Elvirasminde ( Lit. Elvira's Memory) or Chokoladefabrikken (English: The Chocolate Factory) is a building complex and former factory in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. Elvirasminde was built in 1912 by designs from the architect

Christian Frühstück Nielsen Christian Frühstück Nielsen was a Danish architect born in Aarhus, Denmark on 7 August 1878. Frühstück Nielsen primarily worked in and around Aarhus and on Mors where he left numerous lasting works. Frühstück Nielsen's parents were the mas ...

. The factory was one of the many industrial enterprises that were established in the city in the early 20th century and the buildings represent the industrial architecture of the time. It is situated on

Klostergade Klostergade (Literal translation, lit.: Priory-street) is a street in Aarhus which runs east from ''Grønnegade'' to ''Studsgade'', intersecting a number of streets. Klostergade is an old street, situated in the Vesterbro, Aarhus, Vesterbro neigh ...

in the historic

Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (, ) is an urban university campus in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistros, t ...

neighborhood and today houses small upstarts and a number of creative businesses such as architect companies. The buildings are named after the chocolate manufacturer

Elvirasminde Elvirasminde is a Danish company and chocolate factory in Skanderborg, Denmark. It is a major producer of sweets and nationally the largest producer of Chocolate-coated marshmallow treats#Denmark, Flødebolle, Flødeboller, a Danish version of ch ...

which built and was based in the buildings until the 1960s. The factory was in turn named after Elvira, the late wife of the founder.

History

In 1875, the company and chocolate factory Elvirasminde was established in Aarhus through a series of mergers of smaller companies. The company eventually built a factory building in

in 1912. The company expanded and started producing many different kinds of chocolate and sugary sweets. In 1913 the company had 325 employees which later grew to 500 making it one of the major industrial employers in the city. In the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

the company failed to modernize and by the 1950s sales faltered. The company cut the workforce to 200 workers but was eventually merged with Rønning & Co. The company moved to the Aarhus suburb

Hasselager Hasselager is a small suburban area in the south-western part of Aarhus in Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known ...

in 1967 but when the factory burned down in 1985 production was moved to

Skanderborg Skanderborg is a town in Skanderborg Municipality, Denmark. It is situated on the north and north eastern brinks of Skanderborg Lake and there are several smaller ponds and bodies of water within the city itself, like Lillesø, Sortesø, Døj S ...

where it remains today.

Architecture

The building complex comprises 10.000 square meters situated in one of the oldest streets in the city. The factory was designed by

who was one of the first architects to have been born and raised in Aarhus. Elvirasminde is one of a number of Neoclassical buildings he designed in the city. The factory has been expanded numerous times over the years but has retained a homogenous appearance. It is a 4 story building of red brick with a

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including Tented roof, tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other ve ...

and dormer windows. The Culture History Museum of Randers has examined and evaluated the buildings and found that the former chocolate factory remains a well-preserved industry complex and testifies to the early industrial history of the city. The buildings is architecturally of a high quality and illustrates how industry started in the cities and later moved to the outer suburbs.

External links

* Elvirasminde on Wikimedia Commons

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elvirasminde Industrial buildings completed in 1912 Buildings and structures in Aarhus Neoclassical architecture in Aarhus