In 1904, Miss Wilhelmine Dahlerup lays the foundation stone of the original building which, for the first ten years of its existence, was to be known as Dahlerup's Guesthouse. Only ten years later, when the property was sold, did it receive the name by which it is known today, Hornbækhus.

The new owner, Brandt Nielsen, initiates a number of far reaching improvements; the main building has a new wing added and electricity was laid in. Unfortunately, spiralling costs exceeded Nielsen's imagination, as well as his purse strings, and, by 1921, Hornbækhus is back in the hands of Miss Dahlerup.

Only a year later, the house is sold again, this time to a Danish businessman, E.L. Johnsen, who reopens Hornbækhus as a guesthouse, in operation between Easter and November. In 1926, it is recorded that Jonsen decides to open up for the Christmas holiday, in the hope of promoting more business, but, as it is also recorded, this was not a good idea!

During the course of the following ten years, E.L. Johnsen acquires a number of other properties in the vicinity, all of which are modernised and employed as annexes to the guesthouse as well as accommodation for the increasing members of staff.

In 1937, a whole new wing is added, and, at the same time, the existing first and second floor bedrooms are completely renovated. Hornbækhus rapidly becomes a great attraction with the bourgeois and grows increasingly popular with the Copenhagen aristocracy, who have learnt to appreciate the atmosphere of peace and tranquillity as well as the outstanding natural beauty of the surrounding area.

A number of biographies depicting this particular period describe Hornbækhus as a place where visitors would return again and again. This same phenomenon was also experienced by other guesthouses in the area whose guests would return summer after summer.

E.L. Johnsen's name is inseparable from the history of Hornbækhus. In fact he was always to be found, dressed in his immaculate white summer suit, supervising every single detail of the hotel and even going so far as to check each and every meal as it was being served. This unique relationship between the proprietor and his guests is lyrically expressed in the following verses to be found in the visitor's book of the time:

There was a kind man
Wore a white coat
A hotel he ran
In a place remote

The beaches were lovely
The bathing was grand
And as for the Food
It beats any land

We now depart
From Denmark’s shore
With a saddened heart
But weighing MUCH MORE

It was during this period that more and more artists and writers began frequenting Hornbækhus and, being an astute businessman, E.L. Johnsen was quick to avail himself of the possibility of making an 'art for goods' deal with them. Many of these literary works of art, left behind in lieu of board and lodgings, can today be found at Copenhagen's Royal Danish Library.........well worth a visit!

Here are a few examples:

Where do I find in this country of mine
A place so lovely as Hornbæk Beach
The roaring waves - in sunshine!

Where do I find in the Northern sphere
A place where spruce and pine appear
Such as here - in the sandy soil of Hornbæk!

And where in the world do I go
And find such resting place for my soul
Than here - in Hornbæk.
(freely translated)

Piet Hein, the Danish poet and designer famed for his Grooks and his Superelipse, writes:.

The Personal Hotel

To Hornbækhus:

I stay at a remarkable hotel
Everything is impressed with the owner himself
Each plant that in the garden grows
He has nurtured - it truly shows
Each grain of butter on the bread that is served
You can tell he has churned
And each speck of silver, of which I see none
You can tell he has eyed it is gone

Another of the many famous guests who have stayed at Hornbækhus was Hergé, the 'father' of Tintin. As an expression of his gratitude, Hergé presented the hotel with a drawing depicting Tintin, Captain Haddock and Terry relaxing on the beach at Hornbæk, discussing the beauty of the spot, the excellent food and, of course, that most uniquely Danish institution, the snaps!

Times change and war now comes to Denmark. In the beginning, little seems to affect the daily life of the hotel. On the contrary, both Hornbækhus and other local guesthouses seem to experience an even greater influx of visitors than usual. In 1943 though, the German forces arrive and the hotel is occupied by German officers and their staff.

A section of Hornbækhus is still permitted to function as a hotel, though many of the rooms were used to store the furniture and furnishings, and the staffs is now required to submit their 'movement papers' at the request of the military authorities.

Members of the Danish resistance were at one stage interrogated by the Gestapo here and local records show that E.L. Johnsen, still the official owner, was commandeered to assist in a number of these interrogations in the role of interpreter. It is also told that many of the accused were in fact acquitted of their misdeeds as the direct result of the obviously less than completely impartial interpreting!

After the war was over, two former members of the now disbanded resistance movement were invited to stay at Hornbækhus and, in gratitude, they wrote the following verse in the visitors book:

Vestre, Frøslev, Dachau
Neuengamme – Hornbækhus
A wonderful ending to a
Chaotic Spring. Now that we must
End our illegal actions, we will
Commit our final crime – despite the prohibitions – by saying:

Thank You – Hornbækhus!

It was also during these early post-war years that the well-loved Danish architect, Professor Steen Eijler Rasmussen designed an annex to Hornbækhus, fondly to become known locally as The Ship, just as he designed the logo we have chosen to use today, fifty years after first being introduced.

In 1966, E.L. Johnsen passed away, and, with his death, an exceptional epoch comes to an end. A new era is in the process of being born though, commencing a couple of years before E.L. Johnsen's death with a dreadful fire which resulted in the other leading hotel in the area, Hotel Trouville, being burnt to the ground.

A visionary engineer, Jørgen Glud, decided to acquire what remained of the gutted hotel and, in order to quell any competition from the long and well-established Hotel Hornbækhus, takes over from the aging Jonsen............'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em'!

During the years that followed, Glud gradually sold the various annexes and guesthouses belonging to the hotel, and it was during this same period that Granvænget, the annexe on the road of the same name, was sold and converted into the synagogue still functioning there to this very day.

Glud still maintained the old traditions of Hornbækhus with the staff remaining unchanged. In 1970 though, a completely new and innovative concept was introduced -- Jacobsen's Diet.

The early 70's were very much influenced by the rapidly growing popularity of package-holidays, recently introduced by the larger travel agencies. Hornbækhus obviously needed to counteract the attraction of the sunny beaches of Majorca and mainland Spain and succeeded in doing just this with their new concept, based on a simple combination of relaxation and healthy food. So great was the demand for this new type of summer holiday that the Jacobsens themselves, Søren and Birthe, soon decided to break away and start their own guesthouse. The Jacobsen's Diet still remained a huge attraction and the newspapers of the time focus a great deal of attention on the rehabilitation values of this new form of health giving vacation.

In 1978, Hornbækhus is taken over by Danida, and from then and right up to 2002 the old guesthouse is run as a conference centre under the auspices of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This in fact brings us right up to the present time. The property again comes up for sale and is purchased by the present ownership with the specific intention of reopening the old hotel so that, in May 2004, history repeats itself, and Hotel Hornbækhus again opens its doors, still retaining all the grace, charm and atmosphere which one hundred years of history so richly deserves.

 The Management greatly looks forward to bidding you welcome - hopefully even welcome back - to Hotel Hornbækhus.