The fish warehouses in Skagen

Facts

Danish design on a wave

The characteristic red wooden buildings in Skagen's harbour were built in 1905-07 by architect Thorvald Bindesbøll. The harbour was built at almost the same time. The regular serrated-edged gables are a throwback to the rows of fish warehouses from an earlier period of Scandinavian history. The same style can be seen in Bergen and Trondheim. But it was undoubtedly more common in days gone by, also in Denmark. Warehouses like this were almost always built of wood - so fires have wiped many of them out over the years. They resemble buildings in Hanseatic towns, and the style is also well-known in Baltic Sea harbours.

Public place

Listen to the story
Share

Contribute to The fish warehouses in Skagen

Have you visited / Want to visit? Contribute to this place Add to route

Recommend Log in or create profile to recommend

Selected entry

Rare architectural success

Story written by Claus M. Smidt

Time / Periode 1905 1907

0 comments 0 recommendations

Thorvald Bindesbøll did more than just build Skagen's distinctive fish warehouses. He is one of Denmark's great designers. His peers nicknamed him Bøllen", meaning hooligan. As a designer, Bindesbøll was particularly famous for his exuberant pottery. He grew up surrounded by art and architecture, the son of Gottlieb Bindesbøll, the architect responsible for the colourful Thorvaldsen's Museum. Educated at The School of Architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, and with a rare imagination, he understood clay in depth and created his own style of vases and silverware, which attracted international admiration. His buildings were of a more doubtful value. But the fish warehouses have a special status. Bindesbøll hit the nail on the head with his interpretation of an old motif. The style is so Danish and natural that the fish warehouses have become a role model for modern harbour buildings. "