Jenisch House

This room, probably originally designed as a tea parlour or reading room, is now furnished with articles associated with Caspar Voght and Martin Johan Jenisch. It has two full length windows, one looking south towards the Elbe and the other eastwards to the park. The parquet floor was laid according to a design by the architect Franz Gustav Forsmann (1795 – 1878). Square panels of oak parquet frame the central area which is also square in shape. The inlaid circular motif with palms, wreaths and ribbons is partly formed by coloured pieces of wood and decorative nails.

The three almost room-height windows in this room open out into the portico on the south side of the house. This allows people to step out onto the terrace or even down the stone steps to the park, so it is also described as the Garden Room. The fittings in the room are mainly from the time of the French Empire (around 1800) The group of seats with black lacquered and gilded wood in the middle of the room was originally in the house belonging to Georg Friedrich Baur on Palmaille in Altona. The chairs with the sphinx figures on the arm rests and curved back are based on a design by Percier & Founaine, important architects and interior designers of the Empire style in Paris.

This room is furnished with musical instruments appropriate for its original purpose. Taking pride of place is the unique Erard fortepiano from the year 1838 which was kept in excellent, playable condition by Prof. Andreas Beurmann. A music stand with an adjustable tray for sheet music is placed right next to it. Above a square piano there hangs a photograph of Candida Höfer (born 1944), mirroring the view out of the window to the Elbe. On the other wall there is a portrait of Alice Boué (nee Parish) (1766 - 1837) by Jean-Laurent Mosnier (1743 – 1808).

The west wing of the first floor is dedicated to a permanent exhibition about the life and work of Caspar Voght. This Hamburg merchant, together with his friend and business partner Georg Sieveking (1751-1799) controlled one of the largest trading companies in Hamburg in the second half of the 18^th century. Voght was also a key figure as society developed in the Hansa town around 1800.

The room above the Lower Elbe Room was the former study or smoking room of Marin Johan Jenisch the Younger. This is where he withdrew when he wanted to escape from his visitors. The fittings are not actually original. The large group of furniture in the middle consists of an extendable table with sturdy lion’s feet, ten chairs and two armchairs. The table, which came from a Schleswig-Holstein stately home, dates from 1830 to 1840 and can be extended from its original 128 cm circumference to a length of approx. 470 cm by adding its eight leaves. The leaves – like the chairs and armchairs – are made of mahogany with light decorative marquetry work.

Auch dieses Zimmer war ursprünglich ein Privatzimmer der Jenischs. Es führt mit einem Fenster zu Südseite des Parks. Das Zimmer ist heute vollständig mit sogenannten Altonaer Möbeln ausgestattet. Sie zeichnen sich durch ihren auf den Rück- oder Unterseiten angebrachten Zollbefreiungsstempel aus Siegellack aus (Altonaer Fabrik Waren Stempel). Er bewirkte zwischen 1766 und 1839 unter den dänischen Königen Christian VII. und Friedrich VI. den zollfreien Export in die Herzogtümer Holstein und Schleswig sowie nach Dänemark.