Storegade 13, House of Ebeling (listed)

On the corner of Storegade and Bagergyde lies this beautiful house, which is a little different from the other ducal houses. The fine doorway and the size of the house tell us, that the occupant was a person of status.

Christian Rudolph Ebeling was born in the county of Oldenburg in 1730. How he ended up in Augustenborg is not known, but in 1761 he married Frideriche Hartwig, who was the daughter of the duke’s tailor. The house was probably built the same year because the duke preferred that the court staff did not live at the Palace after they got married.

Ebeling was a man of many talents. He was first employed as a chamber servant for Prince Æmil August (the duke’s brother) and later as a footman and court musician for Duke Frederick Christian I. Footmen also had to be able to play an instrument, and so could Ebeling. He became the leader of the court orchestra, which played at the Palace and in the Forest and the gardens. He was also a very talented organist. When the organ of the new palace church arrived in 1773 and was consecrated in 1776, he was deeply involved and became the first organist of the palace church. He was responsible for “playing in” the organ when it arrived from Hamburg. It had been disassembled during transport. He had a seat on the third pew in the church, which says something about his status and his favour with the duke.

Ebeling was also a very skilled wood sculptor, and he made the beautiful decorations on the doorway himself. The small altar crucifix in the palace church is also his work. He also made violins, viola and double basses for the castle chapel in Sønderborg and others on Als. He even made chairs of apple and pear wood and carved spoons, forks, etc. out of bone.

After Ebeling’s death in 1809, his son-in-law Tyge Hansen took over the house, and lived there with his family for many years.

From 1850, the house was owned by haulier Peter Elley, who ran a haulage business and inn on the site. There was a bar in the east end of the house, and perhaps one bay was added to the house for that purpose. This could explain why the house is not symmetrical like most of the ducal houses.

In 1909, Asmus Nielsen bought the house and continued the haulage business. It is said that there were two carriages: One red and one blue. The blue one was the more expensive, and the local magistrate always asked for it. In addition to the carriage, horses were needed – two marks for a one-in-hand and six marks for a two-in-hand. Later, there were several carriages for the “taxi ride” of that time. Asmus Nielsen’s son Friedrich took over the house and ran a business as a master painter until his death in 1989. The heirs sold the house to a local construction company, who renovated the house and converted it into two apartments. Today the house is used for rent.