Dronningmølle () is a

seaside resort A seaside resort is a resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, suc ...

town in

Esbønderup Esbønderup is a parish and small town situated north of Lake Esrum in Gribskov Municipality, North Zealand. some north of Copenhagen, Denmark. As of 1 January 2022, it had a population of 1,190. History The name is known from 1178 as ''Esbiorn ...

parish,

Gribskov Municipality Gribskov Kommune is a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in Region Hovedstaden ("Capital Region"). The municipality covers an area of 278 km², and has a total population of 40,850 (1 April 2014). The municipality was created on 1 January 2 ...

in the

Capital Region of Denmark The Capital Region of Denmark ( da, Region Hovedstaden, ) is the easternmost administrative region of Denmark. The Capital Region has 29 municipalities and a regional council consisting of 41 elected members. As of 1 August 2021 the chairperso ...

, of eastern Denmark. Dronningmølle is located four kilometers west of Hornbæk, six kilometers east of

Gilleleje Gilleleje () is a fishing town and seaside resort on the north coast of the peninsula North Zealand, Denmark. The town is located at the northernmost point of the island of Zealand. It is one of the main towns of the Gribskov municipality in Reg ...

and 22 kilometers north of

Hillerød Hillerød () is a Danish town with a population of 35,357 (1 January 2022)Dronningmølle Station on the Hornbæk Line. Since 2010 Dronningmølle has grown together with its neighbour Hornbæk in

Helsingør Municipality Helsingør Municipality (a variant English name: Elsinore Municipality; Danish: ''Helsingør Kommune''), is a municipality in the Capital Region on the northeast coast of the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. The municipal ...

to form an urban area with a combined population of 5,283 as of 2019. Hornbæk proper had a population of 3,608 with Dronningmølle having 1,675.

History

The name Dronningmølle, literally "queen's mill", comes from a water mill located close to the point where the stream

Esrum Å Esrum Å is the principal drainage of Lake Esrum, Denmark's second largest lake, located in Gribskov Municipality, some 50 km north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The 10-km-long stream extends from the northwestern part of the lake and flows pas ...

runs into the

Kattegat The Kattegat (; sv, Kattegatt ) is a sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Skåne in S ...

. The first water mill at the site was built by monks from Esrum Abbey. In 1588, it was replaced by a new water mill which was commissioned by

Frederick II of Denmark Frederick II (1 July 1534 – 4 April 1588) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1559 until his death. A member of the House of Oldenburg, Frederick began his personal rule of Denmark-Norway at the age of ...

and named after his wife, Queen Sophie, possibly because she owned the site on which it was built. Valentin von Spangenberg, who also worked on

Kronborg Castle Kronborg is a castle and stronghold in the town of Helsingør, Denmark. Immortalized as Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and was inscribed on the UN ...

and many other road and mill projects in the area, was charged with the construction of the complex. The nearest settlements were Villingerød and Villingebæk which are both mentioned in documents from the early days of Esrum Abbey. Located a couple of kilometres inland, Villingerød, literally "The forest dwellers' clearing", was with its 10 farms the largest village in Esbønderup parish. Villingebæk, literally "The forest dwellers' stream", a reference to the location at Pandehave Å, consisted of a mixture of fishermen's houses and small farmsteads. It prospered from the fishing of herring in the 16th century but was hit hard by sand drift in the 17th and 18th century. Since the beginning of the 20th century, thanks to its sandy beach, the locality has been a popular resort with hotels and guest houses along the coast road. Today, it has some 1,500

summerhouses A summer house or summerhouse has traditionally referred to a building or shelter used for relaxation in warm weather. This would often take the form of a small, roofed building on the grounds of a larger one, but could also be built in a garden ...

reaching up to two kilometres inland. Until 1946, Kassegård, a large thatched house had stood for centuries on the corner of Villingerødvej and Linde Alle. Dronningmølle Station on the Helsingør-Gilleleje line was initially opened to serve Dronningmølle Teglverk, a brick factory established in 1898 by the coffee merchant Ferdinand Andersen. For a time, the local fishermen were opposed to the growing importance of the factory but, as Andersen bought up most of the area, they were eventually forced to work there. The brickyard was closed in 1947 and subsequently demolished.

Landmarks

Dronningmølle water mill was rebuilt in the

National Romantic style The National Romantic style was a Nordic architectural style that was part of the National Romantic movement during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is often considered to be a form of Art Nouveau. The National Romantic style spread ...

for Ferdinand Andersen and is now known as Dronningmølle Slot. The building has later been converted into holiday apartments. Ferdinand Andersen is also associated with other buildings in the area, such as the beach house Skansen which he constructed at the mouth of Esrum Å in 1899. The house takes its name after a protected defensive structure located on the estate. The now wingless wind mill next to the water mill was built in 1878 and remained in use until 1934. Dronningmølle Avlsgård from 1923 was designed by the architect Henning Hansen. TegnersMuseumDK

Munkeruphus (Munkerup House), a residence inspired by American

Colonial Revival architecture The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

, is located in Dronningmølle. It is now an exhibition centre. The Rudolph Tegner Museum, just south of Dronningmølle, is dedicated to the work of the sculptor

Rudolph Tegner Rudolph Tegner (12 July 1873 – 5 June 1950) was a Danish sculptor linked to the Symbolist movement. In the early 20th century his work caused considerable controversy in Denmark. A large number of his works are on display in the Rudolph Tegner M ...

who designed the building himself in a bunker-like Modernist style. Villingerød Church, located on the west side of the road between Villingerød and Dronningmølle, close to the Rudolph Tegner Museum, is from 1906. It was designed by the architect Vilhelm Holck and is surrounded by a small graveyard.

Notable residents

* Eli Benneweis, (Danish Wiki) (1911 - 1993 in Dronningmølle) owned ''Hulerød Avlsgård'' from 1939, using it as a winter residence for his Cirkus Benneweis. *

Svend Asmussen Svend Asmussen (28 February 1916 – 7 February 2017) was a Danish jazz violinist, known as "The Fiddling Viking". A Swing style virtuoso, he played and recorded with many of the other jazz musicians, including Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and ...

(1916 – 2017 in Dronningmølle) a Danish jazz violinist, known as ''The Fiddling Viking'' *

Helge Bronée Helge Christian Bronée (28 March 1922 in Nybølle – 3 June 1999 in Dronningmølle) was a Danish footballer who played four games for the amateur Denmark national football team. He moved abroad in 1948 to play professionally for French club FC ...

(1922 – 1999 in Dronningmølle) a Danish footballer who played four games for the amateur Denmark national football team in 1945/6

References

External links

Dronningmølle Standcamping website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dronningmolle Cities and towns in the Capital Region of Denmark Populated coastal places in Denmark Gribskov Municipality Resorts in Denmark

History

Landmarks

Notable residents

See also

References

External links