Skibsklarerergaarden, literally "The Ship Handler's House"), is a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

and listed building situated on Strandgade in

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northern ...

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 ...

. A "ship handler" handled the paperwork at Øresund Custom House for captains in connection with Denmark's collection of

Sound Dues The Sound Dues (or Sound Tolls; da, Øresundstolden) were a toll on the use of the Øresund, or "Sound" strait separating the modern day borders of Denmark and Sweden. The tolls constituted up to two thirds of Denmark's state income in the 16th a ...

from all ships that passed through the

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width v ...

. The Sound Duty was collected on and off between 1429 and 1857 and was one of Denmark's most important sources of income as well as a major cause of local prosperity in Helsingør. The ground floor of the building contains a

Ship-chandler A ship chandler is a retail dealer who specializes in providing supplies or equipment for ships. Synopsis For traditional sailing ships, items that could be found in a chandlery include sail-cloth, rosin, turpentine, tar, pitch, linseed oil, ...

with Denmark's oldest surviving shop interior. The building is also known as Rasmussens Gård.

History

The house dates from the 16th century but was adapted in 1781. Christian Simmelkier opened the Ship-chandler in 1809. The building was acquired by Ove Elling Galschiøt in 1823. Restaurateur Søren Fisker acquired the building in 1993 and the ground floor was subsequently restored by experts from the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

before opening as a museum in 1995. In 2000, the property was acquired by Bjarne Rasmussen who renovated the upper floors and made them available to the museum.

Building

The ship's chandler feature much of its original furniture and fittings as well as artifacts from similar establishments in Helsingør. Next to the ship-chandler is the so-called Captain's Room (Danish: Skipperstuen) where captains could pass the time with food and drink while waiting for the bill from Øresund Custom House as well as their supplies to be made ready. To its rear is the former office of the ship commissioner. The main floor contains the private residence of the ship handler. The upper floor contained lodging for captains that waited for their papers to be ready and favourable winds for onwards voyage. A gate in the building on Strandgade opens to a yard. The rear wing contained a brewery.

References

External links

Official website
{{Copenhagen historic houses Historic house museums in Denmark Houses in Helsingør Municipality Listed buildings and structures in Helsingør Municipality

History

Building

See also

Further reading

References

External links