Høng Courthouse

Facts

The architecture of Absolutism

By Thomas Roland, Forhistorisk arkæolog, cand. phil. (14 stories)

Høng Courthouse served as both gaol and court for the Løve County jurisdiction in West Zealand. Under the absolute monarchy, the judiciary and law enforcement were not separate as they are today. The Courthouse was built in 1838 to drawings by C.F. Hansen. But Hansen's Classicist building is scarcely as impressive now as when it was built. Subsequent conversions have changed its appearance appreciably. Originally, for example, only the mid-section of the building was on two storeys, and the upper section contained the four gaol cells. Until the conversion, small barred windows clearly indicated the function of these quarters.

Public place

Selected entry

Forum Romanum in Høng

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Story written by Thomas Roland

Time / Periode 1838 1935

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Høng was only a village of low, thatched cottages when C.F. Hansen's impressive courthouse was built in its midst. The mid-section in particular, which was originally topped by a high, pyramid-shaped tiled roof, caused a stir. C.F. Hansen's strict lines and massive building blocks, inspired by ancient Roman architecture, rarely met with approval in the provinces. Rather than the almost unornamented Classicist buildings, the people preferred a more ornate, lavish facade reminiscent of the Baroque style. Against that, the awe-inspiring buildings of Classicism complemented perfectly the self-aggrandizing State, and became almost synonymous with absolutist architecture. In the provinces, they weren't given the choice!