Helsingør Custom House (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

: Helsingør Toldkammer) is a former

custom house A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting c ...

situated next to

Helsingør station Helsingør station () is the principal railway station serving the city of Helsingør ( en, Elsinore), Denmark. It is the terminus of the Coast Line to Copenhagen, the Little North Line to Hillerød and the Hornbæk Line to Gilleleje. It also prov ...

in central

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northern ...

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 ...

. Completed in 1891 to a

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 ...

design by

Johan Daniel Herholdt Johan Daniel Herholdt (13 August 1818 – 11 April 1902) was a Danish architect, professor and royal building inspector. He worked in the Historicist style and had a significant influence on Danish architecture during the second half of the 19th an ...

, it replaced Øresund Custom House, which had played a central role in Denmark's collection of

Sound Dues The Sound Dues (or Sound Tolls; da, Øresundstolden) were a toll on the use of the Øresund, or "Sound" strait separating the modern day borders of Denmark and Sweden. The tolls constituted up to two thirds of Denmark's state income in the 16th a ...

before it was demolished in connection with an expansion of the harbour in the 1860s. The new custom house remained in use until 1976 and is today part of the

Kulturværftet Kulturværftet (The Culture Yard in English) is a cultural centre located in Helsingør, Denmark. The center was established in 2010, in the buildings of the former Helsingør Værft or Elsinore Shipyard. Kulturværftet is part of Kulturhavn Kr ...

, a nearby cultural centre, hosting smaller concerts, exhibitions and other events.

History

Øresund Custom House

The first custom house in Helsingør was called Øresund Custom House, reflecting its role in the collection of

from all ships that passed through the

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width v ...

. In 1681, the custom house moved to a Late Medieval building on Strandgade which was acquired from a bookkeeper named Claus Liime. In 1737-39,

Niels Eigtved Nicolai Eigtved, also known as Niels Eigtved (4 June 1701 – 7 June 1754) was a Denmark, Danish architect. He introduced and was the leading proponent of the French rococo or late baroque style in Danish architecture during the 1730s–1740s. H ...

Lauritz de Thurah Laurids Lauridsen de Thurah, known as Lauritz de Thurah (4 March 1706 – 5 September 1759), was a Danish architect and architectural writer. He became the most important Danish architect of the late baroque period. As an architectural writer ...

and

Philip de Lange Philip de Lange (c. 1705 – 17 September 1766) was a leading Dutch-Danish architect who designed many different types of building in various styles including Dutch Baroque and Rococo. Early life and family Philip de Lange was probably born ...

—three of Denmark's most significant architects of the time—all created design proposals for a new custom house. In the end, none of their designs were used when a new custom house was built on the corner of Sophie Brahes Gade and Strandgade in 1740–42. The building was instead designed by the otherwise unknown architect N in a mixture of

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

and

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

style. It measured approximately 25 by 11 metres and was topped by a

Mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...

. The central three-bay projection was topped by a triangular pediment with

Christian VI Christian VI (30 November 1699 – 6 August 1746) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746. The eldest surviving son of Frederick IV and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, he is considered one of Denmark-Norway's more anonymous kings, bu ...

's gilded monogram. The relief and the building's other sandstone decorations were executed by

Jacob Fortling Jacob Fortling (23 December 1711 – 16 July 1761) was a German-Danish sculptor, architect and industrialist, described as one of the most industrious people in the Denmark of his day. He came to Denmark at age 18 and embarked on a successful c ...

. Below the triangular pediment was an architrave and frieze with the inscription ''Øresunds Toldkammer Anno 1740'' ("Øresund's Custom House Anno 1740"). The building contained a large central hall flanked by offices on each side. On the corner of Sophie Brahes Gade and Stengade, to the rear of the Custom House, its director, Wilhelm August von der Osten, constructed a private residence. The house was in 1774 sold to the Custom Authority and used as official residence for its directors. A wing on Sofie Brahe Gade contained stables, servants quarters and a gate. In 1830-31, Øresund Custom House was expanded with two new wings as a result of the increasing number of ships that passed through the Øresund. A clock also replaced Christian VI's monogram above the entrance in the main wing.

The current custom house

Following the abolition of the Sound Dues in 1867, it was decided to expand Helsingør's docklands to create room for ship repair as well as a coal station for the passing steam vessels. The custom house was pulled down in 1859 and the director's house in 1862. Royal Building Inspector

was charged with the design of a new building which was inaugurated on 16 November 1891. The custom house remained in use until 1976. In 1989, Kulturhuset Toldkammeret, a self-owning cultural venue, opened at the site.

Architecture

The building, which occupies an entire block, is designed in the

style which is typical of Harholdt as well as of Danish architecture in the late 19th century. The three-winged complex surrounds a cobbled courtyard which is closed on Strandgade by a wall.

Directors

* 1664-1668 Marcus Meibom * 1738-1764

Wilhelm August von der Osten Wilhelm August van der Osten (7 January 1697 – 15 January 1764) was a Danish civil servant. Early life Wilhelm August von der Osten was born in Copenhagen, the son of lord chamberlain Peter Christoph van der Osten (1659–1730) and Louise Ben ...

* 1764-1766 Niels Krabbe Vind * 1766-1770

Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff (german: Johann Hartwig Ernst Graf von Bernstorff; 13 May 1712 – 18 February 1772) was a German-Danish statesman and a member of the Bernstorff noble family of Mecklenburg. He was the son of Joachim ...

* 1770-1772 Adolph Sigfried von der Osten * 1772-1772 Jørgen Erik Skeel * 1772-1776

Joachim Godske Moltke Joachim Godske von Moltke (25 July 1746 – 5 October 1818) was the Prime Minister of Denmark from 1814 to 1818. He was also father of Prime Minister Adam Wilhelm Moltke and the son of Danish diplomat Adam Gottlob Moltke. Early life Joachim Godske ...

* 1776-1811 Christian Numsen * 1811-18?? Frederik Moltke * 1833-1839 Adam Gottlob von Krogh * 1839-1850

Nicolai Abraham Holten Nicolai Abraham Holten (27 March 1775 – 12 May 1850) was a Danish civil servant in the financial administration and director of Øresund Custom House. Early life and education Holten was born in Copenhagen, the son of customs officer and forme ...

* 1850-1857

Christian Albrecht Bluhme Christian Albrecht Bluhme (27 December 1794 – 6 November 1866) was a Danish lawyer and conservative politician who was the second Prime Minister of Denmark (first time from 1852 to 1853 with title of Prime Minister, second time from 1864 to ...

References

External links

Official website

Toldkammeret
at Kongernes Nordsjælland
Helsingør Custom House
at arkark.dk {{DEFAULTSORT:Helsingor Custom House Listed buildings and structures in Helsingør Municipality Historicist architecture in Denmark Government buildings completed in 1891 1891 establishments in Denmark Custom houses