Kvindelig Læserforening (

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 ...

: Women Readers' Association) was a membership-based, private library for women which existed from 1872 until 1945 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 ...

. Its former building on

Gammel Mønt Gammel Mønt ( en, Old Mint) is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, located one block west of Gothersgade and Rosenborg Castle Garden. History In 1497, a community of Poor Clare nuns established the Monastery of St. Clare roughly at the jun ...

(No. 1) is designed by

Ulrik Plesner Ulrik Adolph Plesner, usually known as Ulrik Plesner (17 May 1861 in Vedersø – 22 November 1933 in Skagen) was an innovative Danish architect who designed in a National Romantic style at the beginning of the 20th century. He is remembered in p ...

. It now houses the newspaper

Weekendavisen ''Weekendavisen'' (meaning ''The Weekend Newspaper'' in English) is a Danish weekly broadsheet newspaper published on Fridays in Denmark. Its circulation (as of 2007) is approximately 60,000 copies, about ten per cent of which cover subscription ...

History

Kvindelig Læserforening was founded at the initiative of Sophie Petersen (née Alberti) on 1 October 1872 and was inspired by Läsesalong för Damer in Sweden. The library initially comprised 1,007 volumes. The number of members quickly grew and it outgrew its premises several times. Kvindelig Læseforening postkort

In 1910, the Women Readers' Association purchased a lot at the corner of Gammel Mønt and Antonigade. A four-storey building designed by

and Aage Langeland-Mathiesen was completed at the site in 1910. It contained reading rooms, a lending department, restaurant as well as hotel rooms reserved for women on the top floor. The latter was inspired by the

Martha Washington Hotel The Redbury New York (formerly, the Women's Hotel, Martha Washington Hotel, Hotel Thirty Thirty, Hotel Lola, and King & Grove New York) is a historic hotel at 29 East 29th Street, between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South in the NoMad neigh ...

in Nyew York City. The association gained increased momentum and became a power factor in the 1900s. With 100,000 volumes, its library developed into the largest private collection of fiction in the Nordic countries in the 1930s. In the late 1940s, the number of members began to decline and the association experienced economic difficulties. In 1941, it sold its building to

Berlingske Tidende ''Berlingske'', previously known as ''Berlingske Tidende'' (, ''Berling's Times''), is a Danish national daily newspaper based in Copenhagen. It is considered a newspaper of record for Denmark. First published on 3 January 1749, ''Berlingske'' ...

. The Women Readers' Association closed in 1945. The building has later housed

Presidents

* 1875-1879:

Kirstine Frederiksen Elisabeth Kirstine Frederiksen (1845–1903) was a Danish pedagogue, writer and women's activist. Thanks to study trips to the United States, she was a pioneer of visual pedagogy in Denmark, publishing ''Anskuelsesundervisning, Haandbog for Lære ...

* 1935–1945: Else Zeuthen

References

External links

Kvindelig Læserforening

Renderings
in the Danish National Art Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Kvindelig Laeseforening Libraries in Copenhagen Organizations based in Copenhagen Women's organizations based in Denmark 1872 establishments in Denmark 1945 disestablishments in Denmark Buildings and structures in Copenhagen Libraries established in 1872

History

Presidents

Further reading

References

External links