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 coun ...

river which at this point marks the border between Lyngby-Taarbæk and Rudersdal municipalities in the northern suburbs of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. 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 tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelt waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven cloth (particularly wool) to eliminate (lanolin) oils, dirt, ...

. 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, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

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 12,837 (1 January 2025) 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 ...

. 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 II ...

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 Coast Line may refer to: * Coast Line (California), a railroad line * Coast Line (Denmark), a railroad line * Coast Line (Sri Lanka), a railroad line See also * Coastline A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea ...

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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 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 Brønderslev is a city in Denmark with a population of 12,946 (1 January 2025). The city is the largest urban area in Brønderslev Municipality and is the municipal seat. It is the fourth largest city of Vendsyssel within the North Jutland Region ...

, 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. 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 language, Danish "The Deer Park"), officially Jægersborg Dyrehave, is a forest park north of Copenhagen in the municipality of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality, Lyngby-Taarbæk. To the north it borders Jægersborgs Hegn, which ...

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 gri ...

(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 a focus on silverware. It was founded in 1904 by silversmith Georg Jensen. In December 2023, the company was acquired by the Fiskars Group for 155 ...

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

References

External links