The Royal Danish Silk Manufactury (

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 ...

: Den Kongelige Silkemanufaktur) was located at

Bredgade Bredgade ( lit. "Broad Street") is one of the most prominent streets in Copenhagen, Denmark. Running in a straight line from Kongens Nytorv for just under one kilometre to the intersection of Esplanaden and Grønningen, it is one of the major stre ...

34 and 36 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 = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. The building fronting the street at No. 34 was listed on the Danish registry of protected buildings and places by the

Danish Heritage Agency The Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces ( da, Slots- og Kulturstyrelsen) is an agency under the aegis of the Danish Ministry of Culture. The agency carries out the cultural policies of the Danish government within the visual and performing arts, ...

on 12 March 1951. The rear wings and the building at No.36 are not listed.

History

The Royal Silk Manufactory was originally established by John Beckett at the corner of

Store Kongensgade Store Kongensgade ( lit. English. Great King's Street) is the longest street in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It extends northeast from Kongens Nytorv to Esplanaden, running parallel to Bredgade, where it breaks left, continuing northwest to Grøn ...

(No. 83) and Hindegade in 1739. It was destroyed by fire but was rebuilt by his successor, Charles Maillot (1718-1745), a Frenchman, with support from the kommercekollegiet, in 1742. The new factory was built by

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 ...

. It was destroyed by fire in 1745, It was rebuilt but went bankrupt shortly thereafter. Maillot left the country but died in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

later that same year. Peter Reiersen (1713-1773), who had been appointed as bookkeeper at Almindelige Varemagasin in 1738, managed to revive the operations. It had 43 looms and 143 workers. A large mew factory complex was constructed in Bredgade in 1755-56. Reiersen answered to four directors: Gilles Willhelm Daemen (1702-1787), Conrad Christian Dauw (1693-1775), Peter van Hurk (1667-1775) and Cornelius Schumacher (1703-1777). The latter was married to Reiersen's sister, Elisabeth Reiersen (1718-1755). Niels Lunde Reiersen 1784

The production stagnated in the 1770s. In earky 1775 it was taken over by

Niels Lunde Reiersen Niels Lunde Reiersen (16 February 1742 - 20 July 1795) was a Danish government official, merchant, silk manufacturer, landowner and philanthropist. He was the owner of the Royal Danish Silk Manufactury in Copenhagen (1775-1796) as well as a foun ...

. At this point the number of employees had fallen to 28 weavers and approximately one hundred workers. After Lunde Reiersen's death in 1795 it was taken over by his business partner Hans Brandorph. He lived with his family in one of the apartments. Friderich Hoppe (1770-1837), the owner of Rosenfeldt at

Vordingborg Vordingborg () is an old ferry town in Vordingborg Municipality in Denmark with around 18,000 inhabitants. Because of three large estates surrounding the town, a coherent urban development has not been possible, which is the reason why three sat ...

and a board member of the Reiersen Foundation, lived in another apartment. He went bankrupt in 1802. The silk production was for a while revived by John Baverstock with support from kommercekollegiet. John and Robert (Richard?) Baverstock had together with four silk workers come to Copenhagen from London to establish a silk production. Johan Carl Modeweg (1782-1849)

The factory was in 1806 sold to

Charles August Selby Charles August Selby (24 October 1755 – 15 March 1823) was an English-Danish merchant and landowner. He built the Bækkeskov manor house at Præstø and Orupgaard on Falster. The Baron's oldest son, the politician and landowner, Charles Borre S ...

Frédéric de Coninck Frédéric de Coninck (2 December 1740 – 4 September 1811) was a Dutch merchant and shipowner active in Copenhagen, Denmark. Biography Frédéric de Coninck was born at The Hague in the Netherlands. In 1763, he moved to Copenhagen to set up a f ...

Jean de Coninck Jean de Coninck (1744–1807) was a Dutch-Danish merchant and ship-owner. In 1785, he joined his elder brother, Frédéric de Coninck, as partner in the Copenhagen-based trading house Coninck & Reiersen. He purchased the country house Marienborg ...

and William Duntzfelt. In 18011, it was sold to Jean Frederik Christian Gandil (1791-1840). In 1813 to 1825, it was owned by Ulrich Christian von Schmidten and Ole Christian Borch. The complex was acquired by Johan Carl Modeweg in 1825 and once again turned into a textile factory but he moved the production to

Brede Works The National Museum of Denmark's new museum, Brede Works, lies in the countryside just north of Copenhagen in Denmark's largest, protected industrial plants. At the museum of Industrial culture, the visitors can be guided around by its own virtua ...

in 1831. The complex was later home to Bredgade Steam Mill. It closed in 1897. The buildings were then acquired by piano manufacturer Hindsberg. Several prominent residents have also lived in the complex. The later Minister of Defence

Christian Frederik Hansen Christian Frederik Hansen (29 February 1756 – 10 July 1845), known as C. F. Hansen, was the leading Danish architect between the late 18th century and the mid 19th century, and on account of his position at the Royal Danish Academy of Art (''De ...

lived at No. 34 in 1824-1825. The composer lived at No. 34 from 1874 to 1884.

Architecture

The complex is centred on two courtyards. The architect was possibly

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 ...

. The building fronting the street served as headquarters and also contained a residence for the manager.

List of owners

* (1756-59) The Crown with Peter Reiersen as leader * (760-73) Peter Reiersen * (1775-1796)

* (1796-1806) Hans Brandorph * (1806-1811)

and William Duntzfelt * (1811-1813) Frederik Christian Gandil * (1813-1825) Ulrich Christian von Schmidten and Ole Christian Borch

References

External links

Spurce

Listed industrial buildings in Copenhagen Textile mills in Denmark Defunct textile companies of Denmark Frederiksstaden Danish companies established in 1737 {{Denmark-struct-stub

History

Architecture

List of owners

See also

References

External links