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Houses of Communication

by Dorte Fogh

This year it is 375 years since King Christian IV founded the Royal Danish Postal Service.


A Real Danish Post Office
One might think that post offices are as old as the postal service itself. But that is not the case. In the beginning the postmaster in Copenhagen dispatched mail twice a day at the Stock Exchange, and all around the country post offices were fitted up in the postmaster’s home.

However, during the last part of the 19th century the postal service had to rent well-situated premises for the increasing amounts of letters. But the houses were not functioning as intended and consequently the postal service had to erect buildings designed for the purpose. The royal inspectors of listed state buildings designed many post offices during the period 1900-1921. That was the time when the good reputa-tion of Danish design was created, and the post offices were part of the development.

At the same time as the country’s best architects developed the characteristics of Danish architecture, they also de-veloped the postal service’s corporate image as it is called today. We are never in doubt when we are facing a Danish post office despite their many differences. Even when they have been closed down and the oval enamel signs have been removed, they are easily recognizable. They are proud and self-aware buildings made of hand-moulded bricks. The red tiles and the white windows are signalling the national colours. The post offices are arranged practically so that we can deliver our mail items at one end of the building and they continue out into the world from the other end.

The Telephone Houses
When the telephone companies started to appear in the 1880's, they were too small to build their own houses. Therefore they had to rent premises in already existing buildings. But in 1897 the companies were granted a concession of telephone business which gave them the courage to build their own houses. They turned out to be interesting buildings with decorations often inspired by Danish churches in order to secure good connection to the Powers Above.

Today Tele Danmark owns more than 2,000 small and big buildings all over the country. Especially the head offices of the three "old" companies in Copenhagen, Odense, and Århus from around 1900 are worth noticing.

The Homes of the Post and Telephone
In Post & Tele Museum’s publication "Markante profi-ler" ["Prominent Profiles"] – only available in Danish – among others the journalist Peter Olesen narrates about his experiences of some of the post offices and telephone houses. The theme booklet contains 56 pages and can be bought in the museum shop. Price: DKK 45 (excl. p&p).

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