Odense Secular Convent for Noblewomen

Odense Secular Convent for Noblewomen is one of Denmark's oldest preserved buildings whose architectural heritage encompasses of the Late Middle Ages’ cross-vaulted cellar ceilings, expansion in the seventeenth century and partial demolition and extension in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Alterations to joints, a bricked up window, and a crooked wall all evidence changing priorities and the various uses to which the building was put as it changed hands over the centuries, and the changing styles and social conditions.

It is possible to trace the history of Odense Secular Convent for Noblewomen in its halls, layer by layer, like leafing through the pages of a book. The interior of the building is characterised by its Renaissance doors, Baroque staircases, eighteenth century banded paintwork, nineteenth century silk wallpaper, perhaps Denmark's oldest oak floor and much more. The interior of the building is in fact a series of changing interiors, layered one on top of the other; in some places as many as 25 layers of wallpaper and paintwork bear witness to the shifting tastes, and not least the wherewithal, of first the bishop and in turn the king, noblemen and finally the unmarried noble ladies who made the building their home or place of work.

It is exceptional for so many centuries of interior design and architectural heritage to be preserved in one place. Each of the property’s residents and each period has left its mark on the building, which has also been spared the ravages of fire and extensive modernisation.

The restoration of Odense Secular Convent for Noblewomen has been called one of the largest restoration projects of modern times. It took a team of architects, conservators, builders and specialists five years to document and safeguard the property’s many historic layers so as to be able to plot a course for the future of the old building – a future that both respects the past and embraces the present.

Odense Secular Convent for Noblewomen is one of Denmark's oldest preserved buildings whose architectural heritage encompasses of the Late Middle Ages’ cross-vaulted cellar ceilings, expansion in the seventeenth century and partial demolition and extension in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Alterations to joints, a bricked up window, and a crooked wall all evidence changing priorities and the various uses to which the building was put as it changed hands over the centuries, and the changing styles and social conditions.

It is possible to trace the history of Odense Secular Convent for Noblewomen in its halls, layer by layer, like leafing through the pages of a book. The interior of the building is characterised by its Renaissance doors, Baroque staircases, eighteenth century banded paintwork, nineteenth century silk wallpaper, perhaps Denmark's oldest oak floor and much more. The interior of the building is in fact a series of changing interiors, layered one on top of the other; in some places as many as 25 layers of wallpaper and paintwork bear witness to the shifting tastes, and not least the wherewithal, of first the bishop and in turn the king, noblemen and finally the unmarried noble ladies who made the building their home or place of work.

It is exceptional for so many centuries of interior design and architectural heritage to be preserved in one place. Each of the property’s residents and each period has left its mark on the building, which has also been spared the ravages of fire and extensive modernisation.

The restoration of Odense Secular Convent for Noblewomen has been called one of the largest restoration projects of modern times. It took a team of architects, conservators, builders and specialists five years to document and safeguard the property’s many historic layers so as to be able to plot a course for the future of the old building – a future that both respects the past and embraces the present.