Emiliekilde is a memorial located at the corner of Strandvejen and Emiliekildevej inKlampenborg,Gentofte Municipality, in the northern suburbs ofCopenhagen,Denmark. It was installed byErnst Heinrich von Schimmelmann to commemorate his first wife, Emilie Caroline, who had recently died of tuberculosis.
The monument is 5.7 metres tall and built in reddish granite. A short flight of stairs leads up the monument, which is backed by a low wall. The wider base has an arched opening with a spring flowing from a small pipe. The monument is topped by a sandstone urn. Just below the urn is a white marble plaque with the name EMILIA'S KILDE ("Emily's Spring") in capital lettering. Further down on the monument is another white marble plaque with a short poem in carved lettering that has almost disappeared.[1] It reads:
In Danish | In English |
CountErnst Heinrich von Schimmelmann married Emilie Caroline Rantzau atAhrensburg in 1775. The couple lived in theSchimmelmann Mansion onBredgade in Copenhagen but spent their summers atSølyst in the countryside to the north of the city. On 6 February 1780, just 20 years old, Emilie died from tuberculosis. Shortly thereafter Schimmelmann commissioned a memorial fromNicolai Abildgaard to commemorate his departed wife. He marriedCaroline Schimmelmann in 1782. The memorial to his first wife was installed close to Sølyst that same year. The poem on the monument was written byChristen Henriksen Pram.
The monument became a popular destination for excursions during theDanish Golden Age. It is the subject of a number of paintings from the period.
55°46′21″N12°35′39″E / 55.7724°N 12.5943°E /55.7724; 12.5943