Herning Folk High School

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Folk high school for industrial workers

Originally, folk high schools were intended to strengthen the Danes' commitment to the democratisation process taking off in the mid-1800s. The target group was the country's rural population. But in 1961, a folk high school for industrial employees saw the light of day. It was built on a flat heath on the outskirts of Herning and was the first stage of the Birk Plan, a development that is still the hallmark of the eastern edge of Herning. The original sketches from architects Tyge Arnfred and Viggo Møller-Jensen show a low building that fitted in with the landscape. But the building owners insisted on adding to the height, and the school became a high-rise block, which was very unusual for the area.

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The founders of Herning Folk High School

Story written by Bent Bang Larsen

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This school concept was dreamt up by textile manufacturer Aage Damgaard, who after staying at a folk high school, in 1954 joined the Folk High School Committee devised by Jørgen Jørgensen, the then minister of education. Aage Damgaard had new ideas but folk high schools were still targeted at the rural population. He and his brothers Knud and Mads Eg Damgaard thought the folk high school would be very valuable to the workers of the expanding textile industry. So for ten years, the brothers devoted five percent of their income to running the school. Herning Folk High School for the Textile and Clothing Industry" became a reality in 1961, with its interior decoration by artist Paul Gadegaard, a close colleague of Aage Damgaard. The school changed its name and charter in 1974 and became a conventional folk high school of general education. "