Rådhusstræde 1/Brolæggerstræde 13 is a Neoclassical property overlooking

Nytorv Nytorv ( English: New Square or New Market) is a public square in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. Together with the adjoining Gammeltorv it forms a common space, today part of the Strøget pedestrian zone. The square is dominated by the impo ...

Gammeltorv Gammeltorv (Old Market) is the oldest square in Copenhagen, Denmark. With adjoining Nytorv it forms a common space along the Strøget pedestrian zone. While the square dates back to the foundation of the city in the 12th century, most of its buil ...

from its location at the corner of Rådhusstræde and

Brolæggerstræde Brolæggerstræde (literally "Cobble-Layer Alley) is a street in the Old Town of Copenhagen, Denmark, linking Nytorv in the west with Badstuestræde in the east. Most of the buildings in the street date from the years after the Copenhagen Fire of ...

in the southeastern corner of the square, in the Old Town of

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 ...

, Denmark. The building was constructed by

Andreas Hallander Andreas Hallander (13 November 1755 – 3 April 1828) was a Danish master carpenter and architect who made a significant contribution to the city of Copenhagen. Together with the buildings of Johan Martin Quist, his classically styled apartment h ...

as part of the rebuilding of the city following the

Copenhagen Fire of 1795 The Copenhagen Fire of 1795 (''Københavns brand 1795'') started on Friday, 5 June 1795, at or around 3 pm by the Navy's old base south east of Kongens Nytorv on Gammelholm, in the Navy's magazine for coal and timber, the so-called Dellehave. As t ...

but owes its current appearance to a comprehensive renovation undertaken in 1851 for lawyer Carl Liebenberg. It was listed in the Danish registry of protected buildings and places in 1918. Former residents include the politician Christian Colbjørnsen, physician and former director of the

Danish West India Company The Danish West India Company () or Danish West IndiaGuinea Company (') was a Dano-Norwegian chartered company that operated out of the colonies in the Danish West Indies. It is estimated that 120,000 enslaved Africans were transported on the ...

Johan Friedrich Heinrich and composer W.H.R.R. Giedde. Posthusteatret, a combined theatre and art cinema, is based in the basement.

History

18th century

The site was made up of two separate properties in the late 17th century. The corner property was listed in Copenhagen's first

cadastre A cadastre or cadaster ( ) is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented graphically in ...

from 16889 as No. 126 in Snaren's Quarter, owned by Christoffer Bang. The adjacent property in Brolæggerstræde was listed as No. 127, owned by brewer Søren Jensen. Christian Gedde - Snarens Kvarter No

The corner property was later acquired by wine merchant Frederik Barfred. His property was listed in the new cadastre of 1756 as No. 108 in Snaren's Quarter. The adjacent property was Brolæggerstræde (old No. 127) was listed as No. 109 and belonged to cashier of the Fire Insurance Company Niels Lihme. No. 108 was still owned by wine merchant Friderich Barfred at the time of the 1787 census. He lived there with his wife Christiane Rasmussen, their daughter Anne Barfred, three lodgers and eight servants and other employees. Søren Munk, secretary of General Post Amtet, was also residing in the building with his wife Johanne Munk, their son Hans Munk, a male servant and two maids. At the time of the 1787 census, No. 109 was home to three Jewish families. One of them consisted of Isaac Jacob Ree, his wife Pessel Coen, their three daughters and a maid. Another household consisted of Joseph Ree, his wife Breine Halle and a maid. The third household consisted of Bendix Levin, his wife Juditte Ree, their three children (aged one to five) and a maid. Together with most of the other buildings in the area, the two properties were destroyed in the

and subsequently merged into a single property as No. 108. The present building on the site was constructed in 1797 by master carpenter

Christmas and Heinrich

In 1798, Hallander sold the property to the English-born sea captain and general trader John Christmas. He had married Johanne Marie Heinrich (1771–1808) in 1797, daughter of former director of the

Johan Friedrich Heinrich (1730-1819) and Birgitte née Lexmond (1738–1811). Christmas' property at the corner of Rådhusstærde and Brolæggerstræde was home to five households at the 1801 census. By 1801, him and his wife had moved into another house, Barchmann's Mansion. His parents-in-law Johan Friedrich and Bertha Heinrich resided in one of the apartments in their-son-in-law's property in Rådhusstræde. They lived there with their three youngest children, two cooks (one male and one female), a coachman, two servants and one maid. The daughter Anna Elisabeth Heinrich would later marry Christmas' business partner Thomas ter Broch. Heinrich's eldest daughter, Frideriche Sophie Heinrich, resided in another apartment with her two sons (aged two and three), a nanny, two female cooks and a female assistant cook. Her husband, Frederik Christopher, Count Trampe, is not mentioned as a member of the household. The couple was thus apparently not living together at this point. The marriage was dissolved on 1 November 1803. Politician Christian Colbjørnsen resided in another apartment with his wife Engelke Margrethe Falbe, their three daughters, two nieces, a

governess A governess is a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching; depending on terms of their employment, they may or ma ...

, a caretaker, a male servant, a female cook, a nanny and three maids. Werner Hans Rudolf Rosenkrantz Giedde, a chamberlain and former administrative leader of the

Royal Danish Orchestra The Royal Danish Orchestra (Danish: ''Det Kongelige Kapel'') is a Danish orchestra based in Copenhagen. The Danish name for the orchestra indicates its original function as an ensemble geared to supplying the music for court events. The Royal Dani ...

as well as enthusiastic music collector and amateur flutist, resided in the building with his wife Anne Margrethe Brown, his niece Helene Catharine Giedde and Angelique von Holten as well as staff which included at least a coachman, two boys (one of them black) and a couple of maids. Heinrich is still mentioned as a tenant in the census records from 1801 but purchased the property from his son-in-law later that same year. Christian Colbjørnsen and his family resided in the building until 1807, when they moved to an apartment at nearby Stormgade 10.

Joachim Israel Behrend

In 1804, Heinrich sold the property to the wealthy Jewish businessman Joachim Israel Behrend (1762–1821). Back in 1801, Berend had resided with his family at No. 242 in St. Ann's East Quarter now

Store Kongensgade Store Kongensgade (; ) is the longest street in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It extends northeast from Kongens Nytorv to Esplanaden, Copenhagen, Esplanaden, running parallel to Bredgade, where it breaks left, continuing northwest to Grønningen, ...

60 and

Dronningens Tværgade Dronningens Tværgade (literal translation, lit. "The Queen's Cross Street") is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, which runs from Bredgade to Rosenborg Castle Garden. The street originally formed a link between the King's Garden (Rosenborg ...

12). He was mainly trading in

colonial goods In economics, colonial goods are goods imported from European colonies, in particular coffee, tea, spices, rice, sugar, cocoa and chocolate, and tobacco. At a time when food and agriculture represented a relatively large proportion of overall ec ...

from the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies () or Danish Virgin Islands () or Danish Antilles were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with , Saint John () with , Saint Croix with , and Water Island. The islands of St ...

and timber but was also active on the property market. He was already the owner of several properties but made the first floor apartment in Rådhusstræde his new home. The property was listed as No. 46 in the new cadastre of 1806. In 1905, he had also acquired a property in

Amaliegade Amaliegade () is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, which makes up the longer of the two axes on which the Rococo district Frederiksstaden is centred. Amaliegade extends from Sankt Annæ Plads to Esplanaden, passing through the central pl ...

. in 1806, he purchased the entertainment venue Allenberg in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...

(sold in 1816). His personal wealth was estimated in 1807 at more than 1 million rigsdaler, making him among the 90 wealthiest persons in the country. On 3 March 1810, he was appointed as royal agent. In 1814, he sold the property at the corner of Rådhusstræde and Brolæggerstræde.

1840 and 1850 censuses

At the time of the 1840 census, the property wascensus home to a total of 59 people. Count Julius Knuth (1787–1852), Prefect of Zealand and owner of Bonderup Manor, resided on the first floor with his wife Georgine Wilhelmine Grevinde Knuth née Hauch, their eight children, Ludvig Henrik Ferdinand Oppermann, Ane Georgine Marie Raffenberg and a staff of eight servants. Hans Baltzar Hornbeck, Chief Physician in the

, resided on the second floor with his wife Alfred Camillus Hornbeck, their four children (aged four to thirteen), his own brother and sister, a nanny, a male servant and two maids. Jørgen Andresen Bølling (1792–1862), secretary of the

Royal Danish Library Royal Danish Library () is a merger of the two previous national libraries in Denmark: the State and University Library in Aarhus and the Royal Library in Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, wit ...

, resided on the third floor with his three children (aged nine to fifteen), his mother Petronella Bølling, niece Emilie Petronella Bølling, a housekeeper and four lodgers. Jacob Stenderup resided with his sister, two brothers, a housekeeper, a maid and a caretaker on the ground floor. Peter Olsen Haarsløv, a royal

hearse A hearse () is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin to a funeral, wake, or graveside service. They range from deliberately ...

coachman A coachman is a person who drives a Coach (carriage), coach or carriage, or similar horse-drawn vehicle. A coachman has also been called a coachee, coachy, whip, or hackman. The coachman's first concern is to remain in full control of the hors ...

, resided in the basement with his wife Marie Elisabeth Haarløv née Hansen and five children. Theologian was among the residents of the building from 1841 to 1844. Historian (1816–1882) was among the residents in 18451846.

Carl Liebenberg

The property was at some point by the Supreme Court attorney , possibly in around 1848 since he lived on the second floor from that year. The property was home to six households at the 1850 census.Carl Liebenberg resided in one of the apartments with his brother Frederik Ludvig Liebenberg, one male servant and one maid. Julius Knuth resided on the first floor with his third wife Frederikke (mée Haxthausen, his second wife died in 1841), five of his seven children (one from his first marriage and four from his second marriage) and a staff of eight people. Jørgen Andresen Bølling, secretary of the

, resided on the third floor with his five children (aged 15 to 23) and eight other residents. Mathias Peter Ernst, a courier, resided on the ground floor with his wifeBirgitte Lundm their three children (aged 19 to 28) and one maid. Gerhard Wilhelm Feldmann, a concierge and brick-layer, resided in the basement with his wife Henriette Wilhelmine Fæder, their two children (aged three and six) and one lodger. Niels Rasmussen, a barkeeper, resided in the basement with his wife Ane Christoffersdatter, their four children (aged six to 17) and a one-year-old boy in their care. In 1851, Liebenberg made the property subject to a comprehensive renovation. Rådhusstræde 1 was home to a total of 32 people at the time of the 1860 census. Now-widowed Frederikke Kathrine Knuth was still residing in the first-floor apartment, She lived there with two unmarried daughters (aged 31 and 33), a male servant, a female cook and two maids. Carl Liebenberg resided in the second-floor apartment with his foster daughter Antonette Thomasine Caroline Liebenberg, a housekeeper and a maid. Ludvig Theodor Malling (1807–1881), a businessman and director of Kreditforeningen for Østifternes Hushandel, resided on the third floor with his wife Anna Frederikke Malling née Nabe, their four children (aged 12–24), a lodger and two maids. Christian Frederik Rasmussen, a courier working for

Sparekassen for Kjøbenhavn og Omegn Sparekassen for Kjøbenhavn og Omegn () was a local savings bank in Copenhagen, Denmark. Its headquarters was from 1870 located at the corner of Niels Hemmingsens Gade (No. 24) and Løvstræde (No. 8). The building has later housed the Danish Hote ...

, resided on the ground floor with his wife Ernestine Sophie Rasmussen née Ernst, their two daughters and a maid. Hans Christensen, a

concierge A concierge () is an employee of a multi-tenant building, such as a hotel or apartment building, who receives and helps guests. The concept has been applied more generally to other hospitality settings and to personal concierges who manage the e ...

, resided in the basement with his wife Killa Christensen née Sonesen and two children (aged one and four). Hans Hansen, an innkeeper, was also residing in the basement with his wife, daughter and a maid. Liebenberg lived in the building until his death in 1865. His foster daughter married Alfred Lund Brorson (1837–1894), director of Københavns Forstæders Brandforsikring. They took over the second-floor apartment but later moved to the one on the third floor.

20th century

The building was only home to a total of eight people at the time of the 1906 census. Thea Linnemann, widow of former Bank of Denmark manager Stephan Linnemann, resided on the first floor with a female cook and a maid. Hans Hansen, a courier working for the Bank of Denmark, was also residing on the first floor as a lodger. Sophie Marie Linnemann, widow of Peter Linnemann, resided on the second floor with a maid. Johan Carl Frederik Schuricker, a courier for Skjold, resided with his wife on the fourth floor. James F. Grøn & Co., a wholesale firm founded on 20 July 1898 by James P. Grøn (died 1920), was later based in the building. The company was continued by C. A. E. Herschend (born 1888) after the founder's death in 1920, initially alone, but in partnership with P. L. Jensen (born 1899) from 1925. The firm was based in the building until at least 1950. Illustrator Herluf Jensenius (1888–1966) and his wife Ellen (née Petersen, 1886–1976) resided in the

garret A garret is a habitable attic, a living space at the top of a house or larger residential building, traditionally small with sloping ceilings. In the days before elevators this was the least prestigious position in a building, at the very to ...

of Rådhusstræde 1 from 1934 and for the rest of their lives. The building was owned by Supreme Court attorney Hans Lauritzen in the 1960s. He lived on one of the upper floors and ran his law firm from the first floor. The ground floor was a post office. Posthusteatret, a combined theatre and art cinema, opened in the basement in 1973. On 1 April 1980, the property was converted into

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

s and was from then on jointly owned by the owners via Ejf Rådhusstr 1-Brolæggerstr 13. It was dissolved on 31 December 2008.

Architecture

Rådhusstræde 1

Rådhusstræde 1 is constructed with four storeys over a walk-out basement. The building has a six-bay-long facade on Rådhusstræde (including a wider gateway bay), a seven-bay-long facade on Brolæggerstræde and a

chamfer A chamfer ( ) is a transitional edge between two faces of an object. Sometimes defined as a form of bevel, it is often created at a 45° angle between two adjoining right-angled faces. Chamfers are frequently used in machining, carpentry, fur ...

ed corner. The chamfered corner bay was dictated for all corner buildings by

Jørgen Henrich Rawert Jørgen Henrich Rawert was a (16 August 1751 – 14 July 1823) was a Danish architect. He created the masterplan for the rebuilding of Copenhagen after the Great Fire of 1795 in his capacity of a city architect and was also involved in many ...

's and

Peter Meyn Peter Meyn (8 April 1749 - 11 April 1808) was a Danish architect. Early life and education Meyn was born in Copenhagen, the son of master joiner Anton (Anthoni) Christian Meyn (1712–82) and Helena Klefts (c. 1714–80). He studied at the Royal ...

's guidelines for the rebuilding of the city after the fire so that the fire department's long ladder companies could navigate the streets more easily. The grey, plastered facade is finished with shadow joints on the ground floor and the slightly recessed, central bays of the first floor towards both streets. The facade is finished with a sandstone band between the first and second floor and there is a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

supported by corbels with

Acanthus Acanthus (: acanthus, rarely acanthuses in English, or acanthi in Latin), its feminine form acantha (plural: acanthae), the Latinised form of the ancient Greek word acanthos or akanthos, or the prefix acantho-, may refer to: Biology *Acanthus ...

decorations below the roof. The outer windows on the second floor towards both streets are topped by triangular pediments and the corner window on the same floor is topped by a segmental pediment. The corner windows on the two lower floors are topped by substantial

hood mould In architecture, a hood mould, hood, label mould (from Latin , lip), drip mould or dripstone is an external moulded projection from a wall over an opening to throw off rainwater, historically often in form of a '' pediment''. This moulding can be ...

s supported by corbels. They were topped by wrought iron railings in 1881, creating a visual impression reminiscent of French balconies. The roof is clad with black glazed tiles and features four dormer windows towards both streets and one in the corner.

Brolæggerstræde 13

In connection with the 1751 renovation, Brolæggerstræde 13 was converted into a five-storey building by lowering the ground floor almost to street level and changing floor heights. The plastered facade is finished with

sill course A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the f ...

s below the windows on the first and second floors and a

dentil A dentil (from Lat. ''dens'', a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian Rev ...

lated

. Doors are located in the two outer bays and the slightly recessed ground floor windows between them are placed in each their niche. A short perpendicular window projects from the rear side of the building.

Today

Rådhusstræde 1 is currently owned by Bach Gruppen and contains a total of eight commercial and residential units. The ground floor contains a retail space. Posthusteatret, a combined art cinema and theatre (music venue), is based in the basement.

Cultural references

Rådhusstræde 1 was used as a location in the 1963 comedy film ''

Pigen og pressefotografen ''The Girl and the Press Photographer'' () is a 1963 Danish comedy film directed by Sven Methling and starring Dirch Passer and Ghita Nørby. Plot When a male photographer and a female reporter meet at the newspaper they work for in Copenhagen, ...

''. The architect Tobias Faber, who was married to Herluf and Ellen Jensenius' daughter Jytte, has described his parents-in-law's home in Rådhusstræde in his memoirs .

Gallery

File:Rådhusstræde 1 - balcony.jpg, Detail of the iron railing on the first floor.

References

External links

Source

Source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Radhusstraede 1 1798 establishments in Denmark Andreas Hallander buildings Listed residential buildings in Copenhagen Neoclassical architecture in Copenhagen Residential buildings completed in 1798 Residential buildings completed in 1851