Kulturarv

Tegneskolen for Kvinder, H.C. Andersens Boulevard

Tegneskolen for Kvinder was founded in 1876 as a college of design and the graphic arts for women, and was located on H.C. Andersens Boulevard from 1881 to 1967. The college was designed by the architect Vilhelm Klein and built in 1880-81. It was one of several initiatives to provide better vocational training for women. In the late 1800s, women were not admitted to technical colleges. In 1888, graduates of the college were recognised as eligible for admission to the Royal Academy of Fine Art. In 1967, the women's college merged with the men's college, Kunsthåndværkerskolen, and eventually became what is now The Danish Design School. The building itself is listed.

First principal

• Story written by: Jakob Ingemann Parby
• Time / Periode 1876 1967

Charlotte Klein (née Schrøder) was the first principal of Tegneskolen for Kvinder, Denmark's first women’s college of design and the graphic arts. She worked unpaid for a number of years. Throughout her life, Charlotte Klein was committed to the Women's Rights Movement. In 1866, she married the architect Vilhelm Klein. In 1871, she was a co-founder of Dansk Kvindesamfund, the Danish Women's Society. A year later, she became the president of a newly created women’s book club, which became one of the biggest associations of the Women's Rights Movement in Copenhagen. At that time, public libraries did not exist, and book clubs were for men only. Vilhelm and Charlotte Klein had no children of their own, but in around 1890 fostered Sophy A. Christensen, one of the pupils of the school. In 1895, Sophy A. Christensen became Denmark's first female master joiner.

Read more about Tegneskolen for Kvinder, H.C. Andersens Boulevard at 1001fortællinger.dk