Abel Cathrines Stiftelse is a listed building at Abel Cathrines Gade 13, between Vesterbrogade and

Istedgade Istedgade (also called ''Strassen'') is a 1-kilometer straight street in the district of Vesterbro in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. It starts at Copenhagen Central Station and runs parallel to Vesterbrogade to Enghave Plads and Enghaveparken. ...

, in the Vesterbro district of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. It was built to provide housing for indigent women by a charity established in 1675 by

Abel Cathrine von der Wisch Abel Cathrine (ca. 1626-1676) was a Danish courtier and philanthropist. She was the favorite of the queen of Denmark, Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and known as the founder of Abel Cathrines Stiftelse, Abel Cathrine Foundation (''Abel Cat ...

, Queen Sophie Amalie's lady-in-waiting, replacing an earlier building in the city centre. Completed in 1886, it was designed by Hermann Baagøe Storck and is an early example of the National Romantic style..

History

Origins

Presumably the illegitimate daughter of Wolf von der Wisch, a nobleman,

was born in Schleswig or Holstein in either 1626 or 1627. She married Hans Hansen Oster who was a bookkeeper (''proviantskriver'') at Proviantgården on

Slotsholmen Slotsholmen (English: The Castle Islet) is an island in the harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, and part of Copenhagen Inner City. The name is taken from the successive castles and palaces located on the island since Bishop Absalon constructed the ci ...

in Copenhagen as well as inspector of Queen Sofie Amalies's estates on

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of Region Sjælland (Region Zealand). As of 1 January 2022, it has 57,618 inhabitant ...

and

Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

. In 1675, she funded the construction of a row of seven houses with pauper accommodation in

Dronningens Tværgade Dronningens Tværgade ( 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 Castle Gardens) and t ...

, founding Abel Cathrines Stiftelse on 27 December 1675, just a few days before her death.

The new building in Vesterbro

The

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

s in Dronningens Tværgade were demolished in 1885 and replaced by a new building with residences for indigent women in the emerging Vesterbro district. The building was designed by Hermann Baagøe Storck and inaugurated on 31 October 1886. The building contained 31 residences which generally housed two women each. The north wing of the building contained a chapel. The charity was dissolved in 1949 and the building was ceded to Copenhagen Municipality and used as a refuge for homeless people. The chapel was dismantled in 1969. Some of its inventory was handed over to the Copenhagen City Museum. The charity's archives are kept in Copenhagen City Archives at

Copenhagen City Hall Copenhagen City Hall ( da, Københavns Rådhus) is the headquarters of the Copenhagen City Council as well as the Lord mayor of the Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. The building is situated on City Hall Square in central Copenhagen. Architect ...

. On 31 October 1981, the rundown building was

squatted Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

. The squatters left the building on 14 February 1982 and it was subsequently refurbished.

Architecture

Abel Cathrines Stiftelse is a symmetrical, four-winged building constructed in red brick. It was listed in 1980. In the vestibule inside the main entrance are two plaques: one of them reads :"''Abel Cathrine oprettede som enke efter proviantskriver Hans Hansen ved testamente af 27. December 1675 denne stiftelse til bolig for fattige, syge og sengeliggende mennesker. Hun døde den 1. Januar 1676. Hendes navn bevares i taknemmelig hukommelse.''" and the other one reads "''Abel Cathrines boder var i Dronningens Tværgade fra 1676 -1885. Ved Magistratens omsorg og med kommunens hjælp flyttedes stiftelsen til denne bygning, der tages i brug den 31 oktober 1886: Guds nåde være over dette hus og dem som bor deri.''".

References

External links