Standing opposite Apotekertorvet is this very large house, which was built in 1886 and renovated in 1997. The house is a fine example of the architecture from the German period. It originally had two beautiful wooden verandas in the middle section, which unfortunately were lost during the renovation. The façade is decorated with pilasters, quoins, profiled cornices and window sills.

At the end of the 18th century, weaver Hans Friedrich Hansen owned a house on the plot. He was the only weaver in town and so prospered financially. His son, Frederick Christian Hansen, studied theology and became parish priest in Tandslet (1871-1893). He married Caroline Agnese Henrici, who was the daughter of Royal Physician Heinrich Wilhelm Henrici from Storegade 19.

The couple had a daughter, Marie Wilhelmine Auguste, who married Postmaster Wilhelm Heinrich Schmid von Schwarzenhorn, who it was said to be related to the well-known German noble family of the same name. They were married by her father in Tandslet Church in 1879. Maybe the house was a belated wedding gift, but it was certainly built as a family seat.

The father of Marie, Frederick Christian Hansen, who paid for the construction, did not want people to be able to look directly into the living rooms from the street. After all, she was a clergyman’s daughter! So the house was set back from the street, in order to create a “discretion zone” formed by the front garden, which was later expropriated and developed by the municipality.

Wilhelm fought on the side of the duke during the First Schleswig War (1848-51) and had good relations with the ducal family, which perhaps earned him the position as postmaster general.

When Wilhelm died, Marie continued living in the house. She had a housekeeper and various tenants. She had no children, and died in 1948, aged 99. This brought the end to a family with deep roots in the upper circles of the town. Her grandfather on her father’s side was Weaver Hansen, her grandfather on her mother’s side was Royal Physician Henrici and her great-grandfather on her mother’s side was Court Priest Christian Jessen.

Today, the house looks almost as it did originally, with the exception of the front garden, the two verandas and the large shop windows.

For some years the building housed a branch of the chain of the Louis Nielsen opticians. Later, the bank Andelskassen moved in, but in 2018 the office was moved to Sønderborg.

In 2020, the building was taken over by the housing association Søbo, who want to convert the house into apartments.

There are more interesting stories about Stavensbølgade on the other side of the intersection in the middle of town. Follow Storegade to the east.