Welcome to Lise Nørgaard’s Roskilde

Visit the bank

We begin at Stændertorvet, the town square in central Roskilde, where you can look across to the building on the corner of Algade and Stændertorvet. Today, the premises house the shoe shop “Skoringen”, but during Lise Nørgaard’s childhood the building was home to Roskilde Landbobank.

Lise Nørgaard’s parents held their accounts at the bank, and her father served as chairman of the board. The family were close friends with the bank manager, H.H. Stigaard, and the children of the two families grew up closely connected.

Miss Lønholdt’s girls’ school

From Landbobanken, the walk continues to the Yellow Mansion, originally built as a residence for the Danish royal family.

From the mid-19th century, Miss Lønholdt’s Girls’ School occupied the right wing of the mansion, and this was where Lise Nørgaard began school in 1923. The school mainly catered for girls from well-off families, and Lise Nørgaard was eager to start school early so she could learn to read.

Today, the Yellow Mansion serves as the residence of the Bishop of Roskilde.

“The dancing school sweetheart”

From Stændertorvet, the route continues down Roskilde’s main shopping street, Skomagergade. On your right, you will find the clothing store “Aage Müller”, founded in 1834. One of the town’s oldest shops, it has been passed down through generations, and for many years the Müller family lived above the store.

For several years, Lise Nørgaard attended dancing lessons with the family’s son, Henrik Müller, whom she considered one of the more attractive boys in her social circle.

As a very young girl, she had in fact imagined Henrik Müller as her future husband — but life turned out differently.

Mother and career woman

From Skomagergade, the walk continues along Karen Olsdatters Stræde via Bondetinget to Villavej. The area still contains many impressive villas and was originally one of Roskilde’s wealthiest neighbourhoods.

At the end of Villavej, on your right-hand side, you will see a classic Functionalist-style villa at Byvolden 24. Here, Lise Nørgaard lived with her first husband, Mogens Flindt Nielsen, and their four children.

The family lived in the house during the Second World War — a period Lise Nørgaard described as challenging, both because of the German occupation and restrictions, and because she was simultaneously raising young children while working as a journalist.

The villa was the last place Lise Nørgaard lived in Roskilde. After her divorce in 1949, she moved to Copenhagen.

Mother and career woman

From Skomagergade, the walk continues along Karen Olsdatters Stræde via Bondetinget to Villavej. The area still contains many impressive villas and was originally one of Roskilde’s wealthiest neighbourhoods.

At the end of Villavej, on your right-hand side, you will see a classic Functionalist-style villa at Byvolden 24. Here, Lise Nørgaard lived with her first husband, Mogens Flindt Nielsen, and their four children.

The family lived in the house during the Second World War — a period Lise Nørgaard described as challenging, both because of the German occupation and restrictions, and because she was simultaneously raising young children while working as a journalist.

The villa was the last place Lise Nørgaard lived in Roskilde. After her divorce in 1949, she moved to Copenhagen.

Mother, father, children … and Aunt Bob

From Cathedral Square, the walk continues through Byparken and onwards to Klostervang 10, where Lise Nørgaard lived from 1921 to 1925, between the ages of four and eight. The house, owned by her father Harry A. Jensen, was occupied by Mr and Mrs Møller on the ground floor, while the family lived on the upper floors.

Alongside Lise Nørgaard’s parents, younger sister Gerda and younger brother Kai, the family also lived with her aunt Agnes — known as “Aunt Bob”. Aunt Bob was unmarried and kept house for the family. She later moved with them from the villa to an apartment in Algade and later to the family’s permanent childhood home at Skovbovængets Allé 28.

Rest on the bench with Lise

From Klostervang, the route continues along Frederiksborgvej until reaching Algade, Roskilde’s main street. Along the way, you will pass the bench where Lise Nørgaard, immortalised in bronze, watches the life of the town pass by. Feel free to sit down and take a break.

The sculpture was created by the Funen artist Mette Agerbæk and unveiled in 2010 by actress Ghita Nørby.

Dancing in the Golden Age Hall

From the bench, you can look across to one of the town’s hotels — Four Points Flex Hotel, formerly Hotel Prindsen. During Lise Nørgaard’s childhood, this was Roskilde’s finest hotel, unlike the Railway Hotel near the station, which was frequented mainly by craftsmen and workers.

At Hotel Prindsen, children from affluent families attended formal dancing events in the Golden Age Hall. It was here that Lise Nørgaard and her sister danced alongside promising young men such as Henrik Müller.

Today, the hotel has a hall named after Lise Nørgaard.

From Klostervang to an apartment

Between the ages of eight and eleven, Lise Nørgaard and her family lived in a smaller apartment at Algade 23 — a building that today houses the hardware shop “Importøren”. Moving from the house at Klostervang to a third-floor apartment in Algade did not please Lise Nørgaard, who disliked the family’s new home.

On the opposite side of Algade, Lise Nørgaard’s mother ran the fashion store “Paris”, selling women’s clothing and hats while also operating her own sewing workshop. Despite the economic crisis of the 1930s, the business quickly flourished, and she later purchased the family villa at Skovbovængets Allé 28 with her own money.

Where it all began …

At the corner of Algade and Hestetorvet, you can look across to the building where Røde Port Bistro is located today. This was where Lise Nørgaard was born and spent her first four years. It was also here that her father started his grocery business on the ground floor while the family lived on the first floor. Later, he moved his wholesale business to Jernbanegade.

A career begins

Continuing down Hestetorvet, you reach Roskilde Station, Denmark’s oldest railway station. From here, continue along Gråbrødre Cemetery and turn right into Hersegade. Here you will still find the offices of Roskilde Dagblad, where Lise Nørgaard began her career as a trainee journalist in 1935.

At Roskilde Dagblad, staff helped print readers’ celebratory songs and poems. Much like the character “Røde” in Matador, Lise Nørgaard was sometimes assigned to “remove the corns from the metre”, ensuring the verses had both rhythm and rhyme.

At the time, it was considered rather improper for a married woman to work — especially as a journalist. However, because Lise Nørgaard passionately wanted to enter the profession, her father arranged a trial period at Roskilde Dagblad. Secretly, he hoped it would not work out, but she ended up working for the newspaper for 14 years before moving on to the national newspaper Politiken.

Roskilde Bank

Continuing down Hersegade brings you back to Algade. On the left-hand side stands Arbejdernes Landsbank, in the building that once housed the now-defunct Roskilde Bank.

Founded in 1884, Roskilde Bank mainly served the town’s affluent citizens and was a long-standing competitor to Roskilde Landbobank, where Lise Nørgaard’s parents later became some of the bank’s largest customers.

We end the walk where we began — at Stændertorvet.

We hope you have enjoyed the tour and gained a deeper insight into Lise Nørgaard’s life in Roskilde.

Attractions in Roskilde