Sjællandsgade Public Baths ( Danish: ), now officially known as ( English: Sjællandsgade Baths), is a public bath house located at Sjællandsgade 12A, adjacent to Simon's Church and Sjællandsgade School, in the

Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current N ...

district 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 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 ...

. The Baroque Revival style-building from 1917 was listed on the Danish registry of protected buildings and places in 2013. The bath house was shortly thereafter reopened by a group of volunteers.

History

In 1898, the

Social Democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

group in

Copenhagen City Council The Copenhagen City Council (Danish: ) is the municipal government of Copenhagen, Denmark, and has its seat at Copenhagen City Hall. The city council is Copenhagen's highest political authority and sets the framework for the committees' tasks. ...

, headed by later mayor Jens Jensen, proposed the construction of a series of municipal bath houses in the city's working-class neighbourhoods. They were seen as an important part of the drive to alleviate sanitary problems in the city. Many working-class families, living in overcrowded tenements, had no place to bathe. The first municipal bath house opened in Saxogade in 1903. It was followed by Sofiegade Public Baths in

Christianshavn Christianshavn () is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of the city centre by the Inner Harbour, ...

and a bath house in Helsingørsgade in the

Borgergade Borgergade is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs from Gothersgade to Store Kongensgade. As one of relatively few streets in central Copenhagen, the street, in its western part, is dominated by modern buildings. The eastern part pass ...

Adelgade Adelgade ( lit. "Nobility Street") is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs from Gothersgade in the south to Sankt Pauls Plads with St. Paul's Church in the north. The first half of the street is dominated by modern buildings while i ...

neighbourhood. The public bath house in Sjællandsgade was constructed in 1916–1917. The section for women was located on the ground floor while the one for men was located on the first floor. The coal-fired boiler was also located in a room on the ground floor. The building was designed by city architect Hans Wright. The building was decommissioned when private bath rooms became common later in the century. The building was listed on the Danish registry of protected buildings and places on 20 December 2013.

Architecture

Designed in the then-popular Baroque Revival style, Sjællandsgade Public Baths are constructed in red brick with symmetrically placed windows, a hipped red tile roof and

lesene A lesene, also called a pilaster strip, is an architectural term for a narrow, low-relief vertical pillar on a wall. It resembles a pilaster, but does not have a base or capital. It is typical in Lombardic and Rijnlandish architectural building ...

s at the corners. A tall, free-standing chimney was originally located next to the building but it has been demolished.

Today

Sjællandsgade Public Baths was reopened as a public bath house by a group of volunteers in the mid-2010s. It is occasionally also used as a venue for exhibitions and other events.

References

External links

Official website

PDF
about the building
Sjællandsgade Public Baths
on Youtube

{{Nørrebro 1917 establishments in Denmark Baroque Revival architecture in Copenhagen Listed buildings and structures in Copenhagen Public baths in Denmark 1910s architecture in Denmark