Thorup's Kælder () is a listed structure and a bar in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

, Denmark. It is a basement built approximately 1300 by

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monks. The basement 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 1 January 1959. The listing is officially "Den Grå Kannikegård" (English: The Grey Canon House) which refers to the entirety of the building at the address although only the basement beneath it is protected. The structure is situated in the historic Latin Quarter neighbourhood on

Store Torv Store Torv ( lit. Great Square) is a public square located in the Indre By neighborhood in Aarhus, Denmark. It is situated between Lille Torv and Aarhus Cathedral, shaped as an elongated triangle. It is the largest public square in Aarhus and one ...

adjacent to the Cathedral.

Basement

The basement consists of a number of vaulted rooms with arched columns made of brick. It was constructed by

monks in the 1300s but not much else is known about it or the structure originally above it. The front entrance displays a sign stating that it was built by the monks and that they used it as a dining hall. There is, however, no evidence to support the latter claim. Another myth states that a secret tunnel leads from the basement to the nearby Cathedral but this is also not true.

Bar

The basement was first used as a bar in 1712 when the local postmaster operated a wine store there but it is not known for how long. In 1885 Albert Christian Thorup opened a new wine store and in 1903 he was granted permission to run a bar. Albert Thorup had strong religious convictions and banned women from the premises since he believed the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

stated the women were bad for wine. In 1919 Thorup moved to

Bourdeaux Bourdeaux (; oc, Bordèus) is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Drôme department The following is a list of the 363 communes of the Drôme department of France. The communes ...

to open a new business and his son Knud Thorup took over the bar in Aarhus. In 1942 Knud Thorup retired and gave the business to his daughter and son-in-law Kristen and Erik Thorup Christensen. The bar continued with no major changes to the rooms until 1959 when the basement was listed and protected.

C. F. Møller Architects Arkitektfirmaet C. F. Møller, internationally also known as C. F. Møller Architects, is an architectural firm based in Århus, Denmark. Founded in 1924 by C. F. Møller, it is today the largest architectural firm in Denmark based on number of em ...

have since renovated and decorated the rooms and the director of the Old Town Museum Helge Søgaard designed the chairs. Kirsten and Erik Thorup Christensen managed the bar until the mid-80s when it was sold to Albert Hill and since to Mike Wilson.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorup's Kaelder Buildings and structures in Aarhus Listed buildings in Aarhus