Købmagerhus

Købmagerhus is a commercial building situated at the corner of the shopping street Købmagergade and Silkegade in central Copenhagen, Denmark, built in 1898 to a Jugend style design by Chr. Hansen. A plaque on the facade commemorates that Niels Steensen was born on the site. Café de Grandeville, a café with live music, was originally located on the ground floor of the building. Its former premises were later converted into a cinema, Højbro Teatret, with just 251 seats, An earlier building on the site was built in 1731 for court jeweller Frederich Fabricius. It was later passed to his son and grandson, Christopher and Frederik Fabricius, both of whom also served as court jewellers. Copenhagen's first gentlemen's club, referred to variously as Fabricius' Club and "the club on Købmagergade", was based in the building.

18th century
Back in the 17th century, the site was made up of two smaller properties. The larger corner property was listed in Copenhagen's first cadastre from 1689 as No. 21 in Købmager Quarter, owned by merchant Edward Holst. Holst had actually already died back in 1868. The real owner was wine merchant Henrik Worner. The property was known as "Hiordten" ("The Deer", old spelling). On 12 July 1697, it was sold by auction to generalkommissariatsskriver Hans Seidelin. On 11 June 1698 he ceded it to innkeeper Johan Flechenberg.

The other property was listed in Copenhagen's first cadastre from 1689 as No. 22, owned by Marcus Giøe (Høye) til Brahesborg. On 10 July 1686, he had bought it from Jørgen Bøfke. On 11 March 1696, it was acquired by merchant Engelbrekt Westken. Before 11 June 1722, it was acquired by goldsmith Frederich Fabricius (1683-1753).

Fabricius family
The two properties (No. 21 and No. 22) were both destroyed in the Copenhagen Fire of 1728. After the fire, Fabricius bought the corner property and merged it with his old one. The new building complex on the site was completed in 1731.

The property was listed in the new cadastre of 1756 as No. 20 in Købmager Quarter. It was at that time owned by his widow Ursula Christiana Fabricius (née Linde, 1691–1789).

The property was later passed to Fabricius' son Christopher Fabritius (1710-1787). He was married to Gundel Mette Kristine Berntz (1714-1807), daughter of textile merchant and councilman David Johan Berntz and Anne Elisabeth Børgesdatter.

Fabricius' property hosted Copenhagen's first gentlemen's club, variously referred to as "the club on Købmagergade" and "Fabricius' Club". The club originated in Johannes Rwald's circle at Madame Nørgaard coffee shop on Badstuestræde. They initially met in a room above the coffee shop but later relocated to larger premises in Fabricius' building at the corner of Købmagergade and Silkegade. Early members included the brothers e Rosenstand-Goiske, E. Falsen, E. Horn, I. M. Sehønheyder and W. Abrahamson.

Christopher Fabricius died on 23 January 1787. The property was home to 43 residents in five households at the 1787 census (1 November). Gundel Fabritius resided in the building with her sister F. Horsman, her sister's six-year-old grandson August von Horsman, her own 21-year-old granddaughter Ellen Ch. Raun, her lodger Catharina Hansen	(chamber maid at the king's court),a male servant, a coachman and three maids. Friederich Fabritius resided in another apartment with his wife Cathrine Marie Bruun, their six children (aged two to 10), their lodger Johan Philip Schrader, three jewellers(employees), three apprentices and three maids. Lars Nielsen, a stableman, resided in the building with his wife Chirsten Hansdatter, their 21-year-old son (brick-layer) and one lodger (coachman). Friederich Schou, a club host, resided in the building with his wife Christiane Sophie Schou, their two children (aged one), one male servant and two maids. Jens Jensen, a grocer (høker), resided in the basement with his wife Gestin Nielsdatter, their 21-year-old son and one maid.

Fabricius property was again destroyed in the Copenhagen Fire of 1795. A large new building complex was subsequently constructed on the site. The property was home to 48 residents at the 1801 census. Friderich Fabritius	resided in the building with his wife Cathrine Marie Bruun, their eight children (aged four to 21), his mother, a jeweller, a jeweller's apprentice, three maids and a caretaker. Lars Hansen, a master saddler, resided in the building with his wife Elisabeth Hansen, their eight-year-old son, three saddlers (employees), two saddler's apprentices and one maid. Knud Larsen Westergaard, a grocer/butcher (spækhøker), resided in the basement with his wife Kirstine Hansdatter, an employee and a maid. Christian Hansen, a baker, resided in the building with his wife Maren (midwife) and their 16-year-old daughter. Lars Jørgensen, a new club host, resided in the building with his wife Magdalene Jørgensen, their one-year-old daughter, a four-year-old foster daughter and three maids. Johan Friderich Marot. a marqeur, resided in the building with his wife Ane Marot, their four children (aged eight to 15) and two stablemen.

In the new cadastre of 1806, the property was listed as No. 17 in Klædebo Quarter. It was at the time owned by one "General War Commissioner Graae". Fabritius' daughter. Anne (Ane) Elisabeth Fabritius (1741-1725) was married to General War Commissioner Jacob Gregorius Graah (1721-1790= but since he had been dead for 16 years it is unclear it can refer to him (his widow). One source mentions that the property remained in the family's ownership until 1810, but without mentioning who the new owner was or who the last owner in the family was.

Residents, 1740–1898
The property was home to 54 residents at the 1840 census. Most of the residents were retailers or craftsmen. Carl Wium Wistrup (1801-1869), a silk and textile merchant, resided in the basement with his wife Jensine Steffine Christiane Wistrup (née Heegaard, 1807–1851), their five children (aged one to nine), two drapers (employees) and three apprentices. Henriette and Mine Meyer (sisters), two fashion retailers, resided on the ground floor with one maid. Christian Hjorth Jun, a needlemaker, resided on the ground floor towards Købmagergade with two needlemakers and a 20-year-old female floor clerk. Jørgen Hansen. a shoemaker, resided on the ground floor (on Silkegade) with his wife Marie Hansen, their four children (aged three to 13) and one maid. C. Christensen, a master tailor, resided on the first floor on Silkegade with his wife C. F. Hoffgaard, two apprentices and the lodger A.F. Bergsøe (lawyer). Madame Wilhel. Levison, a 56-year-old widow with means, resided on the second floor with three of her children and the lodger B. Glorfeldt. Mads Peter Fonnebæk, a flour merchant, resided in the basement and on the first floor towards Silkegade with his wife 	Antonette Nicoline Fonnebæk, one male servant, one maid and the actors Frederik Ferdinand Weinicke and Henriette Logen Weinicke. H. Jensen. a man letting out horses, resided on the ground floor of the rear wing with the coachman Jens Arnekilde, two other men and a housekeeper.

The property was home to 128 residents in 20 households at the 1850 census. Carl Graah and Ludvig Hjort Gad, two silk and textile merchants, resided on the ground floor with two apprentices. It is not clear weather Graah was related to the 1806 owner. Back in 1845, he had worked for silk and textile merchant Carl Wium Wistrup (cf. the 1840 census). He was the son of pastor Knud Graah in Slots Bjergby Knud Graah. His elder brother Knud Graah was a successful industrialist in Norway. Julius Nissen, a meteorological instrument maker, resided on the ground floor with his wife Marie Müller, their two children (aged one and three), an instrument maker (employee), three apprentices, a maid and a nanny. Hans Peter Clausen, a bookseller and "galantry items" retailer, resided on the ground floor with his wife 	Betty Clausen and one maid. The bookseller Jørgen Hansen and his wife Marie Hansen still resided on the ground floor with their two children (aged five and 13) and one maid. Jacob Lazarus David, a wholesaler (grosserer), resided on the first floor with his wife Sadanna David and a maid. Christian Christensen, a master tailor, resided on the same floor with his wife Cesilie Ethlie Christensen, their three children (aged zero to two) and two maids. Egisto Ricci. director of the Italian opera, resided on the same floor with his wife Amalia Ricci, their two children (aged one and two), a 26-year-old cousin and two maids. Ludvig Meyer Trier (1815-1884, son of Meyer Seligmann Salomon Trier), another silk and textile merchant, resided on the second floor with his wife Cecilie Trier (née Melchior, 1819–1891; daughter of Gerson Moses Melchior), their infant son Johannes Meyer Trier, a draper (employee), a draper's apprentice, one male servant, one maid and a wet nurse. August Heinisch, a wine merchant, resided in the basement with a wine merchant (employee) and a male servant. Ludvig Ipsen, a schoolmaster, resided on the second floor (on Silkegade) with his wife Valborg Ipsen (née Bøgh), their four youngest children (aged one to 11; one ofn the sons was the later architect and artist  Ludvig Sandöe Ipsen), his mother-in-law Andrea Eleonora Bögh (née Terbøll), his sister-in-law 	Andrea Benedicte Bögh, five lodgers (one of them a pupil), one male servant and two maids. Johanne Amalie Magnus and Bolette Magnus, were also operating a small private school in their home in the building. They loved there with a married couple named Petersen (bookkeeper and wife) and a maid. Hans Hansen, a silk dyer, resided on the ground floor of the rear wing with his wife Anna Marie Hansen, their six children (aged one to 22, the eldest son a dyer), a duer (employee), a male servant, a wet nurse and a maid. The other residents included a string merchant, a theologian, a porcelain merchant, a master coppersmith, a coachman. a master tailor and a master turner.

The actress [[Julie Sødring[[mentions the Magnus sisters in her memoirs. Leo Swane, who attended the "Magnus Sisters' school on Silkegade" from the age of five until he was eight, has also described his not very fond memories of it in his memoirs (published as Blade af en Familie-Krønnike, Memoirer og Breve, 1922),

"The first two days went well, but then it became serious, and the fourth day Niels had to carry me there. I remember strugglingwith Arms and legs down ]]Kronprinsessegade]] and Møntergade — and rightly so, for it was no merry school. In one room to the street reigned Bolette, tall and lean, with a gusty, cow-paired face, on which there never came any smile. In the other room sat Hanne (Johanne), small, round, good-natured, with red cheeks, but — with her spit mug in front of her, which she diligently used. The only encouraging thing in this room was the view of a sjed roof at the back house, where rats had a shelter.|undefined"

The property was home to 78 residents in 17 households at the 1860 census. Carl Graah. Ludvig Trier and August J. Heinisch were still among the residents. Ludvig and Cecilie Trier were now the parents of five children, including the later journalist and, translator and social democratic politician Gerson Trier (born 1851). Isak Abraham Berendt, another clothing wholesaler and first lieutenant in the Civilian Guard, resided in the building with his wife 	Mathilde Berendt (née Lønenstein) and a maid. Hans Peter Clausen, a bookseller, resided in the building with his housekeeper Anna Katrine Schimann, a maid and a lodger. Thomas Bang, a master joiner, resided in the building with his wife Gertrude Bang (née Scmytz), their two children (aged six and eight), a male servant, a maid and two apprentices. Four of Lewin Jürgen Rohde's children including the nav al officer Levin George Rohd), resided in the building with two women in their 30s. Their father had died as harbour master on Saint Thomas in the Danish West Indies in 1857. Ste Thorsteinson, a Master of Philosophy, resided in the building with his wife Lydia Thorsteinson, architect A. Nielsen and the woman W. Lütken. The other residents included a string merchant, a porcelain merchant, teo master shoemakers,  a klein smith, a woodcarver, and a widow employed with needlework.

Carl Graah's home and clothing shop were both located in the building until the first half of the 1880s.

Carl Schjönnin's clothing shop was also blocated on the ground floor of the building.

Købmagerhus, 1898–present
In the 1789s, Jæbmagergade saw the construction of a number of new commercial buildings, aimed at transforming the street into a modern shopping street. The present building on the site was constructed in 1898 as part of this development. It was designed by the architect Christian Hansen., with inspiration from the Jugend style movement, locally known as Skønvirke.

Café de Grandeville was located on the ground floor of the building. Its former premises were later converted into a cinema, Højbro Teatret, with just 251 seats, by Axel August Edvard Jacobsen og opera singer Johannes Fønss. The cinema was inaugurated on 16 March 1923. In October 1928, Fønss and Jaobsen took over Carlton-Biografen on Vestergade. The Gøjbro Teatret license was subsequently transferred to Barnets Hus. In 1031, Barnets Hus opened the much larger Palæteatret in the former Freemasons' Lodge Hall on Klerkegade. Højbro Teatret closed on 1 April 1931. The premises were subsequently converted into a restaurant.

Hans Munk Hansen was charged with a comprehensive renovation of the building.

Architecture
Jøbmagerhus is a four-storey corner building, with a six-bay-long facade on Købmagergade, a 13-bay-long facade on Silkegade and a chamfered corner bay.The corner bay is crowned by a gabled wall dormer and a tall roof lantern.The facade on Købmagergade is crowned by a demi-circular wall dormer. The facade is on the first floor decorated with painted foliage ornamentation between the tall windows. A plaque on the side that faces Silkegade commemorates that Niels Steensen was born on the site.

Today
As of 2008, Købmagerhus belonged to Hafnia Property Holding A/S.

Rxternal links

 * Favricius' Klub
 * Fabricius
 * Fabricius
 * Ludvig Ipsen
 * Carl Graah
 * Carl Graah
 * Carl Graah at geni.com