Horsens is a city in East Jutland and with its 59,449 inhabitants
(2020) is Denmark's 8th largest city, located at the end of Horsens
Fjord on Jutland's east coast. Horsens is the capital of Horsens
Municipality, located in the Central Jutland Region. The town is
first mentioned in the 12th century and was a significant town in
the Middle Ages with several monasteries and fortifications. A
number of patrician houses, including Jørgensens Hotel, testifies
that Horsens was also "the merchants' town" in the 18th century.
Today, the city is in a development phase with new industry
moving to the urban area or expanding existing activities. In the
last few years, the transport center has moved from the Triangle
area to Horsens. The city has a large electronics industry and a
number of graphic companies. Horsens also has Denmark's only
industrial museum. The East Jutland fjord town in Søndergade has
Denmark's widest main street, which is a pedestrian street. In the
northern part of the city on a hilltop is the former Horsens State
Prison which is now arranged as a museum and culture house under the
name Prison, where especially concerts and cultural festivals are
regularly performed.
The name is spelled in King Valdemar's Land Register Horsnæs, and similar spellings (Horsnes, Horssnæs, etc.) are found in many old documents; it is usually derived from / "hors" (horse) and "næs", which also corresponds with the city's coat of arms, and the name has then, like Assens-Asnæs, changed to its current form.
The Middle Ages
Horsens is a very old town that
probably already had significance in the 11th century, although its
name is first mentioned in the 12th century, when it was a mint
during the Civil War of 1147-57. Its location made it an important
trading and shipping town early on, although it, like the other
Danish market towns in the Middle Ages, has been hampered by the
Hanseatic cities.
During the war between Erik Plovpenning and
Abel, it was looted and burned in 1247. In 1261, a Norwegian embassy
came to Horsens to pick up Ingeborg, Erik Plovpenning's daughter
(who lived in a monastery nearby), when she was to marry Magnus
Lagabøter. During the war with Norway, the city was burned in 1285
by the Norwegian free trader Alf Erlingsen. Erik Menved stayed in
the city in 1292 and 1299 and issued several letters from here. The
same king concluded in Horsens on 9 August 1313 a settlement with
Duke Erik II of Southern Jutland and on the same occasion had some
nobles convicted as traitors because they had incited the peasants
to revolt; the rebellious peasants were also punished and forced to
build a castle in or near Horsens. That the city has suffered during
the inter-rain and the subsequent turbulent times, just as during
the Black Death in the 14th century, is undoubtedly. Erik of
Pomerania ended on 5 August 1432 in Horsens a truce of 5 years with
the Holstein counts and the Hanseatic cities. A Reichstag was held
here in 1453.
The town has early had its own city court, at
least from the 13th century, presumably taken by the Schleswig city
court, according to a letter from 1317, in which the citizens of
Horsens sent Æbeltoft a copy of "Vor Lov, which is confirmed by the
Danish Kings ". When it got township rights is not known. The oldest
known privileges are issued in 1442 by Christoffer of Bavaria and
often later confirmed and extended, thus in 1452, 1485, 1503, 1531,
1540, 12 December 1560, 1597, 30 November 1648 and 23 January 1672.
The town had two monasteries in the Middle Ages. The Franciscan
monastery was founded in 1261 by knight Niels from Barritskov, who
donated the Big Brother Order to his large farm in Horsens as well
as all its building plots and squares between the west-facing alley
(Badstuestrædet) and the town's eastern grave. In the following
times the monastery was often considered with gifts, thus in
testaments 1268, 1319, 1396, 1495, 1509 and 1514. In 1275 and later,
at the end of 1529, the Franciscans kept a chapter here; under Erik
of Pomerania, Christian I and King Hans, meetings and court meetings
were held here. By 1497 the monastery was haunted by a major fire;
In 1504, the monks adopted the stricter rule of order, the
Observant. During the Reformation, the monks found support for a
time with the nobleman Manderup Holck for Barritskov, a descendant
of the monastery's founders, but reluctance on the part of the
citizens soon forced them to withdraw; In 1530 the bourgeoisie was
promised by the king to regain all the farms and lands in the town
which had been transferred to the monastery when the monks left;
this took place in 1532, and the monastery church was then given to
the town as a parish church, while the monastery courtyard was
determined partly for school and residence for the priest, partly
for hospital. The monastery has probably in the usual way formed a
four-winged building complex, of which the church apparently formed
the north wing. In addition, the monastery seems to have heard a
house down by the river, south of the monastery. Foundations of it
were found in 1875 and later.
The other monastery to the east outside the city, Sankt Hans
Kloster or Korsbrødregården, was of the Order of St. John. It is
first mentioned in 1390, when there was a Bernhard in charge of it,
but it was probably somewhat older. Over time, it acquired several
properties in the city and in the countryside; In 1438 it thus
changed two farms in Elbæk and Gangsted as well as a stall in
Horsens towards a field by Hansted Bridge, which belonged to Øm
Kloster; 1505 it had a share in Elling mark; Priorslykke and
Spedalsø near Horsens also had it at their disposal, just as Horsens
Sankt Jørgensgård has presumably been dependent on it; In 1530,
prior and convention Lerager in Nørvang Herred deeded to Mogens
Gøye. Strangely enough, the monastery church also seems to have been
a parish church; for in 1480 the priory received the pope's
permission that the parishioners, who had hitherto sought the
monastery church, should in future, in order to avoid piracy, seek
St. Jacob's Chapel in Horsens, which belonged to the monastery. At
the Reformation, the monastery was included under the crown and
given away to nobles, thus in 1537 to former bishop Oluf Munck; In
1668 it was granted to Holger Rosenkrantz, who on January 29, 1575,
received it from the king "with building, church, churchyard as well
as all estates", including about 60 farms. The monastery has
probably been a four-winged complex, of which the monastery church
formed the south wing, but of which there is now no trace. The
monastery church probably disappeared long before the other
buildings. Masonry graves have been found in the monastery cemetery.
To the monastery belonged, as to all other monasteries of St. John,
a hospital located in the cemetery south of the church, near the
beach; In 1562 it was donated to Aarhus Hospital.
Of mild
foundations, the city has had two: a Holy Spirit House and a Sankt
Jørgensgård. The Holy Spirit House belonged to the ranks of the
bourgeois hospital foundations; it was at least until 1509, perhaps
as early as 1468, as it is possibly identical with the "Helgensgaard
in Horsens" mentioned this year. Attached to the hospital was a
chapel. The Holy Ghost House was donated to Aarhus Hospital in 1541,
to which the members were moved, but in 1560 it was re-established
as a hospital. Sankt Jørgensgården, for lepers, lay outside the
city, unknown where; it is first mentioned in 1492, when King Hans
allowed Thorsted Church to still belong to it (confirmed 1502 and
1524); by Christian III's letter of 1542 it has probably been
repealed.
The town may have had a church in addition to the
two mentioned abbey churches and St. Ibs Church. For by letter of
1540 Christian III allowed the citizens of Horsens to "demolish the
old church, which is called Our Lady's Church, and use lime, stone,
bells and timber and other part to help build their parish church
with". The parish church here is probably the former Gray Brethren
Church, which in 1532 became a parish church. "Church of Our Lady"
has generally been assumed to be identical with St. Ibs Church or
the present Church of Our Savior, as it was originally dedicated to
Our Lady and after the Reformation was named St. Ibs; however, it is
very doubtful, partly because the church already in 1480 is called
capella sancti Jacobi and in 1532 St. Ibs. Rather, one could think
of the church of Sankt Hans Kloster, when the monastery in 1480 was
called "preceptoria beate Marie virginis", but this is also
doubtful. Incidentally, nothing is known about a Church of Our Lady
in Horsens.
That the city in the Middle Ages had several
guilds must be assumed; In 1532 Our Lady's Company is mentioned;
there must probably also have been a Sankt Gertruds Gilde (1627 is
called "Sankt Gertruds Have") and perhaps a parrot feast.
The
city has in the Middle Ages been surrounded by tombs and ramparts;
In 1261 the Eastern tomb is mentioned, which probably went in the
middle over Kattesund somewhat east of Borgergade down to the river;
also mentioned Vestre grav, which the street "Graven" between
Nørregade and Søndergade still reminds of; to the north the boundary
has probably been about where Kildegade now goes; to the south the
town had a natural tomb in the river. In a royal letter from 1581,
the city is allowed to use and build on the remains of the old
ramparts, which were then deserted and unused. The city has had 5
gates: Sønderport ("Hospitalsport" by the city's oldest bridge
Sønderbro, also called Sankt Jørgens Bro, Højbro and Hospitalsbro),
Fugholms Port, Smedegades Port, Kattesunds Port and Borgergades Port
(first broken down by the abolition of consumption in the middle of
the 19th century). The second oldest bridge is Fugholms Bro.
The Renaissance
In the late Middle Ages and early modern times, the city's trade
increased especially in Lübeck, Hamburg, Bremen, Amsterdam, and
Norway, as the power of the Hanseatic cities was broken; it was
considered one of Jutland's most important cities, many nobles had
farms there, and prosperity increased if progress could also be
hampered for a short time by plague and fire. Thus, after a great
fire, the citizens got 1540 tax exemption for 4 years, and two years
later they got the Crown's field, Lovby Mark, for an annual fee, so
that the citizens could get to "their right Industry and Salvage"
and the city "so much the better stay. built and improved again ".
After another major fire under Frederik II, the citizens were again
given tax exemption for 2 years, but also an order to cover the
houses with bricks. The plague haunted the city, among other places,
1578-79. Incidentally, the city took a strong part in the great
movements that ushered in recent times. The Reformation gained an
early foothold, especially with the preacher Peder Borgsmed, who
already performed here in 1530. Christian III received the tribute
of the Jutland and Funen estates on 18 August 1534 outside Horsens.
During the wars of the 17th century, the city suffered greatly; it
was plundered by both friends and enemies. Thus the German colonel
Wolf Heinrich Bauditz (Baudissin), who was in Danish service, housed
badly here in 1627, and the same year it was occupied by the
imperial troops who first left it at the conclusion of the peace in
1629. It had hardly regained its strength before in January 1644 it
was occupied by the Swedes, who set it on fire for more than 30,000
rigsdaler and largely destroyed it [4], as 89 farms and houses were
more or less in gravel and its ships ruined or abducted, "so that
many in addition, they are plagued by poverty, and the city now has
very little wealth and sustenance ". By royal letter of 1646,
Horsens received tax exemption for 3 years. It was again occupied by
the Swedes in 1657, and the following year the Allies, the Poles and
the Brandenburgs came, leaving it in such a state that it lay down
for too long.
Under the dictatorship
In 1672 it had only
1,584 inhabitants, as many goods fled from the city; in 1682 there
were only 87 farms, 72 houses and 279 stalls (against 123, 158 and
302 in 1627) and a large number of deserted squares. In addition,
accommodation and increased taxes, trade and shipping declined, and
the city was in turmoil until well into the 18th century. In 1720
the magistrate says that of the 214 men who had citizenship, half
were poor, and a large part begged for bread, and in 1753 it
declared that "black Poverty reigns in most Houses with Armed Hand."
In 1709 the town had 17 vessels of 152½ cargoes, 1711 only 13
vessels of 127 ½ cargoes. According to the statements of the
magistrate in March, 1721, the city had by enemy hand lost 12 ships;
In 1726 there were 18, 1732 and 1735 24 ships of 232 loads, in 1746
20 ships of 156 loads. Shipping went mostly to Flensburg, Copenhagen
and the Baltic cities as well as Norway. A major obstacle to
navigation was the poor port conditions, the improvement of which
was only made significant in the late 18th century. The population
is stated 1769 to 2,584 and 1787 to 2,221.
In 1808, the city
had accommodation of Franco-Spanish troops.
As late as 1806
(when 31 ships of 457 loads) the mayor could say that the condition
was the same as 1768. But when the seven-year war with England and
the consequent crisis was over, and the port work had gained
momentum, the progress and expansion came, especially after 1840
Horsens in 1778
Horsens, a market town in Nim Herred,
Stjernholm County, Aarhus Diocese, 5 miles from Aarhus and 40 miles
from Vejle. The town's oldest known privileges are from Christoffer
of Bavaria in 1442. It has already existed in the 11th century.
The town has 14 streets, 2 squares, a large walled town hall, 5
gates, 2 bridges over the river, 497 farms and houses, including
afg. State Council Lichtenberg's farm on 2 floors, foundation walled
with vaulted cellars, considerable staircase, upholstered and
plastered rooms. The pharmacy and the farm next door and count
Trampe's farm as well as several other considerable farms on 2
floors.
The monastery church is large and internally
considerable, has no church tower. The altarpiece is medieval
sculptural work, very heavily gilded with four doors. The choir is
large and considerable with a large latticework. The pulpit is
exceedingly ziirlig of ebony and Brazilian wood, the sculptural work
is a bas-relief paid for in 1670 by Dorthe Hansdatter, councilor
Anders' widow. The organ work is large and fairly paid for in 1739
by merchant Peder Bjerring. St. Ibs or Jacobi Church has a tall
tower with 5 bells and a spire covered with copper.
The Latin school was built in 1745, 54 subjects new foundation
wall and 8 subjects half-timbering, in which is a library with 430
volumes. In addition, there is 1 principal, 2 listeners, 30-40
disciples. The hospital was built on Frederik II's command in 1560,
is a large old, foundation-built building of 21 subjects, well
maintained, there are 33 members who weekly enjoy 2 marks, has a
superintendent and own priest, who is also parish priest of Torsted
in Hatting Herred. The free Danish school was established in 1752 by
a merchant Jens Jørgen Lindved.
The inhabitants consist of
500 families, among which are the parish priest, the chaplain, the
hospital priest, the rector, 2 hearers, the city authorities who are
1 mayor, 2 councilors, 1 town bailiff, 1 town clerk and 1 town hall
clerk, the customs officer, inspector, postmaster, weigher and
meter, doctor , the pharmacist, a surgeon, 32 merchants, 17
skippers, 132 craftsmen, a total of 1,700 people.
The city
has 17 ships that mostly sail south mountains in Norway, to
Copenhagen, Lübeck, Flensburg and the Baltic Sea. The harbor is
convenient for moderate ships, while those over 10 loads may be at
anchor and overwinter in Stensballe Sound, ¼ miles from the city,
and the goods may then be imported and exported by barge.
The
city lands are 139 barrels 5 bushes hartkorn. The fishing is only
small for cod and flounder. The consumption is 6,000 rigsdaler.
Markets are held June 27 and October 8.
By the town was
Stjernholm Castle, of which now no remains are found at all.
Source: Hans Holk: Provincial-Lexicon over Dannemark, 1778.
In the years 1780-1808, four Russian princes and princesses lived at
Torvet in Horsens, known as the Russian court in Horsens.
The
early industrialization
The population of Horsens increased in
the late 1800s and early 1900s: 5,827 in 1850, 7,250 in 1855, 8,980
in 1860, 10,501 in 1870, 12,654 in 1880, 17,290 in 1890, 22,243 in
1901, 22,327 in 1906 and 23,843 in 1911.
The housing shortage
was so great that in 1919 the city council decided to build 99
homeless barracks on the city's former market square. They were
referred to as "Nørretorv's barracks" and were designed by Horsens'
leading architect, Viggo Norn.
The composition of the
population by industry was in 1890: 1,375 lived by intangible
activity, 7,768 by handicrafts and industry, 3,188 by trade, 141 by
agriculture, 158 by shipping, 131 by fishing, 3,477 by various day
laborers, 561 by their means, 183 by alms, and 308 (of whom 287 were
incarcerated) were imprisoned. According to a 1906 census, the
population was 22,327, of which 1,553 subsisted on intangible
activities, 331 on agriculture, forestry and dairy farming, 175 on
fisheries, 12,981 on crafts and industry, 3,414 on trade and more,
1,318 on transport, 955 were retired, 1,127 lived by public support
and 473 by other or unspecified business.
Of large factories and industrial plants, the town had around the
year 1900: Crome & Goldschmidt's factories, spinning mills and
weavers for the manufacture of cotton, linen and woolen goods (they
were built in 1864, in 1874 merged into a limited company, with a
share capital of DKK 1,600,000. , 1881 "Ribe tekstile Fabrikker" was
purchased; the large complex of buildings, by Fabriksvej, was
significantly expanded in 1892; there are 550 mechanical looms and
about 850 workers of both sexes and functionaries (in addition to
the labor at Horsens Tugthus); the factory belonged to a utility
association, a loan fund and a sickness fund; the annual turnover is
about DKK 4 million), FC Madsens Dampvæveri (especially colored
cotton clothes and full and half woolen dresses, built in 1874, from
1898 share company, share capital DKK 300,000; about 130 workers,
annual production approx. 30,000 pieces of clothing), Paasch &
Larsen, Petersen (manufacture of dairy tools and machines, a limited
company established in 1897, share capital DKK 300,000), Møller &
Jochumsens Maskinfabrik o g Jærnstøberi (founded 1857, joint stock
company from 1897, share capital DKK 200,000), H. Jacobsen & Co.'s
Maskinfabrik og Jærnstøberi (founded 1893), J. Stallknechts
Jærnstøberi og Maskinfabrik (the oldest iron foundry in Jutland,
originally founded in 1831 by CF Weiss), Horsens Sewing Machine
Factory (J. Stallknecht, sewing machines and bicycles), Aurora (a
limited company established in 1899, dairy articles), Horsens
Lædervare- og Drivremmefabrik (a sack, sail, tent and flag factory),
Stjernholms Fabrikker (manufacture of roofing felt, asphalt and
cement castings70, -erne, from 1889 a public limited company, share
capital DKK 35,000), Horsens Steam, Planing and Sawmill (built in
1888), the wood products factory Thor, Horsens Baiersk- og Hvidtøls
Bryggeri (built in 1868, from 1895 a public limited company, share
capital DKK 400,000; In 1898 it was incorporated into the then
formed "Østjydske Bryggerier"; the considerable buildings, at
Nørretorv and Stefansgade, were completely rebuilt in 1879-81 and
expanded, again expanded in 1899; about 75 male and female workers;
annual production: up to 45,000 barrels of beer), a distillery
(Larsen & Co.), several mineral water factories, Horsens Dampmølle
(built in 1854, transferred in 1880 to a limited company, share
capital DKK 200,000), Nørrebros Dampmølle (built in 1867),
Aggerbeck's Soap and Perfume Factory (built 1 852), Christiansholms
Sæbefabrik (built 1860 on Spedalsø, 1895 moved to Horsens), a
tobacco factory (Petersen & Sørensen, built 1865, expanded 1886;
about 100 adult workers and 125 children), Horsens nye kalkværk (a
limited company established in 1891, share capital DKK 40,000), an
impregnation facility (built by R. Colstrup at the harbor on an 8
td. land plot, could process 1½ million cubic feet of wood annually
- 1901: 1.2 million cubic feet, especially railway sleepers). A
factory for telephones, etc. (E. Møller; has bought the former
timber factory "Bastian"), Horsens Andelssvineslagteri (established
1887, expanded 1899; the invested capital was there after DKK
266,500; annual turnover approx. DKK 2¼ million) , Arbejdernes
Brugsforening ran a brewery and bakery, etc. There were 7 book
printing companies.
The interwar period
During the
interwar period, Horsens' population was growing: in 1916 25,149
inhabitants, in 1921 27,577, in 1925 28,135, in 1930 28,363, in 1935
29,856, in 1940 30,417 inhabitants. But at the same time, there was
growth in the suburbs of Bækkelund and Dagnæs residential areas in
Tyrsted-Uth Municipality and Ved Sundet by in Vær-Nebel
Municipality.
At the census in 1930, Horsens had 28,363
inhabitants, of which 2,151 subsisted on intangible activities,
12,760 on handicrafts and industry, 4,322 on trade etc., 2,284 on
transport, 529 on agriculture, forestry and fishing, 2,041 on
handicrafts, 4,077 were out of business and 199 had not stated
source of income.
The post-war period
After World War II,
Horsens continued its population growth. In 1945 there were 32,400
inhabitants in the market town, in 1950 35,898 inhabitants, in 1955
36,567 inhabitants, in 1960 37,261 inhabitants and in 1965 6,805
inhabitants. At the same time, the suburbs developed, and new
suburbs were added, Torsvang in Hatting-Torsted Municipality.
Horsens garden has existed since 21 June 1942, it was established
on the occasion of Horsens town's 500th anniversary of the market
town. Horsens Garden is Denmark's oldest provincial guard and today
performs with about 40 well-playing boys aged 7 to 20 years. Horsens
Garden is known throughout Denmark for their well-behaved boys and
rank order. Horsens Garden also has a military rank system which has
the following order (Private, Sergeant, Chief Sergeant, Lieutenant,
First Lieutenant and Captain).
Horsens has several museums,
recurring cultural events, and is also known for being able to
attract international musicians such as Bob Dylan, Madonna, Rolling
Stones and Dolly Parton, David Bowie, Elton John, AC / DC.
Horsens Museum has a cultural-historical collection and until 1986
also contained an art collection, which is today in Horsens Art
Museum, which is a museum of Danish contemporary art. The museum has
a significant collection of works created by artists from the
so-called 80s generation, including the largest existing collection
of Michael Kvium's works as well as extensive collections of artists
such as Christian Lemmerz, Erik A. Frandsen, Lars Nørgård, Nina
Sten-Knudsen, Bjørn Nørgaard and Peter Holst Henckel. Horsens Art
Museum also has a significant collection of the local artist Mogens
Zieler.
A major event is the annually recurring European
Medieval Festival, where approximately 60,000 visitors experience
the Middle Ages over two days, always the last weekend in August,
Friday-Saturday.
Horsens also has an annual literary event.
Every year in March, the Crime Fair is held, where readers can meet
Danish and foreign crime writers. The author Henning Mortensen's
10-volume novel series about Ib Nielsen, lets Ib's childhood take
place in Horsens.
In the health area, Horsens Municipality
has distinguished itself through its participation in WHO's Healthy
Cities Network, which Horsens joined in 1987. The following year,
the first Healthy City Store of its kind in Europe was opened in
Horsens. Horsens City Council adopted the "Horsens Declaration on
Sustainability and Health for All" in 2001. It has since been the
basis for Horsens Municipality's health-promoting and preventive
efforts.
Culturally, the city also has a place for young
people who play music, skate or something else called "The Yellow
Warehouse". There, in addition to rehearsal rooms, skating rinks and
studios, i.a. houses a café with a stage for concerts. At Det Gule
Pakhus, many bands have emerged, including Miss Queen Evil, The
Lovin 'Flickknives, TurboNelSon, Sparkplug and many others.
Horsens State Prison - which has now been closed down and moved outside the city far out in the country. The old Horsens State Prison, now called the Prison, contains many crime stories, and there are plans to create an experience center for crime and punishment. The project goes by the name World of Crime. The prison is being used for more and more purposes; Horsens Tourist Office (VisitHorsens) is based in the prison and in 2015 a hostel called Sleepin opened in the Prison.
Horsens Museum is a state-recognized cultural history museum in
Horsens. The museum started with including both art and cultural
history, but after the art was separated in Horsens Art Museum, it
only includes cultural history. The museum is i.a. co-organizer of
the European Medieval Festival in Horsens.
In 1906, the
Museums Association in Horsens was founded with the aim of arousing
interest and maintaining interest in art and history. Among the
founders was Frederik Weilbach, who served as chairman of the board
until 1918. In 1915, a building was built in Horsens for the museum,
designed by Viggo Norn. Norn served as chairman of the board until
1962. The museum exhibited both art and cultural history until 1986,
when the art department was moved to Pavillon Lunde, and became
Horsens Art Museum.
Exhibition
The museum has five
permanent exhibitions about Vitus Bering, silver work from Horsens,
toys, Horsens in prehistoric times and in the Middle Ages. In
addition, there are shifts that often deal with current
archaeological or historical topics. The collection includes over
25,000 items.
Carolinelundsvej 2
Horsens Kunstmuseum is a museum of Danish
visual art with emphasis on the period after 1900 and mainly
experimental art after 1980. The collection includes names such as
Christian Lemmerz, Erik A. Frandsen, Lars Nørgård, Nina
Sten-Knudsen, Bjørn Nørgaard, Peter Holst Henckel, Cathrine Raben
Davidsen, Anne Marie Ploug, Morten Buch, Kirsten Ortwed and Troels
Wörsel. The museum has the largest existing collection of Michael
Kvium's works, as well as a Mogens Zieler collection with around 600
works. A sculpture park in Caroline Amalie Lunden is attached to the
museum, where Bjørn Nørgaard's main work 'The Human Wall' and
Christian Lemmerz '' Gestalt (Death figure) 'can be experienced.
On March 22, 1906, Horsens Museumsforening was founded. The
association's stated goal was "to establish a museum in Horsens, as
well as to increase and develop this by acquiring, partly of works
of art, partly of objects of historical interest". Already later
that year, Horsens Museum, from which Horsens Art Museum springs,
became a reality.
The Museums Association started by running
the then Horsens Museum in two rented premises at the Technical
School, but thanks to a testamentary gift from former pilot Captain
Th. In 1915, Løwenstein made it possible to move to a newly built
museum on Sundvej, the building that today houses Horsens
Kulturhistoriske Museum. The architect behind the new museum
building was Viggo Norn, who also served as chairman of the museum's
board until 1962.
In 1984, the Horsens Museum's art
department moved up the hill to Pavillon Lunden, and since then the
Horsens Art Museum has existed as an independent, state-recognized
art museum with museum director Claus Hagedorn-Olsen at the helm.
The art museum has been expanded considerably in 1992, and in the
autumn of 2006 the museum was able to inaugurate another extension.
Already at the establishment of Horsens Museum in 1906, the
museum's board decided that "The museum must include an art
department for modern Danish art, both painting and sculpture".
Although the wording has changed since then, it is still the newer
Danish art that is the museum's focal point.
Architecture
Pavilion Lunden
At the separation from Horsens Museum in 1984,
Horsens Kunstmuseum moved into Pavillon Lunden. The foundation stone
for the building was laid in 1843 by Horsens Borgerlige Skyttelaug,
which also took the initiative to establish the park that today
surrounds the museum.
The extension from 1992
However, the
space in the old pavilion soon became too cramped, and in 1992 the
first sod was taken for an extensive extension designed by the
architect Niels Thorup Pedersen and Poul Schwarz Tegnestue A / S.
The initiator was Horsens Folkeblad with editor-in-chief Mogens
Ahrenkiel at the helm, and the occasion was the newspaper's 125th
anniversary. Simplicity, clarity and flexibility were the key words
in an architectural addition, which in addition to Horsens
Folkeblad's generous donation was helped along the way by
contributions from Inge and Asker Larsen, the Hede Nielsen Family
Foundation, Bikuben, Nykredit, Schur International A / S and Horsens
Municipality. The 1700 sqm extension today houses the museum's
foyer, cafe, library, magazines and a number of unique exhibition
spaces.
The extension from 2006
On 25 November 2006, the
museum's latest expansion was ready: an extension of small 400
square meters donated by the Inge and Asker Larsen Foundation to
Support Non-profit Purposes. Here, a connecting corridor and a large
exhibition hall were added to the existing museum building, once
again with Poul Schwarz Tegnestue A / S at the helm. The extension
from 2006 continues the line laid at the first expansion of the
museum.
Values and goals
When Horsens Museum was founded in 1906 as
a museum that was to accommodate both art history and cultural
history, the purpose of the art department was formulated as
follows: "to awaken and maintain the sense of art". However, a lot
has happened since 1906, and when the art museum's independence in
1984, Horsens Municipality's Culture Committee in collaboration with
the then newly appointed museum director Claus Hagedorn-Olsen
formulated the following collection policy for the museum:
"Horsens Kunstmuseum's area of responsibility is Danish visual art
after 1800 with emphasis on the period after 1900. As far as the
period before about 1980 is concerned, the area of responsibility
is primarily already represented artists. After about 1980, the area
of responsibility is primarily contemporary experimental art. The
period after 1980 is considered the primary The museum's area of
responsibility also applies in relation to the museum's sculpture
park in Caroline Amalie Lunden. The Horsens Art Museum's Mogens
Zieler collection is mainly considered to be a completed part of the
collection."
At the same time, it was decided that Horsens
Art Museum should first and foremost work to collect relatively many
works by relatively few artists, so that the museum's guests can, as
far as possible, follow these artists throughout their oeuvre.