Maglekilde

{{Short description|Building in Denmark}}

Image:Maglekilde.JPG

Maglekilde is the most powerful of several natural springs in Roskilde, Denmark. It formerly issued water at a rate of some 90,000 litres per hour but has now dropped to 15,000 litres per hour. A wellhouse was built over the spring in 1927. The building was listed in the Danish registry of protected buildings and places in 1979.

History

=Early history=

Extensive deposits of travertine from Maglekilde were mined and used as a building material before bricks became readily available. Several churches in the Roskilde area were built in travertine from the spring in the 11th and 12th centuries.{{cite web|url=http://www.kulturarv.dk/1001fortaellinger/da_DK/maglekilden-i-roskilde|title=Maglekilden I Roskilde|publisher=Kulturstyrelsen|accessdate=11 January 2015|language=Danish}} This activity resulted in the formation of a pond which was used as a mill pond. The watermill at the site was called Maglekilde Watermill (Maglekilde Mølle). The water from the spring also powered five other watermills on its way to Roskilde Fjord: Vandhulsmølle, Sankt Mortens Mølle, Kapelsmøllen, Sankt Clara Mølle and Strandmøllen.{{cite web|url=http://www.roskildemuseum.dk/vores-viden/nyere-tid/fredede-huse-i-roskilde-og-lejre.aspx|title=Fredede huse i Roskilde og Lejre|publisher=Roskilde Museum|accessdate=11 January 2015|language=Danish|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109162301/http://www.roskildemuseum.dk/vores-viden/nyere-tid/fredede-huse-i-roskilde-og-lejre.aspx|archivedate=9 November 2014}} Maglekilde Watermill is first mentioned by name in 1258 but it most likely included in the prebend of one of the canons at the cathedral chapter in 1253.{{cite web|url=http://www.roskildehistorie.dk/1200/enkeltaar/1250-99/1253.htm|title=1264|publisher=Roskildes Historie|accessdate=13 January 2015|language=Danish}}

=Maglekilde Paper and Textile Mill=

File:Maglekilde efter 1820.jpg

On 8 April 1731, Maglekilde Watermill was the first of the buildings which were destroyed in the series of devastating fires that hit Roskilde in 1731.{{cite web|url=http://www.roskildehistorie.dk/1700/billeder/bystyre/ildebrande/brand1.htmhtml|title=Brandene I 1731|publisher=Roskildes Historie|accessdate=11 January 2015|language=Danish}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} A new paper mill was built on the site in 1737{{cite web|url=http://fam-schuwendt.dk/onewebmedia/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Papirmagerne%20og%20Mundus%20familien.pdf|title=Papirmagerne og Mundus familien.|publisher=fam-schuwendt.dk|accessdate=11 January 2015|language=Danish}} and it was joined by a textile mill in 1761.

The complex was in 1810 acquired by five Jewish industrialists from Copenhagen. They introduced a number of new initiatives, including the construction of workers' housing and the import of skilled stockings weavers from Magdeburg. The father of O.H.Schmeltz, who would become known for his many large donations to the city of Roskilde, was employed as a master weaver at Maglekilde Textile Mill in 1811.

In 1820, Maglekilde Paper Mill installed the fourth steam engine in the country.{{cite web|url=http://www.roskildehistorie.dk/1700/billeder/industri/Maglekilde/papirfabrik.htm|title=1731 Maglekilde Klæde- og Papirfabrik|publisher=Roskildes Historie|accessdate=11 January 2015|language=Danish}} In spite of the introduction of new technology, Maglekilde Paper Mill was unable to compete with the larger paper mill Strandmøllen on Mølleåen and in 1838 the factory went bankrupt.{{cite web|url=http://www2.gribskovgymnasium.dk/fs/wwwDamp/4_Drewsen_1821.html|title=Drewsen 1821|publisher=gribskovgymnasium.dk|accessdate=11 January 2015|language=Danish|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111042843/http://www2.gribskovgymnasium.dk/fs/wwwDamp/4_Drewsen_1821.html#|archive-date=2015-01-11|url-status=dead}}

=Maglekilde Spa and later history=

Image:Maglekilde Vandkuranstalt.jpg

Image:Maglekilde træsnit (c. 1846).jpg

The disused industrial complex was acquired by a group of citizens from Roskilde in 1846. They demolished the buildings, filled the mill pond and built a combined spa and mineral water factory on the site. The complex was designed by the architect Hans Conrad Stilling. The water was directed through a closed ditch to a grotto on Maglekildevej where it sprang from the mouth of a Neptune figure. A small wellhouse was built over the spring in 1927. The spa building was used for other purposes prior to its demolition in 1972.

Never gaining popularity, Maglekilde Spa (Maglekilde Vandkuranstalt) attracted only few guests and closed after just two years in 1851. The complex was in 1851 acquired by Constant Dirckink-Holmfeld, a German-born civil servant and political writer, who had fallen out of favour in Copenhagen for his criticism of the March Revolution and new constitution. He lived in part of the complex while the rest was still used by the mineral water factory or rented out to private tenants. He moved to Hamburg in the early 1750s.

Maglekilde Machine Factory opened at the site in 1865.

Today

The wellhouse is a small timber structure with a red tile roof. It is today located on a parking lot. The wellhouse was listed in 1979.{{cite web|url=https://www.kulturarv.dk/fbb/sagvis.pub?sag=7396692|title=Sag:Maglekilde|publisher=Kulturstyrelsen|accessdate=11 January 2015|language=Danish}}

Further reading

  • Af Haugsted, Ida: Maglekilde Vandkuranstalt : surmælk, omviklinger og brusebade (1994)

See also

References

{{reflist}}