{"id":48945,"date":"2026-03-26T09:01:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T09:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/48945\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T09:01:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T09:01:10","slug":"berlins-five-state-nordic-embassy-is-the-gold-standard-of-multilateral-solidarity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/48945\/","title":{"rendered":"Berlin\u2019s five-state Nordic embassy is the gold standard of multilateral solidarity"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\"Exterior\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tA green copper wall encloses the five embassies\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The Nordic embassies complex in Berlin, which houses diplomatic missions of Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden, shows what true statesmanship can look like in today\u2019s fractured global order.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a door,\u201d says Mari Hells\u00e9n, pausing dramatically as she gestures towards the entrance of Berlin\u2019s Nordic Embassies building. \u201cIt is the way into the North.\u201d We\u2019re outside the Felleshus \u2013 the shared central space of an embassy complex that includes the missions of Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden to the Federal Republic of Germany. The name of the building, which Hells\u00e9n has managed for the past two decades, is derived from the Norwegian and Danish words for \u201cshared\u201d and \u201chouse\u201d. It is bright and airy, a touch of Nordic simplicity in the heart of the grungy German capital, and an example of the power of a well-designed, well-staffed mission. <\/p>\n

On the wall hangs a five-handled spade inscribed with the date in 1997 when ground was broken. It is an unsubtle symbol but this was always meant to be a place of loud and proud unity rather than quiet alliance. When Germany\u2019s capital was moved from Bonn to Berlin in 1991 after reunification, countries with diplomatic sites in the former East and West had to create unitary hubs. Closer links between the Nordic countries, first formalised in the 1962 Helsinki Treaty, intensified after the Soviet Union\u2019s collapse. The current Danish ambassador to Germany, Thomas \u00d8strup M\u00f8ller, calls the decision to band together and create one site for all five countries\u2019 embassies \u201ca greenfield investment in diplomacy\u201d. <\/p>\n

\t\t\tAll five Nordic ambassadors to Germany\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAll five Nordic ambassadors to Germany\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"The<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWork by Icelandic photographer Ragnar Axelsson in the Felleshus exhibition space\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"All<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Felleshus\u2019s canteen is popular with diplomats and members of the public\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The Felleshus is open to the public and houses a coffee shop, an auditorium and a canteen. About 90,000 visitors stop by every year, many to avail themselves of its rich cultural programme. When Monocle visits, there is an exhibition of Icelandic photographer Ragnar Axelsson\u2019s black-and-white images of Greenland. The canteen, which serves inexpensive German dishes, is popular with local residents, who are allowed in after 13.00 when the embassy staff have finished their typically early Nordic lunches. <\/p>\n

The five embassies are arranged to reflect their real-life geography: Iceland\u2019s is to the north of Denmark\u2019s, with Norway\u2019s slightly to the east and Sweden\u2019s and Finland\u2019s further east. Each building was designed by a national architect. The broad curves inside the Danish embassy are reminiscent of a ship\u2019s hull and a Greenlandic kayak hangs from the ceiling. Iceland\u2019s is hewn from pink-and-yellow rhyolite. Inside, undulating concrete walls evoke typical Icelandic corrugated-iron houses. The Finnish embassy, meanwhile, is clad in glass and silvery larch wood, its exterior architecture all sharp angles in sleek shades of grey. There are also, of course, two saunas. <\/p>\n

\"StaircaseGert Wing\u00e5rdh\u2019s staircase in the Swedish embassy<\/p>\n

\"TheInside the Finnish embassy in Berlin<\/p>\n

The Norwegians have the only garden, in which the staff keep bees. On the fa\u00e7ade of their Sn\u00f8hetta-designed building is a hulking slab of granite, which rises to a height of over 14 metres and weighs 120 tonnes. (It\u2019s the largest monolith in Berlin.) Across the courtyard, the Swedish embassy\u2019s architectural showpiece is a breathtaking birch spiral staircase. Gert Wing\u00e5rdh\u2019s design is so beloved back home that it featured on a Swedish stamp in 2020. <\/p>\n

Monocle visits on the fourth anniversary of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Every ambassador invokes the war when asked to bring up areas of concern and collaboration. Sweden\u2019s Veronika Wand-Danielsson describes how it has been their joint mission to show unequivocal support for Ukraine and \u201cto make the Germans understand what Russia is all about\u201d. She is dressed in bright yellow and blue \u2013 the colours of the Swedish flag but worn today to represent Ukraine\u2019s. The Finnish ambassador to Germany, Kai Sauer, believes that his country\u2019s profile \u2013 and the image of the Nordics \u2013 has evolved in the German imagination. \u201cIt used to be focused on soft power: education, gender equality, Santa Claus,\u201d he says. \u201cNow it\u2019s more about security, the Russian border and conscription.\u201d All areas that they have worked on together to influence German public opinion. <\/p>\n

\t\t\tInside the Royal Danish embassy\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Interior<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInside the Royal Danish embassy\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"One<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSauna diplomacy: Finland\u2019s outpost has two saunas\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Desk<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBuilding blocks of unity\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Lockers<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKey relations: lockers in the Norwegian embassy\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Exterior<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBehind the copper walls\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The shared embassy model is one of symbolic co-operation but also of convenience. Iceland\u2019s ambassador Au\u00f0unn Atlason cites a recent joint conference between his peers and the Munich Security Conference\u2019s chairman, Wolfgang Ischinger. Leaders and political figures need only have one meeting rather than five. But as well as official gatherings, the set-up allows for more informal meetings, such as conversations in the canteen. We witness this when everyone gathers for a group photo that quickly turns into a catch-up session. \u201cYou get five for one,\u201d says Denmark\u2019s \u00d8strup M\u00f8ller. \u201cIt\u2019s a good value proposition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ambassador: Thomas \u00d8strup M\u00f8ller (Denmark), Au\u00f0unn Atlason (Iceland), Kai Sauer (Finland), Laila Stenseng (Norway), Veronika Wand- Danielsson (Sweden)
Number of diplomats: About 45 across the five embassies
Year opened: 1999
Key bilateral issues: Trade (Germany is a leading trading partner), security and the defence of Ukraine against Russian aggression<\/p>\n

In Monocle\u2019s April issue, we profile our selection of the best foreign embassies in the world \u2014 this is just one of the establishments featured. See the rest of our favourites here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A green copper wall encloses the five embassies The Nordic embassies complex in Berlin, which houses diplomatic missions…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48946,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[99],"tags":[112,27369,190,157],"class_list":["post-48945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-berlin","tag-berlin","tag-foreign-embassies","tag-germany","tag-norway"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/116294666628376731","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}