Karen Blixen Museum (Nairobi)
 Karen Blixen Museum, 2017. |
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| Data | |
|---|---|
| place | Nairobi |
| Art |
Biographical Museum
|
| architect | Åke Sjogren |
| opening | 1986 |
| management |
Damaris Rotich
|
| Website | |
The Karen Blixen Museum in Nairobi is one of the national museums in Kenya . The exhibition is located in the former home of the Danish writer Karen Blixen . The house, called Mbogani , is in Karen , a suburb of Nairobi, at the foot of the Ngong Mountains .
Mbogani was built by Åke Sjögren in 1912 and acquired by Bror von Blixen-Finecke in 1917 , the same year Blixen-Finecke moved in with his wife. After their marriage ended, Karen Blixen lived there with Denys Finch Hatton . In 1931 Karen Blixen sold the house and moved back to Denmark. The Danish government bought the house in 1963 and sold it to the national museums in Kenya that same year. Three years later a home economics school opened on the site, Mbogani serving as an apartment for the school principal. In the 1980s, a Danish committee began converting the farmhouse into a museum.
The film production company Universal film that Karen Blixen's book Out of Africa was filmed, donated 5,000 US dollars for the renovation. It was possible to acquire parts of the original furnishings of the farmhouse and to furnish the house with them.
The museum
Karen Blixen's furniture and photographs are on display at the Karen Blixen Museum. The rooms, including the kitchen, which is housed in a separate building, have been renovated and restored in the style of the time. Karens Blixen's bronze bust made by Harald Isenstein is also on display there.
Web links
- Karen Blixen Museum on the homepage of the National Museums of Kenya (English)
- Karen Blixen Museum, Nairobi at karen-blixen.dk (English)
Coordinates: 1 ° 21 ′ 7 ″ S , 36 ° 42 ′ 45 ″ E