Raadvad, or Rådvad is a former industrial development located on both sides of the

Mølleåen Mølleåen, also Mølleå, sometimes translated as the Millstream, is a small river in North Zealand, Denmark, which runs from the west of Bastrup Sø near Lynge to the Øresund between Taarbæk and Skodsborg. The valley contains several country ...

river which at this point marks the border between Lyngby-Taarbæk and Rudersdal municipalities in the northern suburbs 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 = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. It was built around a watermill in the second half of the 18th century and has given name to a well-known Danish brand of knives and other kitchen equipment. The buildings are now all heritage listed. They include Raadvad Kro from 1861 and a hostel based in a former school from 1894. Other buildings include a centre for building conservation and a local nature school.

History

On 30 April 1643, Christian Alckenbrecht obtained a royal license to build the first watermill at the site. Four years later he ran three waterworks at the site: A sharpening mill, a hammer mill and a

fulling mill Fulling, also known as felting, tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelled waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven or knitted cloth (particularly wool) to elimin ...

. The installations were destroyed by Swedish soldiers in 1658 but reopened in 1664, now as a

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...

and sharpening mill. In 1671, the king took over ownership of the premises which a few years earlier had been included in the Royal Deer Garden. The site was from then on exclusively used for the manufacture of gunpowder until 1869 when the activities moved to

Frederiksværk Frederiksværk is a town with a population of 12,718 (1 January 2022) in Halsnæs Municipality on Zealand in Region Hovedstaden in Denmark. History A French cannon founder, Peyrembert, received permission to build a cannon factory here. Having g ...

. Raadvad was then gifted by king

Frederick V Frederick V or Friedrich V may refer to: * Frederick V, Duke of Swabia (1164–1170) *Frederick V, Count of Zollern (d.1289) *Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg (c. 1333–1398), German noble *Frederick V of Austria (1415–1493), or Frederick III ...

to his servant Nicolai Jacob Jessen. He expanded the complex and operated a flour mill at the site but went bankrupt in 1765. Raadvad was then taken over by the Iron Mongers' Guild in Copenhagen. They founded ''Raadvaddams Fabrikker'' at the site, producing mostly kitchen equipment. Raadvad 1872 Andersen-Lundby

Raadvad Kro ("Raadvad Inn") opened on 27 December 1861 to supplement the income from the factory which experienced a difficult period. With its proximity to Copenhagen and scenic surroundings in the middle of the forest, it was an instant success. The guests included members of the royal family who sometimes lunched there in connection with hunts. However, when the Coast Line opened in 1994, people started to venture further up the coast and in 1916 Raadvad Kro had to close. It was then for a while used as headquarters of the knife factory but reopened as an inn in 1930. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the company changed its name to ''Raadvads Knivfabrikker'' and, for a period, it produced exclusively knives and bread-cutters. In the 1970s, the company moved to Brønderslev, and is now a part of the Fiskars group. The Ministry of Environment took over the abandoned buildings and let them to Håndværksrådet in 1981. In 1986, they went through a major refurbishment.

Notable buildings

The development comprises 19 listed buildings on the south side of Mølleåen (in Lyngby–Taarbæk Municipality) and six buildings on its north side (in Rudersdal Municipality). The buildings on the south bank include Damhuset, the Inspector's House (c. 1770); Kildehuset (before 1779); Fileværket (before 1779); the forge (Smedien, 1805); Længen (between 1835 and 1846); Egehuset, the first school (before 1835); Møllehuset (c. 1846); four residential blocks (1917–18). A new school was built on the top of a small hill in 1918–19 to a Historicist design by Harald Lønborg-Jensen. It is now operated as a hostel under the name Raadvad Vandrehjem. The buildings on the north side include the main factory building from 1879.

Today

Today some of the buildings house Center for Bygningsbevaring, a centre for building conservation and the preservation of traditional crafts. Port ved Rådvad Kro

Other buildings are home to Radvad Nature School, a collaboration between Lyngby-Taarbæk, Rundersdal and

Gentofte Gentofte () is a district of Gentofte Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Major landmarks include Gentofte Town Hall, Gentofte Hospital and Gentofte Church. Gentofte Lake with surrounding parkland and nature reserves form ...

municipalities and the Danish Nature Agency's local department (Naturstyrelsen Hovedstaden). Raadvad Kro is a restaurant which also hosts meetings and other events. The former school now houses a hostel, Lyngby Danhostel. Raadvad is also the site of one of the red-painted entrance gates to

Jægersborg Dyrehave Dyrehaven (Danish 'The Deer Park'), officially Jægersborg Dyrehave, is a forest park north of Copenhagen. It covers around . Dyrehaven is noted for its mixture of huge, ancient oak trees and large populations of red and fallow deer. In July ...

Notable persons

Georg Jensen Georg Arthur Jensen (31 August 1866 in Rådvad – 2 October 1935 in Copenhagen) was a Danish silversmith and founder of Georg Jensen A/S (also known as Georg Jensen Sølvsmedie). Early life Born in 1866, Jensen was the son of a knife gr ...

(1866 – 1935), Danish silversmith and founder of

Georg Jensen A/S Georg Jensen A/S (originally Georg Jensens Sølvsmedie A/S) is a Danish designer company with focus on silverware. It was founded by silversmith Georg Jensen in 1904. History After finishing at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1892, Georg J ...

* Axel Lind (Danish Wiki) (1907 in Rådvad – 2011), painter

References

External links