DST - The Danish State Telegraph Service

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Telecoms hub

By Birgitte Wistoft, Mag.art. i klassisk arkæologi fra Københavns Universitet, 1977 (5 stories)

For many years, international communication took place via DST- the Danish State Telegraph Service, which was headquartered in central Copenhagen at no. 37 Købmagergade from 1866-1990. DST provided international telegraph and telephone connections for the Danish nation. DR – the Danish Broadcasting Corporation was born out of DST, as was the Danish telex system. The architect Andreas Clemmensen (1852-1928) designed the grey-coloured, Baroque building. Behind its fine facade, the building is actually made of concrete. Construction commenced in 1917, and the building was inaugurated in 1923 and finally completed in 1925. In the 1950s, the telecoms services began to move to other premises. In 1996, the Danish Post and Telegraph Museum acquired the building.

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Trotsky on Danish airwaves

Story written by Birgitte Wistoft

Time / Periode 1866 1990

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In 1932, Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) visited Copenhagen on a lecture tour. The Russian revolutionary, living in exile in Turkey, would now be addressing the people of the West for the first time since being expelled from the Soviet Union. He held talks for Danish socialists in the Idrætshuset athletics centre in Østerbro. But he was also keen to reach an international audience over the airwaves. The Danish Government feared Soviet reprisal if it came to be associated with Trotsky's transmission. But the central telegraphy station was the safest place in the country for such broadcasts, since the public had no access behind the counters in the lobby. A photo shows Trotsky in front of a microphone bearing the American CBS radio network logo. The photo caption states as follows: Trotsky speaking from the DST office's voice studio on Købmagergade via Berlin-Brussels-London to listeners in the USA on Sunday, 27 November 1932.