Marienborg

Ny Frederiksdal - seen as a cluster of unnamed houses - on a map from 1767

In the 18th century, the region north of Copenhagen became popular for its scenic views and opportunities for recreation with the surrounding meadows, woods and lakes, with many summer residences being built. Marienborg is one of several properties which were sold off from the Frederiksdal estate from the middle of the 18th century and used for the construction of country houses. They were collectively referred to as Ny Frederiksdal (New Frederiksdal) and also comprised Søro, Tusculum, Sophienholm and Christianelyst. The main building was constructed in around 1745 for the naval officer and director of the Danish Asiatic Company Olfert Fas Fischer. He was the father of the much more famous naval hero Olfert Fischer.

Johan Frederik Lindencrone

In 1750, Fischer sold the estate to Peter de Windt. Windt's widow, Maria Cathrine Michaelsdatter Fabritius, a daughter of the wealthy merchant Michael Fabritius, sold the estate to Jacob Frederik Schaffalitzky de Muckadell a few years after his death. The next owner Gysbert Behagen, from 1764 to 1792, was a wealthy merchant, ship-owner and director of the Danish Asiatic Company. His city home was the Behagen House in Christianshavn. He was succeeded by Hans Werner Rudolf Rosenkrantz Giedde.

The estate was in 1795 acquired by Johan Frederik Lindencrone, the owner of the Lindencrone Mansion in Copenhagen as well as Gjorslev Manor on Stevns, who named it Marienborg after his wife Marie.

In 1800, Lindencrone had to sell Marienborg due to economic difficulties. The buyer, Johann Traugott Lebrecht Otto (1766-1824), had served as garrison surgeon on Saint Thomas in the Danish West Indies. In 1801, he sold the estate to Julius Ludvig Frederik Rantzau and Johan de Windt. In 1803, Marienborg changed hands again when it was acquired by Jean de Coninck (1744-1807). He was the brother of Frédéric de Coninck.

Nybrovej with Marienborg visible in the background 1876

Peter Boll Wivet (1760-1824), a Supreme Court attorney, owned Marienborg from 1809 and until his death in 1824.

Marienborg was in 1853 acquired by Vilhelm Junius Lorentz Petersen, the owner of Lorentz Petersen, a wine business with roots dating back to 1788. On his death in 1863, it was sold to Rosalie Hennings, whose husband, Adam Gottlob Moltke of Espe and Bonderup, had also just passed away. On her death, Marienborg remained in the hands of the Moltke family for the next 15 years.

Agnes Lunn: From Marienborg (1937). The artist, a cousin of David's mother, was his god mother

Oscar Wandel, owner of Carl Wandel & Søn, a wine company, purchased Marienborg in 1899. In 1815, he sold the estate to Vilhelm Skovgaard-Petersen,

Upon the death of the last private owner, barrister and patron of the arts C. L. David, Marienborg was bequeathed in 1960 to the Danish state as a summer residence for the prime minister in office.

Then U.S. President George W. Bush and then Danish prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, holding a joint press conference in the gardens of Marienborg, 6 July 2005.

Saint John's Eve 2016.

• Viggo Kampmann 1960–1962 (born Viggo Olfert Fischer Kampmann, a descendant of the original owner)
• Jens Otto Krag 1962–1968, 1971–1972
• Hilmar Baunsgaard 1968–1971
• Anker Jørgensen 1972–1973; 1975–1982
• Poul Hartling 1973–1975
• Poul Schlüter 1982–1993
• Poul Nyrup Rasmussen 1993–2001
• Anders Fogh Rasmussen 2001–2009
• Lars Løkke Rasmussen 2009–2011
• Helle Thorning-Schmidt 2011–2015
• Lars Løkke Rasmussen 2015-2019
• Mette Frederiksen (2019-present)