Valdemar Gætje (10 July 1850 - 13 May 1905) was a Danish master baker and the first director of the Union of Danish Employers and Master Cradtsmen. He also played a central role in the foundation of

Alderstrøst Alderstrøst refers to two residential complexes built by Association of Craftsmen in Copenhagen to provide affordable housing for elderly, indigent members and their widows in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. The oldest is located o ...

, a charity providing affordable accommodation for old craftsmen and their widows. He was a member of

Copenhagen City Council The Copenhagen City Council (Danish: ) is the municipal government of Copenhagen, Denmark, and has its seat at Copenhagen City Hall. The city council is Copenhagen's highest political authority and sets the framework for the committees' tasks. ...

. His bakery was located at

Fælledvej Fælledvej () is a street in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It links the major shopping street Nørrebrogade in the west with the square Sankt Hans Torv in the east. History Fælledvej takes its name after the common Blegdam F� ...

10 in

Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current N ...

. The building has been demolished.

Early life

Gætje was born on 10 July 1830 in Copenhagen, the son of master baker Jørgen Ferdinand Gætje (1817-82) and Johanne Henriette Schrøder (1825-75). His father assisted Marie Schlötzer with the management of the bakery at

10 after the death of her husband Frederich Peter Schlötzer in 1836. Gætje's paternal grandfather, Jacob Gætje, a well-to-do tanner, purchased the property from her in 1841. On 26 July 1852, it passed to Gætje's father. Gætje trained as a baker in his father's bakery. He later worked for a couple of years as a baker in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

before returning to Copenhagen.

Career

In 1875, Gætje was licensed as a master baker and took over his father's bakery. In 1886, he was elected as alderman of the Bakers' Guild in Copenhagen. He remained in this position until 1903.

Other activities

Gætje was a member of Copenhagen City Council from 1895 to 1901. He served as president of the

Association of Craftsmen in Copenhagen The Association of Craftsmen in Copenhagen (Danish language, Danish: Haandværkerforeningen i Kjøbenhavn) is an interest organisation based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Its 2,200 members are owners of small and medium large companies. It is affiliated w ...

. In this capacity, he was strongly involved in the foundation of Alderstræst. He also served as chair of Håndværkerbanken. In 1899, he was appointed as the first director of the Union of Danish Employers and Master Craftsmen (''Dansk arbejdsgiver- og mesterforening'', later Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening). He was editor of the union's publication '' Arbejdsgiveren'' and frequently contributed artivles to it.

Personal life

Gætje married on 18 August 1875 in

Stettin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...

Louise Ernestine Wilhelmine Jantzen (1856-1923), daughter of master butcher Johann Christian Ludwig Jantzen (1826-95) and Florentine Louise Auguste Fliigge (1834–60). They had no biological children but adopted a girl, Kate Zuelzer. He was created a Knight in the Order of the Dannebrog in 1892. He died on 13 May 1905 and is buried in

Assistens Cemetery An Assistens Cemetery () is a cemetery that functions as an expansion of another, older cemetery often in relation to a city church. Already by the end of the 17th century, Danish authorities deemed that the conditions for inner-city cemeteries we ...

. The headstone features a relief portrait of him. Louise Gætje continued the family's bakery after her husband's death. She had already prior to his death been strongly engaged in its management as he got still more involved in organisation work. The bakery was after her own death continued by their foster daughter Kate Zuelzer.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gætje, Valdemar Danish bakers 20th-century Copenhagen City Council members Businesspeople from Copenhagen Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Burials at Assistens Cemetery (Copenhagen) 1805 births 1905 deaths 19th-century Copenhagen City Council members