in 1928. It was originally subsequently refurbished under supervision of
Jørgen Hansen Koch. It was supposed to serve as a residence for
Princess Caroline and
Prince Ferdinand after their marriage. It was instead put into use as premises for the new Royal Museum of Natural History. The naturalist
Peter Wilhelm Lund was associated with the museum. He made several journeys to South America and is particularly known for his examinations of limestone caves in Brazil. The zoologist
Johannes Theodor Reinhardt was appointed inspector of the Royal Museum of Natural History's 1st Department (mammals and birds) in 1848. He had previously participated in the Galathea Expedition 1845-47 and visited Lund in Brazil in 1848.
Later history in 1916. A new building for the Natural History Museum was inaugurated in
Krystalgade in 1871. The new museum building was designed by
Christian Hansen. The building in Stormgade was sold to the insurance company
Den almindelige Brandforsikring for Landbygninger (now
Alm. Brand). The Ministry of Housing purchased the building when Alm. Brand moved to new premises on the
Midtermolen in the
Southern Freeport in 1971. ==Architecture==