Workers' Assembly Hal

Facts

Schooling in democracy

By Jacob Bjerring-Hansen, Direktør for Bornholms Museum (13 stories)

The meeting hall in Rømersgade dates back to 1879. It was the first building in Northern Europe built and owned by workers. It now houses the Workers Museum, but back then it was a centre for workers' political and social self-education. The general public learned the democratic ground rules at meetings held by, for example, various associations for sports, reading and debating as well as trade unions. People learned to wait their turn to speak, follow an agenda and most important of all: the workers were trained to present their views clearly. The building was also a social and cultural meeting place where the workers could feel safe and secure. No one needed to worry about differences in status or act like a member of the middle class to be accepted.

Public place

Selected entry

Seamstresses threw down the gauntlet

Story written by Jacob Bjerring-Hansen

Time / Periode 1879 1899

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The meeting hall had a vital influence on the labour movement. Also for women belonging to the trade-union movement and their commitment to feminism. A report describes the strike of the union of women tailors in 1899: We took a very courageous step and declared a strike, which was unheard of at the time, and was also reported in the national newspapers. Thousands of seamstresses reported every day to Rømersgade 22, rallies were held every day in the big hall, and feminists – Louise Nørlund, Anne Brun, Birgitte Berg-Nielsen and many others – turned up and held impassioned speeches on endurance and the importance of solidarity and comradeship. The strike was a major victory for the women." "