The Old Citizen's House - Kolding's oldest house, located in the city center

The half-timbered house is Kolding's oldest preserved house. It is located in the city center and has over 400 years of history. Today it functions as an exhibition space for visual artists.

 

 

 

 

"Last night, most of Kolding burned down"
So laconically, King Frederick II noted in his calendar on May 8, 1583, that the eastern part of Kolding was destroyed by a violent fire.
The extent of the fire is not fully known, but at least the square and the buildings along what are now Østergade and Slotsgade were included.
In the years that followed, the city was recreated.

One of the newly built houses has survived to this day, Helligkorsgade 18.

According to the door lintel, the house was built in 1589 and constructed in accordance with the general building practice in Kolding at the time as a gabled house, i.e. built with the gable facing the street.

This building custom originated in the North German trading towns and spread to the Danish towns along the Little Belt in the Middle Ages.

Today, only a few examples of this construction method, which gave several landowners direct access to the street, remain in Denmark. Among these, there are three in Kolding: Borchs Gård on Akseltorv and Helligkorsgade 18 and 20.

The first owners of the house are unknown. In 1704, shoemaker Jørgen Hansen bought the house and it remained in the family's possession until 1915. The house was then purchased by a group of Kolding citizens who wanted to ensure that it was preserved for posterity.
The house was later given to Kolding Municipality, which used it as a tourist office for many years.

Today it functions, among other things, as an exhibition space for visual artists.

In the gable facing the garden sits a cannonball from the battles for Kolding on April 23, 1849.

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