Karen Blixen Museum Nairobi, Kenya

The Karen Blixen Museum is located in the Karen district. It is housed in the house where the writer Karen Blixen lived. She became world-famous through her novel “Out of Africa” and the film adaptation by Sydney Pollack titled “Out of Africa.”

Karen Blixen was Danish and came to British East Africa, today’s Kenya, in 1914 at the age of 28. After arriving in Mombasa, she married her cousin Baron Bror Blixen-Finecke. His family helped financially to purchase a coffee plantation in the Ngong Hills. The marriage was not happy, and in the first year of marriage, Bror infected his wife with syphilis. From 1920, the two lived apart, and in 1925 their marriage was officially divorced. Later, Karen Blixen met a British nobleman, Denys Finch-Hatton. He was the love of her life. Denys Finch-Hatton was an enthusiastic big game hunter, and he was the one who motivated Karen Blixen to write books. Because the soil was too acidic, the coffee plantation did poorly. In 1930, Denys Finch-Hatton died in a plane crash. He is buried in the Ngong Hills.

Karen Blixen wrote many books under pseudonyms.

The farmhouse was built in 1912 by a Swedish farmer, Ake Sjören. In 1917, Bror and Karen moved into the house. After they moved out, the house had various owners until Denmark acquired it in 1963, and it housed a school until it was placed under the authority of the National Museums of Kenya.

We are happy to answer any questions you may have about your trip to Africa!