Klerkegade ( lit. "Clergy Street") is a street in central

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 ...

. The street runs from Borgergade in the east to

Rigensgade Rigensgade (literal translation, lit. "State Street") is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It links Sølvgade in the west with Øster Voldgade in the east. An underpass for pedestrians link the beginning of the street with Rosenborg Castle G ...

in the west, passing Adelgade and Kronprinsessegade on the way.

History

Klerkegade originates in the 1649 plan for

New Copenhagen New Copenhagen (Danish: Ny København) or St. Ann's Town (Danish: Sankt Annæ By) was a 17th-century expansion of fortified Copenhagen, Denmark. The original plan for the area, from 1649, was later abandoned. It now comprises neighbourhoods and l ...

, the large area which was included in the fortified city when the old East Rampart along present day Gothersgade was decommissioned and a new one was built in a more northerly direction. According to the plan, the streets in the area were to be named after Danish territorial possessions, royalty and the upper classes. The name Klerkegade is thus related to those of Adelgade ("Nobility Street") and Borgergade (" Burges Street"). The south side of the street was affected by the condemnations that occurred along Adelgade and Borgergade in the 1940s and 50s.

Notable buildings and residents

No. 2 was built for the Freemasons between 1867 and 1869 to a design by Vilhelm Tvede. The building was replaced by the Freemasons' Hall on

Blegdamsvej Blegdamsvej is a street in Copenhagen, Denmark, connecting Sankt Hans Torv in Nørrebro to Trianglen in Østerbro. The busy artery Fredensgade separates the Nørrebro and Østerbro sections of the street from each other. The north side of the st ...

in 1927. For a while, in the 1930s, the building then served as a cinema under the name Palæbiografen. In 1972–74, Helge Bonnesen adapted the building for its current use as home of the Section of Musicology at

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia after Uppsala Unive ...

. No. 10 was built at the same time and by the same architect for another secret, philanthropical society, Kjæden ("The Chain"), which had been founded by former members of the Order of Freemasons back in 1776. The building was expanded in 1876 and again in 1883. Den Wintherfeldtske Stiftelse was built by the foundation Trøstens Bolig to provide affordable accommodation for needy widows. The 19 bay long building was constructed in two stages: the 13 eastern bays in 1838 and the six western bays in 1846–47. It was listed in 1978. In the courtyard to the rear of the building is a four-storey building which was built at the same time as the extension and designed by Johann Heinrich Lütthans. It was built by another foundation, Den Treschowske Stiftelse

References

External links

{{coord, 55.6865, N, 12.5851, E, source:wikidata, display=title Streets in Copenhagen