Bygningskulturens Hus (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

House of Architectural Heritage), the former Søetatens Pigeskole (English: The Naval Girls' School), is a listed

Historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...

building now serving as a centre for historic architecture and cultural heritage in

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 = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. It is located in

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 passe ...

, next to

Nyboder Nyboder (English: New mallHouses) is a historic row house district of former Naval barracks in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was planned and first built by Christian IV to accommodate a need for housing for the personnel of the rapidly growing Royal ...

History

Originally known as ''Søetatens Pigeskole'' (English: The Naval Girls' School), the school was founded by the Naval Ministry (''Marineministeriet''), to improve the education of the daughters of

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

personnel, such as sailors and craftsmen. The architect Bernhard Seidelin was charged with the design of the building, which was inaugurated in 1859. It was conveniently sited next to

but also served those from Nyholm. The school was intended for 450 girls aged from six to 14. The school only existed for just over ten years. It was then converted into a naval cadet academy (''Søetatens Kadetskole''). The later

Frederik IX Frederick IX ( da, Christian Frederik Franz Michael Carl Valdemar Georg; 11 March 1899 – 14 January 1972) was List of Danish monarchs, King of Denmark from 1947 to 1972. Born into the House of Glücksburg, Frederick was the elder son of Ch ...

was a student there for several years. The installation existed until shortly after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and was also known as Gernersgade Barracks. During the

Occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

, the barracks was a target in

Operation Safari Operation Safari (german: Unternehmen Safari) was a German military operation during World War II aimed at disarming the Danish military. It led to the scuttling of the Royal Danish Navy and the internment of all Danish soldiers. Danish forces s ...

, which disarmed and dissolved the Danish Army and Navy. At 4 in the morning, the gate was blown open and German soldiers stormed the building, opening machine gun fire against the doors. Two Danish soldiers were killed and five wounded. Realea (now Realdania Byg) acquired the building in 2003. It was subsequently put through a comprehensive refurbishment which adapted it to its current use.

Architecture

The Naval Girls' School is a four-wing building constructed in yellow brick to a typical

design. It is on all sides decorated with

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 and

Lombard bands A Lombard band is a decorative blind arcade, usually located on the exterior of building. It was frequently used during the Romanesque and Gothic periods of Western architecture. It resembles a frieze of arches. Lombard bands are believed to ha ...

. The front on Borgergade is strictly symmetrical with a central projection topped by a triangular pediment. The building is pulled back from the street and surrounded by a wall in the same yellow brick. Its gate is located to the left of the main entrance, breaking with the overall symmetry of the complex, unlike what is seen in the original renders. The building is centered on a large gym hall with an open gallery. The interior is richly decorated with wood carvings and reliefs created to designs by the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen.

Activities

The activities include minor conferences, meetings, workshops and public lectures. A number of organisations are based in the building: * Bygningskultur Danmark * BYFO Bygnings Frednings Foreningen * By & Land (Landsforeningen for Bygnings- og Landskabskultur) * Bygherreforeningen * Dansk Bygningsarv A/S * Dansk Kunstnerråd

References

External links

Official website

Short video
from Realdania Byg (in Danish)
Images
from Realdania Byg {{coord, 55.6881, 12.5882, region:DK_type:landmark, display=title Culture in Copenhagen Cultural and educational buildings in Copenhagen Historicist architecture in Copenhagen Listed buildings and structures in Copenhagen School buildings completed in 1859

History

Architecture

Activities

See also

References

External links