Vestergade 1


Vestergade 1 is a Neoclassical property located at the corner of Gammeltorv and the street Vestergade in the Old Town of Copenhagen, Denmark. The facade towards Gammeltorv and Vestergade meet in an Obtuse angle with four bays towards the square and five bays towards the street. The building was listed in the Danish registry of protected buildings and places in 1950. Café Gammel Torv, a traditional Danish lunch restaurant, has since 1910 been based in the basement at Gammeltorv 20. The building/restaurant is now cologually known as The House With The Green Tree after an eponymous 1942 novel by Kalvin Lindemann.

History

The building on the site was from 1671 home to a beer vendor and tavern. It was initially operated by M. S. Bjerre who also rented out rooms to the peasants who came into town on market day to sell their produce on Gammeltorv. The building was like most of the buildings in the area destroyed in the Copenhagen Fire of 1795.
The current building was built in 1796 for grocer Henrik Holm in 1796.

Architecture

The building consists of three floors over a raised cellar. The facade of the building is broken in an obtuse angle with four bays facing Gammeltorv and five bays facing Vestergade. The building is constructed in red brick and stands on a stone plinth. The ground floor is red washed while the upper floors stand in undressed brick. There is a frieze between the five central windows on the second and third floors, flanked by two white-washed bands between the two outer windows on each side. The roof is glad with black winged tiles towards the street and red winged tiles towards the courtyard. It features six dormer windows towards the street. The building was listed in the Danish registry of protected buildings and places in 1950.

Café Gammel Torv

Café Fammel Torv is a lunch restaurant with a menu dominated by smørrebrød and other traditional Danish lunch dishes. It was opened in 1910 by Charlotte A. Jensen.

Cultural references

Kelvin Lindemann's 1942 novel Huset med det grønne træ is a family saga about a fictional wealthy family of colonial merchants and slave traders who resides in the building.