| Architecture
| | The architecture of the Sound region from past to present is, naturally marked by the European architecture, but often with a distinctive Nordic characteristic.
Via the text icon a mini guide to the whole period appears. In the left menu you will find elaborations and perspectives.
You return to the mini guide when You click on the title of the theme. |
Architecture is about the art of building. The different styles in history are thus part of the art history. This is why art history concepts are often used, when we talk about architecture. This survey is an attempt to show some of the characteristics of the styles of building in the different eras.
In the left menu you will find detailed explanations with examples from the cultural heritage of the Sound region.
Dolmens and Passage Graves
The dolmens and passage graves are probably the oldest architecture of the Sound region. The stone dolmens are the oldest and they are built around 3000 BC. I.e. a few hundred years before the Egyptian pyramids.
The stone dolmens were built from large stone blocks and originally they were covered by a round or long eath mound. A younger form of grave is the passage graves, which are larger than the dolmens; a long passage leads into a chamber, whose longitude axis across the passage. Often the chamber is so long that large cover stones have been laid side by side to form the ceiling.
The Gantofte dolmen | 
The Passage Grave in Gillhög |
The Building Style of the Viking Age
From the late Viking Age finds have been made, which makes it possible to reconstruct living quarters, the so-called long houses. Typical of these were that they had roof supporting rafters, which went all the way to the ground. The monumental Trelleborg castles were placed behind round ramparts and the adjacent buildings were placed in symmetrical patterns. Several Trelleborg castles have been found in the Sound region. It has also been possible to form an impression as to how the heathen temples looked.
Reconstruction of Fyrkat | 
Trelleborg´s rampart | 
The Uppåkra Temple |
Romanesque Building Style
The Romanesque building style was the first style, which was spread all over Europe. It came to the North around the year 1000 in connection with the extensive church buildings. There are of course distinctions between how the style appears in a small village church and a cathedral, but there are a number of common characteristics: massive, thick walls, relatively small round arched windows, round vaults and the clear division of long houses, choir and apse. In the Spound region the cathedral in Lund is the most brilliant example of a Romanesque cathedral.
Vä Church | 
Roman Ground Plan | 
Lund´s Cathedral |
Gothic Architecture
The progress of the engineering made it possible to construct higher and statelier buildings. The changes could be seen in the southern and central Europe and reached the North in the 14th century. Pillars and supporting arches allowed more elegant buildings with the pointed vaults and windows is the typical Gothic characteristic.
The larger churches often had a pillar passage around the whole church and even behind the altar. Petri Church in Malmo is built in Gothic style, while Helsingborg´s Church of St. Mary and Elsinore´s Church of St. Mary are examples of Baltic Gothic style.
The Buttresses of the St. Mary Church | 
S:t Mary´s Church in Elsinore |
The Renaissance
With the building style of the Renaissance came a great change. Not only in building style, but also in relation to the building owner. It was no longer the church, but Princes and rich merchants, who had their own palaces built. The vertical ambition was left behind and the proportions of Antiquity were sought. For example by using the golden section.
The buildings of the Renaissance show great variation and the finest example of Nordic renaissance building is absolutely the Kronborg Castle.
But there are many examples of the building style of the Renaissance in the many manors built by the nobility and in the town houses of the ruling classes.
Kronborg | 
Rosendal | 
Glimmingehus | 
Tolder David Hansens Gård |
The Style of Christian 4.
During the renaissance of the 17th century a special building style was developed in the Sound region, the style of Christian 4. The style is characterized in the choice of materials, which are tiles and in the markings between the storeys, which are sand stone bands. The Trinity Church in Kristianstad and Frederiksborg Castle are typical examples.
Frederiksborg Castle | 
The Summer House at Frederiksborg | 
The Trinity Church in Kristianstad |
The Baroque
The Baroque is not very well represented in the Sound region. The Baroque can be seen as a more bombastic form of the Renaissance, where more marked features and contrasts was to clarify the power. To see a good example of this you must go to Sweden, where Kalmar cathedral is a fine example.
In the Sound region, however, there are some examples of the Baroque. For example Kronborg Castle, Fredensborg Castle, a few kilometre outside Elsinore. The inspiration is most clear in the symmetry of the buildings and the dominating dome of the main building. But it lacks the depth and the contrast in the ornaments of the front, which is typical of the bombastic Baroque style.
Kalmar Cathedral | 
Baroque at Kronborg | 
Fredensborgs castle | 
Baroque House in Elsinore |
Rococo
Rococo, or late Baroque, is a later development of the Renaissance, but now with twisted snail formations in the facade ornaments. However, in the North you won´t find a multitude of imaginative decorations as in France. Another typical feature is the abrupt roofs, frontons and portals.
In the Sound region you can find examples of the style in Landskrona, Elsinore and Copenhagen.
The Mayor´s House in Landskrona | 
Sugar Refinery in Elsinore |
Historicism
By the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, it became fashionable to imitate the architecture of Antiquity and the Middle Ages. It was not a matter of inspiration but pure imitation. In Copenhagen the Church of Our Lady is an example of neo classicistic style with a direct imitation of the temple building of Antiquity.
Population development and urbanization in the latter part of the 19th century created a building boom in the large cities, where the architects were allowed to experiment with historicism in all the new buildings. Especially in the most expansive cities, Helsingborg, Malmo and Copenhagen. Touches of neo classicism, neo romanticism and neo gothic are quite pronounced in these cities. The styles were mixed with the so-called Viking style and that led to the architectural concept “National Romanticism”, which is quite hard to define.
The Town Hall in Helsingborg | 
The Terrace in Helsingborg | 
Oversæt | 
Viking Style | 
Summer House in Hornbæk |
Art Nouveau
A clear end to the interest for the historic styles can be seen in Art Nouveau, which spread around the 20th century. Rounder lines and new soft façade ornaments, where the possibilities of the concrete were used, became the ideal for some of the houses of the ruling class..
In Helsingborg you can see a large well-preserved villa area in the Art Nouveau style in the area Olympia.
The Art Nouveau District in Helsingborg | 
The Art Nouveau District in Helsingborg |
The Garden City
Around the nineteen-hundreds experiments were established everywhere in Europe constructing residential areas around the metropoles. The so-called garden cities.
The background for this was the industrialisation in the eighteen-hundreds, when the cities gradually developed into disease provoking places. In Elsinore they were inspired by the English far-seeing architects and built Hamlets Vænge and The negro Village outside the town centre of the old medieval town. Quality buildings which still exist.
Hamlet,s Vænge | 
Poul Holsøe
(1873-1965) | 
House in the Negro Village | 
Karl Zandersen
(1889-1973) |
Translate |
Functionalism
A house must function! That became the ideal of the so-called Functionalism. Clean and smooth facades, large windows, everything hygienic, became the ideal of the 1930´s. The building style dominated almost all forms of buildings from summer cottages to municipal institutions like concert houses, sports centres, airports and the most popular houses of the times, the so-called bungalows.
In the Sound region there are many examples of the building style of the Functionalism, where famous architects like Marcelius and Arne Jacobsen are represented.
The style has been die hard, but has been modified gradually.
Early Functionalism | 
The Concert House in Helsingborg | 
Arne Jacobsens Bellavista | 
Hornbæk Seaside Hotel | 
Bungalow in Snekkersten |
Dolmens and Passage Graves
| | The Gantofte dolmen outside Helsingborg is an impressive example of the earliest architecture from the Stone Age. |
Summary
This period in our Nordic past covers 4.000 BC until 1.800 BC.
It is characteristic that agriculture spread and the population thus became more settled than before. This also changed the way people lived together. The tools, the flint axes, changed and new ways of storage became necessary, for example pottery. Instead of a population, which mainly lived off hunting and fishing, it was now the crops from the increasing agriculture, which became principal basis of existence. This is also why the period is called The Peasant Stone Age.
The Peasant Stone Age is normally divided into three periods referred to by the archaeologists as:
Eolithic
Paleolithic
Neolithic
The Megalith Graves
The burial customs of the period means that there are still distinct traces in the cultural landscape of the Sound region after these early and enterprising peasants in the form of large stone graves. The so-called dolmen and passage graves. They are commonly called megaliths
In current Denmark we know about 6000 dolmen and 700 passage graves, but it is often only remnants, which can be seen.
Calculations estimate that there have been 20-25.000 of these megaliths in the period 3.500-3.200 BC. (See Odense Museum) A very interesting social historical phenomenon.
Traditionally the dolmens are dated the Eolithic period and the passage graves to the Paleolithic period, but the two megaliths are inextricably linked.
The large stone graves were for several hundred years used as single graves (chieftains?) and later as the common burial ground for the local area.Viking Age
| | In Uppåkra, south of Lund, a complete temple from pagan times has been excavated. The find is unique. The temple was not particularly big , just 13 metres long and 6,5 metres wide. |
The Settlements
Through many archaeological excavations in the Scanian villages along the Sound, we have been able to determine that most of the medieval villages date back to the end of the Viking Age, i.e. the end of the 10th century – beginning of the 11th century. The same pattern is evident in many places in the rest of Denmark. The explanation must be that a strong central government took over at this time and introduced a new organisation, which covered the then important villages. It is probably not wrong to note that the beginning of this restructuring began through Harald Bluetooth´s conquest of the Sound region, in all probability in the end of the 970´s.
In earlier times the settlements were scattered in the landscape, but now all farms were placed close to each other in so-called “town streets”. From the Malmo-area there are many examples of so-called pit houses. Characteristically they are 4x5 meter in size with a roof post in every house end and was dug approximately 1 meter into the ground. These pit houses are often seen far from the settlements in the “town streets”, despite the fact that they are contemporary with these.
An example of a farm in a town street from the 11th century is the large long house, which was found in Tygelsjö village just south of Malmo. Usually the long house faced east. Heavy post holes show that the walls were plank walls; the house had a width of six meters and a length no less than 30 meters. Angle dug post holes outside the walls show that the roof´s rafters went down in the ground. The pitch makes 8 metres of roof height probable.
In Lockarp, another of the villages in the present Malmo, a whole magnate farm from the 11th century has been excavated. North was the large hall building with bow shaped long walls. South of his four houses form a group in an open square with large living quarters in the south. In the middle of the square there was a building with a smaller part jutting out towards the east, probably a wooden chapel. In all probability the archaeologists have found the first magnate farm in the new town, which was created on the place a thousand years ago. This is the oldest mission time and you may ask yourself why the graves are missing. Perhaps they had already built a church farther away; perhaps they did not bury the Christian way as we know it. We don´t really know.
Long House | 
Reconstruction | 
Excavation | 
Interpretation |
Trelleborg Fortresses in General
In Denmark there are remnants of the four so-called ” trelleborg fortresses”. The fortresses have had a very uniform and strictly geometrical structure. The fortress type had a circular rampart with gates facing the four corners of the world. Two crossing roads have gone through the fortress and the uniform long houses are grouped in four-winged yard formations along the main roads. Close to the gates there was a church.
Earlier they thought that these fortresses had been built by the Viking King Sweyn Forkbeard and had functioned as training camps for the forces, which were sent to England. However, by way of year ring dating we have been able to prove that the fortresses have entered into the unification of the kingdom, which Sweyn Forkbeard´s father Harald Bluetooth carried through in the 970´s.
The best preserved ring fortress is Trelleborg in Zealand. 16 long houses have been found inside the ramparts and 15 in fan-shape just outside. 157 Christian graves have been found outside one of the gates and mark the place of the wooden church. Year ring dating shows that the fortress has been built around the years 975-978.
In Funen there was a trelleborg fortress in Odense. All traces above the ground has disappeared now entirely. However, excavations have been made in the moat outside the fortress. A piece of wood has been dated to just after 980. There is a church close to the fortress.
The ring fortress Fyrkatis situated app. 70 kilometres north of Aarhus in Northern Jutland. 16 long houses have formed four groups of farms inside the ramparts. Via year ring dating the time of the construction established to the middle or the end of the 970`s. Remnants of a church outside of the ramparts have not been found, and there have been any archaeological excavations in the area.
Aggersborg at the north coast of Limfjorden is the larges of all the trelleborg fortresses. The diameter is an impressive 240 metres. Inside the ramparts there were no less than 48 long houses in 12 large, square groups. Just outside the northern gate the stone church from the early Middle Ages remains. It substituted the wooden church, which must have been built here by Harald Bluetooth.
Trelleborg | 
Reconstruction Slagelse | 
Fyrkat |
Reconstruction of Fyrkat | 
The Design of the Trelleborgs |
Trelleborg
In the middle of the medieval town Trelleborg at Scania´s south coast well-preserved remnants of the trelleborg fortress, which gave the present town its name, has been found. The lower parts of the ramparts and the dry moats, which are situated outside the ramparts, could be seen along the western quadrant, while smaller excavations towards east and south revealed the total size.
Contrary to the Danish fortresses, Trelleborg´s fortress has not been circular, but the deviance from the circular shape is minimal. Another special feature is, that they haven´t found upright holes from building activity inside the fortress area. As the rampart has been added later, there must have been long houses there. Very likely they have been of a type, which do not leave any traces, for instance because the walls have rested on a wooden foundation above ground.
A no wooden objects have been preserved; it has not been possible to make a year ring dating. However, with the so-called C14 technology the time has been established to be around the 970`s.
Trelleborg in Scania |
Trelleborg´s rampart. |
The Asa temple in Uppåkra
In Uppåkra just south of Lund we have found and excavated a complete temple building from pagan times. The find is completely unique. The temple was not very big, only 13 metres long and 6.5 metres wide. It had faintly curved long walls of rough, vertical oak planks, or ”sticks”, which had been dug down in a groove in the ground more than a metre deep. The middle part of the building, which were separated from the outer walls, consisted of four enormous wooden posts. The holes in these are unusually large and the depth is remarkable – more than 2 metres. The archaeologists found at least three different floor levels, which signifies that the temple had been rebuilt several times during its existence. From the building, perhaps as early as the 5th and 6th century to the Viking Age.
The building had three entrances, two to the south and one facing north. Each opening was framed by strong side posts and the south western opening had an advanced part. There is no doubt that this was the main entrance of the temple.
Valuable Finds
In the wall grooves and the post holes several hundreds gold coins were found. These paper thin, very small, gold pieces are believed to have been used as sacrificial gifts. Each one was struck with motives representing men or women. The fact that they were found in such a large number in the post holes and wall planks in the Uppåkra temple, indicates that these magnificent coins were sacrificed in connection with the building of the temple.
In the Uppåkra temple two fantastic finds have been made. Just next to the fireplace, which is placed in centrally in the building, they have dug down a bronze cup and a glass bowl. This was probably done in the 7th century. The roughly 20 centimetres tall cup is decorated with a band of thin gold pieces, which is struck with pictures. There are no cups like it and it may be made on the spot. The glass bowl is from the area north of the Black Sea and is dated to the 6th century.
In connection with the temple building in Uppåkra sacrifices to the gods have been made. Many lance and spearheads have been found near the temple south as well as north of the building. Several of them have been deliberately destroyed by bending and twisting the points. Noth of the temple there was a heap of destroyed weapons. Here they also found remnants of a magnificent helmet and plates for shields. The sacrifices may be in connection with the god, Oden, who was the war god. A small bronze figurine from Uppåkra represents a man with a horn clad helmet. The figurine only has one eye. This may signify that the figurine represents Odin, which is consistent with the weapons sacrificed in the area.
A Reconstructed Temple
The building archaeologist Sven Rosborn at Fotevikens museum recreated the temple in 2004. The enormous dimensions of the post holes and the plank wall construction and the fact that the whole building was excavated, makes it rather easy to calculate the probable size. As the four post holes in the middle of the building had enormous proportions and the post holes were so deeply embedded in the ground, the reason can only be that the post have formed a tall middle tower, which has towered above the rest of the building. A later reconstruction has been made by archaeologists in Lund, but that does not take into consideration the differences in the archaeological material and must thus be an improbable model, which is not based on what the available source material actually says about the construction.
The Uppåkra Temple | 
The Post Holes of the Uppåkra Temple | 
The Sacrifical Finds of the Uppåkra Temple | 
The Interior of the Temple |
Romanesque Style
| | The cathedral in Lund, which was inaugurated in the beginning of the 12th century is an example of Roman architecture on a large scale.
The apse seen here is among the most well-preserved parts of the church |
Lund´s Cathedral
Knud the Holy did not have a good relationship with the magnates, but his ambition was to strengthen the royal power with the power of the church. In his time Lund´s first stone church was built (1083). It was called Knud the Holy´s Cathedral, as the king had donated the field, on which the church was built. In 1085 he once again donated a gift to the Episcopal residence in Lund. It was several properties on both sides of the Sound. In addition the Lund cathedral was to receive tax money from the city of Lund, but also from the towns Lomma and Helsingborg.
The background for this was that the Danish towns paid a property tax to the king as the king owned the land that the cities were built on. The tax was called Midsummer tax. It was parts of this tax that Knud the Holy donated to the cathedral in Lund. This is noted in Knud the Holy´s donation latter from May 21st 1085. (The donation letter is quoted in Lund´s Cathedral´s first obituary, memory book from the middle of the 12th century). As the Midsummer tax only was paid by towns it is clear that Lund, Lomma and Helsingborg was founded before May 21st 1085 and that these three were the first towns in Scania.
In 1089 Lund had a new archbishop, Asser and in his time Lund became the episcopal set for all the North. This happened in 1103 and after this the building of Lund´s new cathedral was begun. It was built in the same place as Knud the Holy´s cathedral, but was to have dimensions, which was proper for a large archbishopric. (Lund was archbishopric for the North until 1152, when Norway had its own organisation while Sweden was released from Lund´s archbishopric in 1164 and after that Lund´s Cathedral was solely a Danish cathedral). To carry out this important building, the architect Donatus, who was probably of Lombardic origin, was called in. The high altar was inaugurated in 1123 and the church was finished in 1145. The church room is considered by many as one of the most beautiful in the Roman art.
Lund in the 16th Century | 
Lund Domkirke | 
St. Laurentius | 
Astronomical Clock | 
Gospel Script |
The Archbishop
In 1089 Lund had a new archbishop, Asser and in his time Lund became the episcopal set for all the North. This happened in 1103 and after this the building of Lund´s new cathedral was started.
The Builder
As the builder of the impressive prestige building the Lombardi architect, Donatus, was summoned. The church room is considered by many to be among the most outstanding in the Roman church art. And the rough restoration in the 19th century is deplored by many. Characteristic of the Lombardi inspired art is the extensive use of decorative elements on portal figures.
Italian Influence (the south portal) | 
The South Portal | 
Lund | 
The Crypt | 
The Troll, Finn |
Building the Churches
We may have difficulties imagining the vast investment, which was needed to build the churches. In the early Middle Ages more than 2500 churches were built in the Danish area. This testifies to the strong grip the Christian church had on the population.
Building Material
In the beginning the churches were built of wood, the so-called stave churches, but from the middle of the 11th century they began to build stone churches.
The building material in the Sound region was usually limestone, which was cut to a cube form. This almost square stone was called ashlar. (The oldest preserved stone church in the North is Dalby Church outside Lund).
Sometimes the ashlar was supplemented with other stones from fields. (Example of such a mixture of building materials can be seen in the southern wall of Tveje Merløse Church).
In the 12th century it became more common with tile and early examples of the the use of tile are Gumlösa Church in Scania and Tikøb Church in Zealand.
Vä Church | 
Tveje Merløse Church | 
Bjernede Church | 
Bjernede Kirke |
Round Churches
There are examples of special kinds of ground solutions for the medieval churches. The round churches, which are typical of Bornholm, are special. In Helsingborg the Michael Chapel at the castle a round church and in Zealand Bjernede Church is the only example.
Østerlars Church | 
Portal | 
Nylars-Cross | 
Nylars Church | 
Portal Nylars Church |
Ground Plan
Most churches had a simple ground plan. One big room was for the parishioners. This room was called the aisle or the nave. This room was extended with the choir, which ended in an apse, where the altar was placed. The aisle and the choir was often bounded with a vault, the so-called triumphal arch.
The big churches in Dalby and Lund had a much more sophisticated ground plan. The nave or the aisle in these churches looked like the Roman basilica, which meant that the aisle had three naves, of which the one in the middle was elevated and let the light in. In these churches there were also crypts and Lund´s Cathedral was given the form of a Latin cross.
Roman Ground Plan |
Lund´s Cathedral |
Magnate Churches
The magnate churches differed from the ordinary churches. The often had twin towers and a gallery for the prominent.
Tveje Merløse Church | 
Fjenneslev´s church | 
Aakirkeby Church |
Gothic Style
| | Our Lady Monastery in Elsinore was built during the second half of the 15th century. It is very well preserved and is thus unique in Europe. It is a fine example of the Baltic Gothic. |
Architecture
The Our Lady Monastery in Elsinore is unusually well preserved. It was built and rebuilt in the latter half of the 15th century.
Oversæt |
The Ground Plan
The ground plan was typical for the monastery buildings of southern Europe. The different wings in the almost square building had different functions. The economy department with cooking facilities was in the north wing and the monastery church (The Mary Church) in the south. Inside is a roofed cloister, which goes all the way round the square inner yard.
Ground Plan | 
Administration | 
The Karmelite Monastery | 
The Cloisters | 
The Frater Hall |
Baltic Gothic
The building material is brick, which is typical of the north European or Baltic Gothic. The three naves in the church are also typical of the north European style, where the middle nave does not let in the light. This half basilica style testifies to the influence of the Wend Hanseatic towns and is also present in the Mary Church in Helsingborg, which was built at the same time as the Our Lady Monastery.
Gothic pointed arches can be seen everywhere in doors, windows, house ends and in the cloister. The ends of the church are a display of brick Gothic’s architecture. The east and west end have stair formed edges with four vertical dims on each side of the 11 metres tall middle window. Above this window and above the side windows there are broader dimmers with varying patterns (circular, pear shaped and pointed arches).
Inside the monastery the gothic vaults and columns are richly varied. Most common are the simple cross vaults, which are in the church and in the cloister, but in the chapter hall (Laxmand hall) there are sophisticated net vaults with inlaid symbols and coat of arms. Some ornaments, done by the sculptor Adam van Düren, are in the chapter hall. He built Glimmingehus and he also restored Lund´s Cathedral. With this artist we are brought nearer a new age and in the monastery there are many things, which testifies to the dawning age of the Renaissance. One example is the stone building opposite the entrance of the monastery church, and which was attached to the monastery from the start. The building is interesteing as it contains elements from the Gothic as well as the Renaissance. On the house end there are horizontal profile bands and vaulted sides, which are typical of the renaissance style.
The west house | 
The West House End | 
The West House End | 
The East House End |
The Monastery from the west |
The Chapter Hall
In the inner rooms of the monastery there is an abundant variation in Gothic vaults and pillars. The simple cross vault is predominant in the church and corridors, while the chapter hall or the Laxmand hall has sophisticated net vaults with engraved symbols and coats of arms.
Ornamental figures in the corners remind the noble karmelite monks of the temptations of earthly life. The originator of these figures and the other sandstone work is probably the sculptor and architect Adam van Düren, who also is in charge of the building of the late medieval castle Glimmingehus in Østerlen in Scania and later the restoration of Lund Cathedral.
The Laxmand Hall | 
Memento Mori | 
Madonna Figure |
Dawning Renaissance
Adam van Düren portends another age. The Karmelite monastery is a traditional medieval building, but many traits in the ornamentation point towards the dawning Renaissance.
Not only the monastery points toward a new age. Diagonally opposite the monastery church there is a stone building, which originally is associated with the activities of the monastery. When you walk around in the building you enter the Renaissance from the Middle Ages. On the western gable end, which faces St. Annægade, and represents a later addition you will see the horizontal profile bands, which is typical of the Renaissance. The northern gable facing the monastery complex is ornamented with the fluctuating gable ends typical of the Renaissance. These can also be found in mansions and royal castles later in time.
The Carmelite House | 
The Carmelite House, the north end |
The Church of St. Mary
The late medieval church is situated right in the centre of the old Helsingborg. In the Helsingborg of the 21th century it is not a dominating part of the town picture and can hardly be seen from the sea. It is actually a little difficult to see, but when you are standing in front of it, you have to admire the beauty of the thorough Gothic gilding style. If you go inside a great deal of Helsingborg´s late medieval church culture´s interior is preserved.
The Eastern Facade of the Church of St. Mary |
Gothic
The St. Mary Church was finished in 1410 after a long building period of about 100 years. It is built as a basilica and is almost a cathedral. The mid aisle is, like the great Gothic cathedrals in Europe, low and has no windows under the vault. The building style is often called half basilica or ”pseudo basilica”. The same characteristics can be seen on the other side of the Sound, where the Mary Church in Elsinore has the same architectural traits.
The Gothic characteristics are prominent, the pointed arched windows and the pointed vaults. This also can be seen in the gable doorsteps of the exterior and the external buttresses, which support the church.
The church replaced an earlier Roman sandstone church from the 12th century. And in comparison to the small houses of the time, it became a striking and dominant building in Helsingborg. There were other churches in town, but only Kärnan and the Nicolai Monastery were able to compete with the dominant St. Mary Church.
The Western Front of the Church of Saint Mary |
The Buttresses of the St. Mary Church | 
The Vault of the Church of Saint Mary | 
Helsingborg in the Year 1400 |
The Art Treasures of the Middle Ages
The font is from the 14th century and cut from Gotland limestone. Originally it was painted and scientific examinations point towards fragments of red and blue oil paint.
The altarpiece is in remarkable good condition. It is painted around the time of the church´s inauguration in the period 1449-1452. Probably by a master from Stralsund. In the centre of the piece the scene with Mary and the newborn Jesus dominates. The motifs around are from the life of Christ as it is described in the New Testament.
The altarpiece, which is designed as some sort of cupboard can be closed at certain periods in the church year. During Lent, for example. Here the viewer must do without the sculptures and contents himself with looking on the motifs from Christ´s last days. One of these scenes shows how Jesus drives the merchants from the temple. An interesting detail here is that the appearance of some of the coins in this motif can be located in Stralsund. One detail which makes it probable that the altarpiece have been made n this town.
The triumph crucifix in Gothic style is from the latest Middle Ages. It is interesting that the foot of the cross says 1753. But it only states the time when the crucifix was repainted/restored. This is further complicated by the fact that the cross itself is of a later date that the crucifix. The originator of the crucifix is unknown, but experts assume that it is made in the southern part of Scandinavia.
The original plaster, which covered the church walls has later been removed. The walls now appear as brick walls. However, there are still remnants of the old plaster behind the altar, where there are still fragments of the old murals. Among them the saints: S:t Magnus and Brandanus. The murals are from the 15th century and are done by the so-called: Helsingborgmester, (Helsingborgmaster), whose somewhat better preserved murals can be seen in Brunnby Church in the Kulla peninsula.
From the Middle Ages are also the so-called piscinan at the bottom in the choir wall.
The Altarpiece of the Church of Saint Mary | 
The closed altar cabinet | 
The merchants are driven from the temple | 
St. Mary´s Church´s Crucifix | 
The Font of the Church of St. Mary |
The Mural of the Church of St. Mary | 
The Picscina of the Church of St. Mary |
A New Day Dawning
The tower was not finished before 1500. I.e. by the beginning of the century which was not only to change the church organisation and dogmatism in the North, but also the Middle Ages as it was later called.
However, the medieval origin of St. Mary Church is still very pronounced. Despite the later modernizations with pulpit, organ and rows of benches. The church is, rightfully so, characterized as an example of what the Middle Ages can display when it comes to stylish architecture, capable constructions and amazing craftsmanship.The Renaissance
| | Tycho Brahe was a Renaissance man and of course he built a Renaissance castle. The small castle functioned as habitation, laboratory and as the demonstration of the ideal of the Renaissance |
Glimmingehus
Adam van Düren is responsible for several important buildings in the time of the transition from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. He renovated Lund´s Cathedral, but he was also the architect behind the Laxmand hall in the Our Lady monastery in Elsinore and he designed the late medieval castle Glimmingehus in Österlen in Scania. The builder was the vassal in Gotland and the later admiral Jens Holgersen Ulfstand.
The castle, which was built in 1499, was originally an outdated building. It could handle a local peasant rebellion, but no a siege with the new military device, the cannon. Perhaps the building was designed as a nostalgic memory of the Middle Ages and the romance of chivalry, based on the interest of the renaissance man´s interest for the past and the need to assert himself. This is evident from the interior of the castle, which consists of reliefs, which portrays the builder, and objects they had taken with them from Gotland.
Glimmingehus | 
Glimminge | 
Glimmingehus | 
Jens Holgersen Ulfstand | 
Kneels with his dog. |
Örup and Bollerup
Örup and Bollerup are other Scanian examples of late medieval buildings with one leg in the style of the renaissance. In Bollerup you can see, that the gothic decoration is just scenery. Scalding holes have changed into brick ups and have no defence function whatsoever.
Örup´s | 
Bollerup, Scania | 
Christ figure | 
Borgeby by Lödde River | 
Billehuset |
Castles and Manor Houses
The enormous income of the royal power and the aristocracy in the period was largely invested in prestigious renaissance buildings. Form the latter part of the 16th century the aristocracy started a massive building of manors, which even today marks the Scanian landscape. Approximately 150 of these buildings are still standing, while approximately 20 have disappeared.
The number of genuine renaissance manor houses was reduced in connection with the 19th century´s romantic restoration fad, but some buildings are fairly well preserved.
Building Chart |
Vittskövle, Skarhult, Torup
One early and very well preserved example is Vitskövle Castle in north western Scania, which is the largest castle building in Scania. It was built by the Brahe family in the 1550´s. Vittskövle castle still has some of the massive weight of the medieval castle. The castle is shut in by broad moats. In connection to the castle there is a chapel dedicated to the Brahe family.
Skarhult in Eslöv´s municipality in Scania also has a massive and well preserved castle. The building style with swung house ends points toward the renaissance.
Torup is a building with a medieval style (as Vitskövle)and was built 1537-50.
Vitskövle | 
Family Portrait in Vittskövle | 
Nobel Family | 
Skarhult | 
Torup |
Svenstorp and Rosendal
Svenstorp in Lund´s municipality was built in the so-called Christian IV-style. Typical of this style is the red tile in combination with horizontal bands and window casings in white sandstone. Svenstorp is not a fortress, more an opulent summer castle. The entrance portal is ascribed to Hans van Steenwinkel, who also worked with Kronborg.
Rosendal in Helsingborg is a very preserved rennaisance building.
Svendstorp |
Rosendal | 
Anders Bille |
Billehuset |
Zealandic Manors
In mid- and south Zealand which belonged to the nobility, as did Scania, there are a number of manors in the Renaissance style. Gisselfeld is also among the early manors, which was built in the time after the Count´s Feud. Is says 1547 on the main building, begun by Per Oxe and finished before his death in 1575.
Vallø close to Køge has certain similarities to Skarhult in Scania: Massive with the two towers five storeys high. The original building from 1580-86 the south wing with the two towers only had two storeys, but it was heightened around 1610.
Lystrup close to Fakse is an early example of Dutch Renaissance, and like Svenstorp in Scania red bricks in combination with white sandstone have been used. It s obviously a smaller castle, built for Eiler Grubbe in 1579. The many sandstone works may have been done by Hans Steenwinkel the older, who also worked in Kronborg.
Gisselfeld | 
Gavnø | 
Lystrup Castle |
Uraniborg in Ven
The renaissance prince Frederik II saw Tycho´s greatness and offered his support. February 18th 1567 he was awarded a yearly sum of 500 daler, a very large governmental support. The king had, during his inspections in the building site of Kronborg, come to think of the island Ven as a suitable place for Tychos activities. Tycho was offered the island on favourable terms, if it could prevent him from leaving Denmark. Tycho Brahe accepted.
A Symbolic Castle
The central part of the ground plan was made up of a square, which measured 60 feet, approximately 15,5 metres on every side. This square was divided by perpendicular corridors, which formed four smaller square rooms. The corridors also tied the central part with symmetrical extensions in the north and south and with symmetrical entrance portals in east and west.
The building consisted of two storeys, attic and basement. On the outside there were balconies, which were used for astronomical observations. The basement functioned as a chemical laboratory.
Astronomy and chemistry/medicine was the sciences he was to engage in and two statuette niches marked this over the entrance portals. Two short Latin inscriptions connected these allegorical works of art: Despiciendo suspicio och Suspiciendo despicio, which roughly means, ”When I look down, I look up” and ”When I look up, I look down”. The first maxim refers to the chemical experiments and the other undoubtedly on the astronomical observations. The deeper meaning is that chemistry and astronomy are connected.
Uranienborg | 
Ground plan |
The Architecture of Kronborg
In his work ”the History of Kronborg” from 1939 V. Wanscher sums up his art historic description of the castle during its different building stages:
When we are to determine Kronborg´s placing in art history, which we are better prepared than the old, we should stress that this castle is unique among the north European through its greatness and rhythmical idea. Kronborg unites the late Gothic architecture with the renaissance baroque.
The square shape was taken from the time of Erik of Pommern, but still it was not until much rebuilding that Kronborg could fill out and assert the shape.
Such are also the strict processing of the façades, especially the external with their strict walls and widely distributed square windows in the third storey, the watchman´s gallery, the dormer ends and the square corner tower, a heritage from the late Gothic architecture...”
Wanscher thus claims that Kronborg contains elements from three different styles, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque. The watchman´s gallery, which Wanscher mentions, was covered in the second building stage, but on the other side even the windows of the castle church in Gothic pointed arch style can be pointed out as another Gothic style element.
Inspiration
Wanscher mentions that the sandstone lining of the second stage, like the building of the east wing are elements, which endow the castle a more homogenous (cubic) character, perhaps inspired by southern palaces. The dominating styles in the external decoration of the castle are renaissance of the strongly decorative Flanders type, with decorated towers, gables, window casings and portals.
If you want to look for models out in the world, you will get lost. This is partly due to the fact that the master builders and the craftsmen had gone away from the uncertain relationships in the Netherlands (The Netherlands suffered under Spanish rule and grave conflicts was especially hard on the Protestants). The Danish king offered safe conditions and career opportunities in the north. Knowledge and competence was imported, but the building became unique and Kronborg had its own style and a unique placing.
The Interaction
The interaction between the towers and the gables are striking. It is typical of the Nordic renaissance, but the extensive decorative touches are also striking.
The east wing, the last to be built, is in its lower part designed with a so-called diamond or ashlar joint. This leads to the Italian renaissance, but once again with a very decorative stamp.
The portals are also numerous. Mercury and Hermes – probably a reference to the importance of the Sound duty, flank the main entrance. Originally this portal was meant for Skanderborg Castle, but it was moved to Kronborg.
Kronborg | 
The Main Portal, Kronborg | 
The Castle Yard | 
The castle church has gothic windows |
Renaissance Houses
The building of Kronborg was founded on a practical cooperation between the royal power, the town and many hired craftsmen, who lived in Elsinore. The activities surrounding the building, but even the increasing trade and the business brought in by the Sound duty, led to the increase of the population. This also led to a clear element of foreign inhabitants, for instance Germans, Dutchmen and Englishmen. This meant that new houses had to be built. Some of the houses had a direct connection to the work in Kronborg. This was the case with for instance the customs officer David Hansen’s house in Stengade 76, built in 1579.
Jörgen Kock built a stone house in Malmo around 1525 – an early example of the affluent resources of the upper classes. The house still has the staircase house ends of the Gothic, but the horizontal bands of sand stone and the decorations of the house end front anticipates the entry of the renaissance style.
Stengade 70 - 76 |
Stengade 76 | 
Hansen´s Epitaph | 
Strandgade | 
Malmo |
Kock´s House, Malmø |
Half-timbered Houses
Apart from stone houses there are many half-timbered houses in renaissance style. A beautiful example of this is mayor Iver Pedersen´s estate (from around 1600) o the corner of Stengade and Skyttenstræde.
Half-timbered houses in renaissance style are common in the entire Sound region and not least in Ystad, whose atmosphere is reminiscent of that of Elsinore.
Stengade-Skyttenstraede | 
Ystad | 
The Anchor |
The Style of Christian 4.
| | Frederiksborg Castle appears in Dutch Renaissance style.
The castle was built in the time of Frederik 2.s.
Christian 4. carried out an extensive restoration and left his own architectural stamp on the castle, the so-called Christian 4. style, where the characteristic mix of red brick and decorative sandstone mixes and frames is recognized from several royal and noble buildings of the age. |
The Capital
The king and thus also the state power and the administration became more resident i Copenhagen. Certainly the king at the same time extended his properties in North Zealand and he often stayed there, but he created connections to Copenhagen by building so-called King´s roads, so he could get quickly to and from the capital.
The navy and other and other armament activities played an important part in the capital. The naval dockyard was far and away the largest enterprise in the country.
Copenhagen 1587 | 
Copenhagen 1611 | 
The Expansive Copenhagen | 
Copenhagen 1674 | 
Holmen |
Copenhagen Outside the Stock Exchange | 
Copenhagen with the Stock Exchange | 
Rundetårn (The Round Tower) |
Rosenborg Castle
Another example is Rosenborg Castle, which was built in 1605-1634 with constant changes in the building plans. The castle developed into a mixture of intimate private residence and magnificent representation palace, where the king impressed his guests with clever music installations.
After the building of the castle plans are made for a systematic building of an adjoining garden layout. A sketch from the year 1649 exists, which shows a typical Renaissance layout with low, geometrical beds. In 1647 the first garden book, Horticultura Danica is published and there is information of ordered plants for the Rosenborg Garden.
Christian IV | 
Rosenborg | 
Rosenborg Garden | 
Horticultura1647 | 
Garden Work |
Grafting | 
Vine | 
The King´s Garden |
Frederiksborg Castle
He continued in his father´s steps and continued building in North Zealand, and began around 1600 a rebuilding of Frederiksborg Castle, so it had a more uniform look. The large castle was finished in 1626. If Kronborg appeared as a closed fortification, Frederiksborg Castle had a large open courtyard, where the fountain and the surrounding buildings gave a more open, more representative and modern impression.
But the castle had simultaneously lost its significance as a fortification and instead functioned as a magnificent frame for the royal power.
Like Frederik II built his summer castle near Kronborg, Christian IV built a house next to Frederiksborg Castle, which was called ”Sparepenge” and even ”The Bath”, where it was more comfortable and informal to stay.
Frederiksborg is built in Dutch renaissance with towers and spires with richly decorated house ends.
Frederiksborg Castle | 
Frederiksborg Castle | 
The Audience Gate | 
Iron Grating | 
FrdgSlot |
Renaessance Style
Frederiksborg is built in Dutch renaissance with towers and spires with richly decorated house ends.In the time of Christian IV the characteristic mixture of red bricks and decorative sandstone bands, which is seen on many of the royal and noble buildings of the time, was developed. Like Frederik II built his summer castle near Kronborg, Christian IV built a house next to Frederiksborg Castle, which was called ”Sparepenge” and even ”The Bath”, where it was more comfortable and informal to stay.
Frederiksborg Castle |
The Summer House | 
The Trinity Church |
Kristianstad
The increasing central governing meant that a number of new towns were founded, often for military reasons. The most prominent became Kristianstad in northwestern Scania. The market towns Vä and Åhus were shut down and they built an entirely new town, which better could withstand the attacks of the Swedes in the area. Dutch experts were called in and in 1614 they started to build a town with perpendicular streets surrounded by fortified bastions.
The town also had a magnificent church, the Trinity Church, which is considered one of the main works of the Christian IV period. It was built in the renaissance architecture of the time and was inaugurated in 1628.
The church has an equilateral Greek cross. There are a number of slender granite pillars, which carry a very elaborate roof construction. The opulent altar in black alabaster and white marble was made in the Netherlands. The organ is a brilliant renaissance work of art.
Kristianstad | 
The Fortress Christiansstad | 
Christianopel |
The Trinity Church | 
The Church Room |
The Trinity Church | 
The Side Entrance | 
Ornate Baroque | 
Monogram |
The Baroque
| |
The Baroque is not is not prevalent in the building fronts of the Sound region. However, you can see the inspiration in some buildings. For example Fredensborg Castle a few kilometres outside Elsinore, where the vaulted dome signals Baroque. However, the more grandiose touches of depth and contrast, typical of the facades of the Baroque are missing. |
Baroque
Wanscher stresses in his description of the castle that details, which was added in the second building stage by Antonius van Opbergen, are done in Baroque, which is very early. This also applies to the now missing dome on the south tower and the end of the church, which is called ”Kakkelborg”, and which appears clearly against the sea.
The East House End, baroque |
Baroque |
The European Big Powers Dominated
At the peace after the Great Nordic War in 1720 the two double kingdoms Denmark-Norway and Sweden-Finland almost an even match, but they were also reduced to pawns in the international game, which was dominated by the European big powers France, England, Holland and eventually Russia and the German area (Prussia), where unification efforts picked up speed in the course of the 18th century.
Fredensborg a Peace Symbol
It seemed that Denmark had given up on the idea of getting the Scanian countries back. The wish for peace is so great that the king chose to call his new residence Frederiksborg and Kronborg Fredensborg and according to tradition it was the money, which was meant for the war that was spent on the building.
Where Fredensborg Castle now is there used to be a hunting property or country house called Østrupgård, where king Frederik IV used to spend his time instead of the ostentatious Frederiksborg Castle. In 1719, when it was possible to see an end to the Great Nordic War, the king had a lime kiln built, cleared roads and forests as a preparation for a building on the spot. The main building was finished in 1722 and the new building was named Fredensborg, which referred to the peace after the great war. Originally the idea was to have a statue on the lantern of the dome of the peace goddess.
Fredensborg Castle |
View from the Park |
The Adapted Renaissance Style
The original design consisted of the impressive main building with a dome hall, which also made up one side of an octagonal layout, which was built under the later master builder J.C. Krieger, who at the time was a gardener at the orangery in Rosenborg Garden.
The model was perhaps Marly, the French King´s pleasure castle, which the Danish king had seen on the first of his journeys abroad in 1691-92. Externally the castle did not resemble the over decorated French style. The smooth wall surfaces of Fredensborg are found again in Frederiksberg Castle. Only the broad window casings with the overlying frontons work decoratively, but they look most of all like the window casings in Kronborg, which is Renaissance style and does not have much in common with the over decorated Italian Baroque.
The adapted Renaissance style is quite unique and somewhat resembles the style of Stockholm Castle, which was built by the famous Swedish architect Nicodemus Tessin the younger. Most likely the inspiration had gone via the later master builder Johan Conrad Ernst, who was with Tessin in Stockholm to study for the construction of a residence castle, which Christian V wanted to build in the Amalienborg Garden in Copenhagen. In this way the building of Fredensborg Castle was a testimony to the cultural exchange between the two countries in spite of the war and controversy.
The Original Draft | 
Doors and Windows |
The Influence of Jardin
After the building of Fredensborg in 1773 almost all the important architects of the century came in contact with the building in connection with expansions and changes, which fortunately enough did not spoil the original character of the castle. Late, but no least, the French architect, N.H. Jardin was involved in plans for a comprehensive rebuilding of the main building of the castle and the garden, which was reorganized over a number of years from 1759-68.
The most of the other projects were dropped when the king around 1762 needed more money for armament because of a conflict with Russia.
Fredensborg 1729 | 
Jardin´s plan 1760 | 
The Normand Valley |
Rococo
| | Frontons, cut off roofs and portals are typical characteristics in the buildings of Rococco or late Baroque.
The grandiose 18th century buildings in Elsinore present several fine examples of the style. There are also fine examples in Copenhagen. For example Amalienborg and in Landskrona on the other side of the Sound. |
The Towns - Landskrona
Not only the Scanian country had fallen behind in the development. It was also the case with the Scanian towns. You get a hint of the mutual importance of the towns as market towns, because Linné mentions the number of citizens (grocers) in every town. Malmo had 350, Lund196, Landskrona 150, Helsingborg 130 and Ängelholm 70-80. In the 1750´s Malmo was the only town, that Linné considered important.
The Development of Landskrona
In Landskrona Linné admired the big and beautiful church, “which should be reduced in favour of the new fortification”. At this time they had renewed the idea of further development of Landskrona. Linné described this endeavour in his Journey in Scania:
“...now stone streets are built into the ocean on the southern and western side. Between these the neighbourhoods are to be filled and the town founded, so the ships can moor along the houses in a safe harbour. This is a works, which is Herculian and which other kings and potentates cannot imitate.”
The New Town Plan of Landskrona | 
The Fortification of Landskrona |
The Mayor´s House in Landskrona |
A New City Plan
In 1747 the Swedish parliament had decided that the town again was to be fortified with a new, strong citadel in the little island Gråen outside Landskrona. From this island a fortification was to protect the harbour and the new town, which was to be built south of the old. In 1749 Frederik I had approved of the new town plan, which then had a rectangular shape.
The castle architect Carl Hårleman from Stockholm left his stamp on the buildings.
As great parts of the town was build outside the beach line a system of channels were to drain the area. The channels were built after a Dutch model, when a street was laid out between the houses and the channel, like Nyhavn in Copenhagen.
The New Church
Hårleman was also the man behind the new church, which was started in 1754, but was not opened until 1788. The church was named Sofia Albertina after Gustav III´s sister.
The old Gothic church, which was almost as big as Lund´s cathedral, was demolished. It was felt that the church was too close to the old fortress, and it was feared that an enemy could occupy the church and from there fire at the fortress. Furthermore the church was dilapidated and contained a lot of building material, which could be used for other projects. Both strategic and economical reasons lay behind the demolition of one of the most magnificent churches in The North.
The Old Church in Landskrona | 
The New Church in Landskrona | 
The New Church in Landskrona |
A Half Completed Town
The work on the new Landskrona made slow progress and simultaneously became too expensive. When Sweden´s finances became scarce during the war against Russia in 1788, the project was closed down and the new town was only half completed. In spite of this Landskrona had a typical 18th century mark and today there are many buildings from the time, when they tried to create a modern town in the spirit of the time.
New Buildings
The rising activity and trade towards the middle of the 18th century marked the town in different ways. In the years 1740-42 the customs building was built, designed by the architect N. Basse in a baroque-rokoko style, which also marks other contemporary buildings in town. The increased wealth can also be seen in the extensive building of new, large private houses around the town.
Rasmussens Yard 1780 | 
Det Claessenske Palæ 1791 | 
Stephan Hansen´s Palæ 1760 | 
Oversæt | 
The Custom House 1742 |
Painting of the Custom House |
Historicism
| | The hectic building activity of the 19th century became almost an exhibition of the architecture of earlier times. There are blatant copies, imitations and mixes of style. Thus Elsinore Station from 1891 is built in Renaissance style. The phenomenon is called: Historicism. |
Historicisme og nationalromantik
The predominant architectural direction in the 19th century is the so-called Historicism, where architecture and building restoration borrow style elements from different earlier periods in an attempt to find a modern idiom. In the second half of the 19th century a direction with affiliation to the Scandinavian and national romantic currents are developed. This style refers to the shared past, the Viking Age, but is also has a tight connection to the skønvirke style of the time.
The new building of Marienlyst Seaside Hotel from 1897 was, especially with the characteristic tower, which disappeared in the 1930´s, built in the characteristic building style of the time with extensive use of wood for house end constructions and eaves and ornamental traits from the Viking Age. The style is also known as “Skønvirke”(“Liberty” or “Modern Style”) and is connected with late-romanticism with a Scandinavian stamp. It is found in Aalgaarde Seaside Hotel, Dragør Seaside Hotel and the first real summer house building activities in Ålsgårde and Hornbæk from around the beginning of the century.
If you go to Falsterbo in Scania the style can be found and even in Ramlösa there are examples of the Viking Age style and late-romantic wooden constructions. Furthermore the style can be found in a number of official buildings. The old ferry station in Helsingborg is a good example and Østerport Railway Station and other stations along the coast is a pure exhibition of this style.
Marienlyst Seaside Hotel |
Summer House in Hornbæk | 
Helsingborg´s Old Ferry Station | 
Villa Svea | 
Villa Dana |
Klampenborg Station | 
Ålsgårde Seaside Hotel |
Viking Style Arild | 
Viking House | 
Log house |
Østerport Station | 
Roof and Spire |
Elsinore new Town Hall
Elsinore new Town Hall was finished in 1855. Previously it had been the object of a heated debate, which wasn´t or isn´t unusual, when major changes were on the agenda. The reason for the new building was that the old town hall from the 16th century was in need of a renovation of the jail. On the way they realized that a rebuildig like that required that the old town hall had to be demolished.
The debate was whether the new Town Hall should be built in Axeltorv.
Finally the new Town Hall was built where the old one had been, but they didn´t avoid the budget excesses, known from the the present time.
Had they known in 1854/55 that the Sound Duty would disappear just two years later, the town probably wouldn´t have had such an impressive building.
Elsinore Town Hall 1830 | 
Elsinore Town Hall 1855 |
Elsinore Town Hall 2007 |
Oversæt
Oversæt | 
Oversæt |
Helsingør Toldkammer
The Custom House |
Restoration Craze
Around the middle of the 1900th century a restoration craze set in. A great del of the Scanian manors was transformed from solid renaissance buildings into polished new gothic and French Chateau style in innumerable variations. Romantic fanaticism and romance of chivalry became prevalent, but also ambitions to recreate the perfect roman or gothic building.
Seen through our eyes the results was extremely rough restorations, as for instance the cathedral in Lund and the estates Svaneholm and Vrams Gunnarstorp, or even direct cultural disasters, like when they tore down the old Roman church in Asmundtorp and erected a new Gothic chamber of horrors, or the architect’s dream of the perfect Roman church (The church in Torlöse).
Of course all of this happened with the best of intents and in many cases in close collaboration between Scanian building owners and Danish architects and as a manifestation of the common Nordic nationality and the realization of Scandinavism.
Marsvinsholm | 
Torrlösa Church |
Art Nouveau
| | The period 1900-1940 is where the industrial society and the rules of the parliamentary system set in.
The development of a new transport and communication technology created new possibilities for co-operation in the Sound region |
Helsingborg as Example
If you want to follow the development from historicism´s style imitation at the end of the century via jugend and art nouveau to the ideal of modernism, Helsingborg is a fine example. Helsingborg expanded heavily in the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century and a great need for new buildings was the result. The architectural styles, which marked this period were therefore richly represented in the town. Classic style imitation can be found to a great extent. At Stortorget´s (the great square) upper part is the medieval inspired terrace and around the square there are many style imitations, for instance the Scania Bank building (opposite the post office) with baroque imitations and the Trade Bank from 1904 with antique touches. The city architect Alfred Hellerström designed the Trade Bank and he also designed Helsingborg´s town hall and the university library in Lund, both in neo-gothic monumental style.
Alfred Hellerström was then inspired to design buildings in the jugend style, which immediately after the turn of the century had a short, but important influence on especially the upper-class milieu. Immediately before 1910 an entire villa neighbourhood in this style was built in the Olympia district. Besides Hellerström several other architects participated in the designing of these jugend style neighbourhoods, among them Carl Rosenius and Ola Anderson. The houses had round towers and round corners, arched frontons, varied window styles and many ornaments, altogether a clear break from the 19th century´s strict building styles.
A strange building, in the transition period between classicism and modernism is the crematorium from 1929. It was designed by Ragnar Östberg, who is mostly known as the architect behind the town hall in Stockholm. The dome of the crematorium, which inside is carried by classic columns, has a historicist element, but the smooth surface points towards a pure modernism.
The Terrace in Helsingborg | 
Scania Bank |
The Art Nouveau District in Helsingborg |
The Art Nouveau District in Helsingborg | 
The Art Nouveau District in Helsingborg |
The Art Nouveau District in Helsingborg | 
The Crematorium in Helsingborg | 
The Crematorium in Helsingborg |
The Garden City
| | Hamlets Vænge was constructed during the period from 1917-28 and was under strong inspiration from the contemporary English garden cities.
(Photo: Helsingør Bymuseum |
The Garden Cities in Elsinore
One of the reformist thoughts which became important for urban development in Europe in the 20th century was the British idea of the “The Garden City””. It was supposed to be a completely new town. Preferably right outside the metropolis. It was supposed to unite the benefits of the big city: social life, jobs, institutions etc. with the benefits of the countryside: light and air, low dwellings with gardens and green areas.
The inspiration was to come from the old villages and the nationally domestic pre-industrial style of building.
Both during and after WWI this development took place in Denmark and the result was a number of garden cities with a distinctively Danish character. Especially inspired by the building style of Southern Jutland with Frisian attics and bay windows from Tønder. In Copenhagen you will find that Grøndalsvænge and Præstevangen are both good examples, and in Elsinore you can still enjoy the cultural gems Hamlets Vænge and “The Negro Village”.
Hamlets Vænge
Hamlets Vænge was constructed in 4 stages during the period 1917-1928. The estate, which was supported by the state, consists of 43 houses and the architect during the period 1917-1921 was Poul Holsøe ( 1873-1965) from Elsinore. He was also one of the architects behind Grøndalsvænge in Copenhagen and is almost as “Southern Jutlandish” in his style of building with various forms of bay windows. Common to the graceful houses are the red half-hipped roofs.
The houses were constructed around a common access, Hamlets Vænge, as detached and semidetached houses with comparatively small flats. But with common wash-basements and nice green common grounds around each house.
The substantial financial support given by Helsingør Skibsværft (shipyard) towards the expansion of the built-up area down towards Gl. Hellebækvej meant that these flats were mainly reserved for workers and employees from the shipyard.
Along Esrumvej
The last stage, the buildings along Esrumvej were designed by another architect from Elsinore, Karl Zandersen (1889-1973). Zandersen was locally famous for having designed a number of villas in Elsinore, but maybe mainly for his version of another contemporary beautiful garden city in Elsinore. “The Negro Village”. See below.
Karl Zandersen did not have the same financial means at his disposal at Esrumvej as Holsøe did and therefore he left out the bay windows. Neither did the finances allow for Holsøe’s more varied buildings, so all the houses were identical semidetached houses. Still the buildings possessed Zandersen’s characteristic solidly built quality houses. See for instance his own house at no 10, Møllebakken.
Poul Holsøe
(1873-1965) | 
Hamlets Vænge
Four stages | 
Hamlets Vænge 1920´ erne | 
Bay windows in Hamlets Vænge | 
Hamlets Vænge Esrumvej |
Hamlets Vænge 2009 | 
Hamlets Vænge 2009 | 
Hamlets Vænge 2009 |
The Negro Village
The Negro Village is from 1920-21 and was created by the local architect Karl Zandersen in the heavily undulating grounds which were originally laid out for allotment gardens.
The garden city consists of 41 houses with altogether 68 flats. It is an enclave of 1- and 2-family houses.
The background for the construction was also in this case the great housing shortage around WWI. A number of housing societies were set up supported by the council. Thus the council put an area at disposal where Rosenkildevej joins Gefionsvej for “Andelsbyggeforeningen Helsingør” (a building society), established in 1920 by some employees. Primarily teachers and railway workers.
One of several theories for the somewhat politically incorrect name of the estate: The Negro Village, was supposed to be the black uniforms of the railway people!
The Social Democratic Mayor, Peder Christensen, was – here,too- the dynamic starter and had his way when the roads around the estate got prestigious names, named after former mayors. For instance: Olriksvej, Rosenstandsvej and Stenfeldtsvej.
The praxis and evaluation of the posterity
Gradually the interest shifted from the suburbs of the industrial towns to functionalistic house blocks, and culturally radical architects and town-planners among others called the ideas behind the garden cities reactionary and oldfashioned.
The middle classes and the bourgeoisie were mainly interested in individualistic, detached villas.
After WWII the interest in the idea behind the garden cities was renewed, though. In Denmark in the 80’ties under the name high-density/low-rise housing. People had got fed up with the conformist blocks and high-rises.
Karl Zandersen
(1889-1973) | 
The Co-op in the “Negro Village” | 
The Negro Villag | 
The Negro Villag | 
Bust of King Peder |
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The allotment Park "Solbakken"
In the early thirties the City Council had been considering how to accommodate the demand from the many industrial workers to have their own small allotment with the opportunity to grow vegetables for the daily household. That was an old tradition in Elsinore, but because of the mayor´s building zeal multiple allotments had been confiscated.
In 1935 therefore The City Council decided to acquire new land for this. They chose one of the most beautiful countrysides in Elsinore. A 37 acres of land large area, which belonged to the country house, "Sophienlyst", at the corner of Gurrevej and Rønnebær Alle.
The area and the development
The area in the beautiful, rolling countryside, was divided into 210 plots of land and for an almost symbolic amount of money, the workers could now hire such a plot and build a small allotment house. The municipality asked the later very famous landscape architect in Gentofte, Gudmund N. Brandt, to come up with proposals for a carefully planned allotment park that would also function as a publicly accessible recreational area. Like the natural park of Stubbedamsvej.
Especially the municipal guarantee that it was a permanent measure made Brandt feel that allotment owners would defend the place and respect a number of restrictions relating to hedges height and a uniform planting. For instance at least one fruit tree should be planted in every garden.
The allotment house
It was the famous architect, Valdemar Drosted (1890-1956), who was commissioned to make suggestions for the layout and appearance of the small houses. Again a harmonious overall impression was to be ensured. Drosted came up with several types of which the residents could choose from.
A contemporary stroll through the beautiful area, however, illustrates in an exemplary fashion how the Danes feel about such construction restrictions when it comes to our national gem, the allotment house.
Thanks to King Peder
That allotment owners knew who was behind the initiative for this splendid park is marked by the fact that the garden association on 1 April 1944 raised a memorial stone in gratitude to the mayor´s initiative.
The parcelling out of Solbakken 1935 |
Solbakken in the 50ties | 
Sketching of the gardens in Solbakken (extract) | 
Solbakken 1965 | 
Solbakken 1966 |
Functionalism
| | The Stockholm Exhibition in 1930 ushered in the modern, functionalist architecture and interior design in Scandinavian. It was the day of reckoning with the style mixing and decorative style of the time. |
The Modernism
The Stockholm Exhibition in 1930 ushered in the modern, functionalist architecture and interior design in Scandinavian. It was the day of reckoning with the style mixing and decorative style of the time.
The Swedish architect Gunnar Asplund, who was behind the exhibition, inspired a number of architects and designers all over the North. Among these were the Danes, Poul Henningsen and Arne Jacobsen, who were behind several buildings on both sides of the Sound. They both fled to Sweden in 1943.
The Stockholm Exhibition in 1930 |
Modernism and Functionalism
The Stockholm exhibition in 1930 marked the entry of the modern, functionalist style in Scandinavia. The exhibition had buildings by Gunnar Asplund, among others, done in white, with supporting concrete constructions and large windows in glass and steel. The focus of the exhibition was everyday needs and it showed many examples of different housing and modern interiors. The inspiration is clear in the Blidah Park in Copenhagen and Arne Jacobsen´s famous Bellavista neighbourhood at Bellevue at Strandvejen north of Copenhagen.
The perhaps most interesting example of early modernism in Sweden, is the concert house in Helsingborg, which was finished in 1932. It was designed by Sven Markelius and is very similar to the students´ house he designed for the technical college in Stockholm in 1930.
The project of the concert house itself is very interesting inasmuch as Markelius´ first proposal was clearly classicist, but eventually the proposal was reworked and ended finally with its present functionalist style with smooth, white plastered walls, large glass fronts to let in the light in the vestibule and semi circled wings with cloakroom and restaurant.
In Hornbæk on the North Zealand Coast you find the first examples of summer cottages in the late-romantic Viking style, but also the fashionable, functionalist seaside hotel from 1935.
Early Functionalism | 
Early Functionalist-inspired Architecture |
The Concert House in Helsingborg | 
Arne Jacobsen´s Bellavista |
Arne Jacobsen´s Bellavista |
Oversæt | 
Kronborg Open Air Bath |
Hornbæk Seaside Hotel |
Art Nouveau for the Middle Class
While upper classes built white Art Nouveau houses the middle classes built Art Nouveau-styled bungalows. To oppose the acute housing shortage the state established a state housing fond, whose aim it was to create possibilities for cheap funding for the dream of everyman to buy a house with a garden.. This meant that you could buy finished drawings for bungalows at the architect, which in turn reduced the building costs.
The most significant characteristics of the bungalows are the square shape in red or yellow tile and the low pyramid-shaped roof covered with roofing felt, which in the 1930´s was a new and cheap material.
It was a standardized and simplified version of Art Nouveau, a relatively unpretentious house without any architectural refinements.
However, the cheap houses still signalized something modern. For example the bungalows´ windows an Art Nouveau detail, which indicated that the builder employed modern building techniques. The strict and symmetrical facades are more like the facades of classicism than the more free forms of modernism.
In most cases quality materials were used in the wall and wood constructions in connection with the high residential basements and many available room, mean that you often see bungalows in older Danish residential neighbourhoods. In the Elsinore area there are several bungalows in the old Snekkersten.
In Lund an Art Nouveau neighbourhood was established in 1937 with fitted wooden house and type drawn bungalows.
In the course of the 1940´s the interest in the hip roof dampened and they started to build more houses with gable roofs. A contributory factor could be that it was difficult to procure asphalt during the war to the production of roofing felt, which was necessary for the hip roof. The stronger construction of the gable roof could easier carry the heavy roof tiles. Examples of this building style can be seen in the district Eskilsminne in Helsingborg, where they built 60 small Art Nouveau detached houses in the beginning of the 1940´s. Each house is 56 square metres and there is a toilet with a bath in the high basements.
The initiative and the interest for building these small and light houses were part of the Swedish People´s Home Project (folkehjemsprojekt).
Bungalow in Snekkersten | 
Art Nouveau in Helsingborg |
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