Maglekilde is the most powerful of several natural springs in

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

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 ...

. It formerly issued water at a rate of some 90,000 litres per hour but has now dropped to 15,000 litres per hour. A wellhouse was built over the spring in 1927. The building was listed in the Danish registry of protected buildings and places in 1979.

History

Early history

Extensive deposits of

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and rusty varieties. It is formed by a process ...

from Maglekilde were mined and used as a building material before bricks became readily available. Several churches in the Roskilde area were built in travertine from the spring in the 11th and 12th centuries. This activity resulted in the formation of a pond which was used as a

mill pond A mill pond (or millpond) is a body of water used as a reservoir for a water-powered mill. Description Mill ponds were often created through the construction of a mill dam or weir (and mill stream) across a waterway. In many places, the co ...

. The watermill at the site was called Maglekilde Watermill (''Maglekilde Mølle''). The water from the spring also powered five other watermills on its way to Roskilde Fjord: Vandhulsmølle, Sankt Mortens Mølle, Kapelsmøllen, Sankt Clara Mølle and Strandmøllen. Maglekilde Watermill is first mentioned by name in 1258 but it most likely included in the

prebend A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...

of one of the

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

s at the

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

in 1253.

Maglekilde Paper and Textile Mill

On 8 April 1731, Maglekilde Watermill was the first of the buildings which were destroyed in the series of devastating fires that hit Roskilde in 1731. A new paper mill was built on the site in 1737 and it was joined by a

textile mill Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful good ...

in 1761. The complex was in 1810 acquired by five Jewish industrialists from

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. They introduced a number of new initiatives, including the construction of workers' housing and the import of skilled stockings weavers from

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

. The father of O.H.Schmeltz, who would become known for his many large donations to the city of Roskilde, was employed as a master weaver at Maglekilde Textile Mill in 1811. In 1820, Maglekilde Paper Mill installed the fourth steam engine in the country. In spite of the introduction of new technology, Maglekilde Paper Mill was unable to compete with the larger paper mill Strandmøllen on

Mølleåen Mølleåen, also Mølleå, sometimes translated as the Millstream, is a small river in North Zealand, Denmark, which runs from the west of Bastrup Sø near Lynge to the Øresund between Taarbæk and Skodsborg. The valley contains several coun ...

and in 1838 the factory went bankrupt.

Maglekilde Spa and later history

The disused industrial complex was acquired by a group of citizens from Roskilde in 1846. They demolished the buildings, filled the mill pond and built a combined spa and mineral water factory on the site. The complex was designed by the architect

Hans Conrad Stilling Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...

. The water was directed through a closed ditch to a grotto on Maglekildevej where it sprang from the mouth of a

Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...

figure. A small wellhouse was built over the spring in 1927. The spa building was used for other purposes prior to its demolition in 1972. Never gaining popularity, Maglekilde Spa (''Maglekilde Vandkuranstalt'') attracted only few guests and closed after just two years in 1851. The complex was in 1851 acquired by Constant Dirckink-Holmfeld, a German-born civil servant and political writer, who had fallen out of favour in Copenhagen for his criticism of the March Revolution and new constitution. He lived in part of the complex while the rest was still used by the mineral water factory or rented out to private tenants. He moved to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

in the early 1750s.

Maglekilde Machine Factory Maglekilde Machine Factory (Danish language, Danish: Maglekilde Maskinfabrik) was a machine factory founded in 1865 in Roskilde, Denmark. A separator (milk), continuous cream-milk separator marketed by the company in 1878 played a key role in the ...

opened at the site in 1865.

Today

The wellhouse is a small timber structure with a red tile roof. It is today located on a parking lot. The wellhouse was listed in 1979.

References

External links

Papirmagerne og Mundus familien

Source
{{coord, 55.64269, 12.07708, type:landmark_region:DK, format=dms, display=title Listed buildings and structures in Roskilde Municipality Springs of Denmark