View source for Sorte Hest

{{Short description|Copenhagen building}}
{{Infobox historic building
|image= Sorte Hest - Vesterbrogade wing 01.jpg
|caption= The Sorte Hest in 2018
|name= Sorte Hest
|location_town=[[Copenhagen]]
|location_country=[[Denmark]]
|architect=
|client= 
|engineer=
|construction_start_date=
|completion_date= 1771
|demolished_date=
|cost=
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}}
'''Sorte Hest''' ([[English language|English]]: Black Horse) is the oldest building in the [[Vesterbro, Copenhagen|Vesterbro]] district of [[Copenhagen]], [[Denmark]]. A former roadside [[inn]], then located well outside the limits of the [[Fortifications of Copenhagen (17th century)|fortified city]], standing on the Vestre Landevej (Western Country Road) leading in and out of Copenhagen through the [[Fortifications of Copenhagen (17th century)#Vesterport|Western City Gate]]. It provided accommodation for travellers as well as citizens who failed to enter the city before the city gates were locked at sunset. Today it houses a bakery and café as well as apartments. The buildings date from 1770{{ndash}}1800. The entire complex was listed in the [[Listed buildings in Vesterbro/Kongens Enghave|Danish registry of protected buildings and places]] in 1980.

The building lends its name to Teatret Sorte Hest, a theatre based in an adjacent building. The threatre's building is not related to the former inn. It is a former iron foundry founded by [[Heinrich Meldahl]], father of the architect [[Ferdinand Meldahl]].

==History==
===The four Horses===
[[File:Gæstgiveriet Sorte Hest, med Winstrup Mølle i højre baggrund.jpg|thumb|left|Sorte Hest with Winstrup's Windmill in the background.]]
The Black Horse was one out of four inns known as "Horses" located along the western access road to Copenhagen. Closest to the city stood the Green Horse, then followed the White Horse, the Yellow Horse and farthest out, on the border to [[Frederiksberg]], the Black Horse. In between these inns were even more establishments catering for travellers. Competition was thus fierce and at some point both the Green and White Horses closed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.berlingske.dk/kultur/den-sorte-hest-paa-vesterbro|title=Den Sorte Hest på Vesterbro|date=9 September 2009|publisher=Berlingske|accessdate=2009-12-20}}</ref>

The Yellow Horse, with four [[pavilion]]s and two [[bowling|bowling courses]], only survived because it also went into [[tobacco]] manufacturing. Part of the area between the Vestre Landevej and [[Frederiksberg Allé]] was laid out as tobacco fields and a horse-driven mill was constructed for the processing of tobacco into [[snus]]. Other exotic produce cultivated on the estate included [[peach]]es, [[apricot]]s, [[Morus (plant)|mulberries]] and [[grape]]s. In the mid-19th century the property was acquired by a couple of [[akvavit]] manufacturers who had realized that [[real estate]] was a much more lucrative business. They became rich from selling off the land in parcels to developers to use for the construction of multi-story apartment buildings, turning Vestre Landevej into urban Vesterbrogade.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.berlingske.dk/kultur/den-sorte-hest-paa-vesterbro|title=Den Sorte Hest på Vesterbro|date=9 September 2009|publisher=Berlingske|accessdate=2009-12-20}}</ref>

===The Black Horse===
[[File:Vesterbrogade, gæstgiveriet Sorte Hest, set fra Studevænget mod vest.jpg|thumb|[[H.G.F. Holm]]: Sorte Hest viewed from the west, 1848]]
[[File:Sorte Hest (1899).jpg|thumb|Sorte Hest in 1899]]
[[File:Sorte Hest (1900).jpg|thumb|Sorte Hest in 1900]]
Further out on Vesterbro, the Black Horse had been an inn since the 17th century. First known as the Golden Lion (Danish: Den Gyldne Løve), the current building was constructed in 1771. The closest neighbour, on the opposite side of the road, was the [[capital punishment|execution site]] at Vester Fælled (Western Common). It was here that the Counts [[Johann Friedrich Struensee]] and [[Enevold Brandt]] were put on public display on the [[breaking wheel]], following their executions by [[Decapitation|beheading]].

For a couple of decades in the early 19th century the building served as a [[Masonry heater|masonry stove]] factory, before it was bought by the inn keeper Hans Rasmussen, who returned the building to its original function, although stoves were still manufactured on the upper floor. Well into the 20th century the Black Horse continued to serve as an inn, but by 1980 the building had fallen into disrepair and was left empty. In 1986, the building was occupied by the Danish [[Squatter]]'s Movement and remained their premier stronghold in Copenhagen, until they were evicted by the police on 2 February 1990.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highways.dk/hovedvej1/001,9_sortehest.php|title=Portræt af Gjæstgiveriet Sorte Hest|publisher=highways.dk|accessdate=2009-12-20}}</ref> The building was then scheduled for demolition, but after local opposition these plans were abandoned and the Black Horse was instead renovated and restored.

==Cultural references==
* In Danish writer and poet [[Carl Bagger]]'s 1835 book ''Min Broders Levned'' (''My Brother's Life''), he describes the colourful characters associated with the Black Horse, including the patron and a short man with a parrot nose and a long, blue coat.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kobenhavnshistorie.dk/bog/kko/s/kko_s-13.html|title=Sorte Hest|publisher=Selskabet for Københavns Historie|accessdate=2009-12-20|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624195248/http://www.kobenhavnshistorie.dk/bog/kko/s/kko_s-13.html|archivedate=2008-06-24}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}

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[[Category:Buildings and structures in Copenhagen]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Vesterbro/Kongens Enghave]]
[[Category:Evicted squats]]
[[Category:Hotel buildings completed in 1771]]
[[Category:Hotels in Copenhagen]]
[[Category:Squatting in Denmark]]
[[Category:Vesterbro, Copenhagen]]