The (Royal) Institute for the Blind ( Danish: Blindeinstituttet) is a listed,

Historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying the process or history by which they came about. The term is widely used in philosophy, ant ...

building on Kastelsvej in the

Østerbro Østerbro () is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is located just north of the city centre, outside the old city gate Østerport which, after it was moved around 1700, used to be located close to present-day ...

district 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 ...

. Built in two stages in 1858 and 1880 to a design by

Ferdinand Meldahl Ferdinand Meldahl (16 March 1827 – 3 February 1908) was a Danish architect best known for the reconstruction of Frederiksborg Castle after the fire in 1859. Meldahl was one of the leading proponents of historicism in Denmark. Biography He was t ...

, it was the first

special school Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual d ...

for blind students in

and was listed in 1977. The institution relocated to new premises in

Hellerup Hellerup () is a very affluent district of Gentofte Municipality in the suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. The most urban part of the district is centred on Strandvejen and is bordered by Østerbro to the south and the Øresund to the east. It compr ...

in the 1960s and is now known as the Danish Institute for the Blind and Partially Sighted . The Østerbro building is now home to

Copenhagen Municipality Copenhagen Municipality (), also known in English language, English as the Municipality of Copenhagen, located in the Capital Region of Denmark, is the largest of the four municipalities that constitute the City of Copenhagen (), the other three ...

's Children's Centre.

History

The first Institute for the Blind was established by the Order of the Chain (Danish: Kjædeordenen)) on 10 June 1811 on Kastelsvej in Østerbro in 1857-58: Known as the Royal Institute for the Blind, it was ceded to the Danish State when it was completed. The building was one of the first civilian brick buildings to be constructed outside Copenhagen's old East Rampart when the city's fortifications were decommissioned in the 1850s. It was built next to the Institute for the

Deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

which had already been completed on the

glacis A glacis (, ) in military engineering is an artificial slope as part of a medieval castle or in early modern fortresses. They may be constructed of earth as a temporary structure or of stone in more permanent structure. More generally, a glaci ...

in front of Kastellet in 1838. The Institute for the Deaf had been built as an arrowhead-shaped revelin which could easily be converted into a defensive structure in the event of a hostile attack.

was charged with the design of the building. Construction began in 1857 and was completed in 1858. The three-winged complex had room for 60 students, 30 boys and 30 girls, each housed in their lateral wing. The main wing contained various workshops and activity rooms. The institution opened in 1858 with 25 students and with J. Moldenhawer as its first principal. The building was expanded with a new rear wing in 1880. Rooms for 40 new

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most The Commonwealth, commonwealth countries, a "student" attends ...

s were created in the main wing while most of the workshops and activity rooms were moved to the new wing. A new institution was built in the 1960s in

Ryvangen Ryvangen or Ryvangskvarteret ( English: The Ryvang neighbourhood) is a neighbourhood of single-family detached homes in the northern part of Østerbro, on the border with Hellerup, in Copenhagen, Denmark. History The name Ryvangen translates to " ...

neighbourhood. The foundation stone was set on 25 May 1966.

Architecture

The building is designed in a

style which combines influence from Venetian Renaissance architecture such as

San Zaccaria The Church of San Zaccaria is a 15th-century former monastic church in central Venice. It is a large edifice located in the Campo San Zaccaria, just off the waterfront to the southeast of Piazza San Marco and St Mark's Basilica. It is dedicated ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

with inspiration from Danish buildings such as

Hesselagergård Hesselagergård (or Hesselager Manor), located near Gudme in the southeast of the Danish island Funen, is the oldest Renaissance building in Denmark. It was built by Johan Friis, one of the most powerful men in Denmark during the reigns of Christ ...

. The four-winged complex is built in red brick and has a grey tile roof. The two-storey main wing faces Kastelsvej to the northeast. The younger southwest-facing rear wing is attached to the two lateral wings by a couple of low, narrow connectors. The front and rear wings feature median ricilits, the front wing on both sides, all three of which are tipped by rounded pediments. The main entrance is located in the central axis of the main wing and is surrounded by a low portal with columns and

lesene A lesene, also called a pilaster strip, is an architectural term for a narrow, low-relief vertical pillar on a wall. It resembles a pilaster, but does not have a base or capital. It is typical in Lombardic and Rijnlandish architectural building ...

s. The portal is flanked by two zinc statues by Peter Daniel depicting a blind boys and a blind girl.

References

External links

Renderings
for the extension of the Building in the

Danish National Art Library The Danish National Art Library is the national research library for architecture, art history, visual arts and museology in Denmark. It was founded in 1754 as part of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and has been located at Charlottenborg' ...

{{Østerbro 1858 establishments in Denmark Historicist architecture in Copenhagen Schools in Copenhagen Zinc sculptures in Denmark

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links