This small ducal house with a ground floor area of only 93 square meters was probably built by the saddler Peter Petersen, who received a deed for the property in 1760. One of the first occupants was the wigmaker Wohnfelt’s widow, Christina.

In 1795, the house was purchased by the retired valet and surgeon, Heinrich Ernst Bergmann, after whom the house is named. The title ‘Surgeon’ was not protected, so anyone who had ‘operated’ a little on people could call themselves ‘surgeon’. In 1814, Bergmann’s wife, who survived her husband, sold the house to the court clerk A. Timmermann, but on the condition that she had the right to live in the house until her death.

In 1876, the dye master Heinrich Jacob Christian Børresen purchased the house and set up a small shop. A shop window was installed to the right of the front door. The customers of the shop came from the town and the surrounding area to have clothes and yarn dyed. His wife Ida and their three daughters made fabric prints, which they sold along with cloth and clothes.

In 1878, the Palace was a teachers’ college for women. This meant greater demand for paper and books, and the family initially sold it on commission from the shop “la Motte” in Sønderborg.

When Mr. Børresen died in 1897, his wife took over the shop. Their eldest daughter Else received her education in the kitchen of the teachers’ college. The other two daughters became teachers. Else though worked as a housekeeper in South Schleswig, but came home to help out in the shop.

In 1919, the teachers’ college was moved to Kiel, but increased sales of stationery as well as sales of magazines and weeklies compensated for sales to the college. The shop now functioned as a bookstore, and after her mother’s death in 1931, Else continued to run the shop. Else died in 1969 shortly before she would have turned 98 years old!

Today, the house is also called “House of the Bookseller” (Boghandlerens hus) after Ms. Børresen’s book and paper shop, which existed for almost 100 years.

Since then, various owners have started to renovate the house. A new roof was laid, new windows and a new front door was installed, but the renovation was never completed.

In 2007, Haderslev Museum carried out an excavation inside the house. They were called in by the owner who had found remains of a foundation whilst renewing the interior. It turned out that there had previously been a large farm on the site with half-timbering and thatched roof. The former house was probably located along the side street Bagergyde. At the end of Bagergyde is a beautiful house with an interesting history, which you can also listen about in the app.