KB-Hallen

Facts

Solid sports centre

By Hans Bonde, Professor. dr. phil. (17 stories)

In 1938, the KB football club moved from Sankt Markus Allé to Peter Bangs Vej in Frederiksberg. When the football club was founded in 1876, it was the first in Denmark. Its mantra was: Straighten your back and speak the truth". This was also written on KB-Hallen, which at that time was the largest privately-owned sports centre in Europe. KB played here but it was also the venue for international handball, boxing, tennis and badminton tournaments. Architect Hans Hansen and engineer Christen Ostenfeld were in charge of the centre's demanding concrete construction. Architect Poul Henningsen made a special lamp for the centre, and painter Sikker Hansen created a gigantic mural in the adjoining function hall. "

Public place

Selected entry

Jazz club blown up in revenge

Story written by Hans Bonde

Time / Periode 1876

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From 1943, the German occupational forces adopted a tougher approach to the more and more frequent sabotage by Danish resistance fighters. The Nazi counter-sabotage was called schalburgtage" after the Schalburg corps (volunteers fighting on the German side led by Christian Frederik von Schalburg). The raids often targeted large, expensive sports centres confiscated by the Germans. On 11 June 1944, the Germans blew up the KB Sports Centre. Probably because it was a dancehall for fans of American jazz: Swingers with relaxed lifestyles, checked jackets, large sweaters and thick-soled shoes. The jazz style contrasted starkly with the rigid, sporty and militant ideals of the Nazi regime. The explosion obliterated the contents of the centre but the concrete structure remained intact. So just six months after the Liberation in May 1945, the centre was open once again. Today, the KB sports centre also holds large concerts featuring much more than just jazz. "