The People's House - Vega

Facts

The Movement's headquarters

By Jacob Bjerring-Hansen, Direktør for Bornholms Museum (12 stories)

Today, music is the order of the day at the Vega nightclubs at Enghavevej 40 in Vesterbro, Copenhagen. But for over a hundred years, from 1895 until 1996, the building, the People's House, witnessed ideological speeches and socialist songs. The labour movement looked after the city's many workers from the cradle to the grave. Trade organisations, political parties and cooperatives, as well as social and cultural societies, were part of the movement. The many meeting rooms and halls at the People's House were the venue for board meetings, AGMs, conflict and strike meetings but also more informal events such as masked balls and Christmas parties. The current building, from 1956, was designed by Vilhelm Lauritzen.

Public place

Selected entry

Boyhood dreams

Story written by Jacob Bjerring-Hansen

Time / Periode 1900

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The biggest disappointment of my life threatened to ruin New Year's Eve. For the first and only time, we missed the Christmas party at the People's House. The local party organisation's Christmas party was an institution in its own right and the highlight of the year. A beautifully decorated tree reached right up past the balcony and ended somewhere up among the chandeliers. We always began by dancing around the tree and singing Christmas carols. That took far too long. Down below in the little hall, hot chocolate was waiting on long tables and there stood the ladies of the committee, ready to dish out a mountain of goodie bags, while we wolfed down the hot chocolate and Danish pastries. Together with the goodies came a toy, and that was what we looked forward to most of all." - From Anton Hansen's book "The Boy Dreamed" (Drengen Drømte). - From Anton Hansen's childhood memoirs. "