Højskolehistorie langs Hærvejsruten, Askov

Along the Ancient Road's hiking route through Askov, you will meet the folk high school history. We have selected a number of houses that are located right next to the Ancient Road's hiking route, and the residents of the houses have had a strong connection to Askov Folk High School - and the life that unfolded here. They created the folk high school life. 

In 1865, a group of teachers from Rødding Folk High School, which was the world's first folk high school, moved across the river Kongeå and to Askov. Askov was then a small village - 3 farms around a pond - like many other villages, it did not make much of a fuss. And the Kongeå was the border between Denmark and Prussia, because the Danes lost the Battle of Dybbøl in 1864, and this meant that the conditions for running a folk high school had changed significantly. 

The folk high school quickly came to change Askov. From being a village with agriculture as its main occupation, Askov quickly became one of the country's most important "school towns". The folk high school and perhaps especially its principal Ludvig Schrøder acted as magnets and attracted other educational institutions for adults to the town and the area. Trade and crafts were given a prominent place in the cityscape. Farmhands were to be trained to install electricity for agriculture. The schools, their teachers and the students needed service functions, and therefore Askov changed character.

The spirit of the folk high school left its mark on the town and the area, especially after the establishment of the expanded folk high school in 1878. The extended folk high school was a multi-year winter school course with the main emphasis on the natural sciences. The extended folk high school was primarily intended for students who already had a folk high school stay behind them  - and that is both men and women. Askov Folk High School quickly became the public high schools' flagship and a Grundtvigian stronghold. Religion and science came to go hand in hand with the establishment of institutions such as Askov Valgmenighedskirke, Askov Experimental Station  (fertilizer experiments) and Poul la Cours Experimental Mill (research into the optimal number of turbine blades).

If you go for a walk in Askov today, you can find traces of this development history everywhere. A small part of this imprint can be experienced along the Hærvej route, which goes through Askov. Specifically, along Møllevej between la Cour's experimental mill and Torvet. 

The houses and their owners are described individually below - from north to south starting from Torvet/Bydammen in Askov. Remember that the houses today are private property and housing - and therefore you should enjoy the sight of the architecture from the Mill Road/Hærvej route. 

Fengers Hus - Maltvej 1
When you cross the square along the Hærvej route through Askov (from the north) just after Dammen and Brugsen, there is a red brick house to the right between the large trees. Ludvig Schrøder (1836-1908), who was the very first principal of Askov Folk High School, moved in here with his family in May 1865. The house was barely finished when Ludvig Schrøder rented it from farm owner Jens Ebbesen at Melvanggård, which is one of the original farms in the village of Askov. According to the lease, Jens Ebbesen was also to build a smaller house for educational use. This was quickly cleared, and Askov Folk High School officially opened in November 1865. Ludvig Schrøder bought the house in 1868. The following year, he moved with his family to the school's newly built main building and into the house moved folk high school teacher Rasmus Fenger. He has given the house its name – Fengers Hus. 

The White House on the Square - Torvet 10-12
The house was built in 1907 by Askov's photographer Karl Kristensen (1860-1925). He had been lucky and won the big prize in the Class Lottery. The money was invested in the house, which was designed by architect Frederik Appel, and he bought the land for the house from Askov Brugsforening, which had been established in 1901 and had taken over the merchant's house on the square in the same year. Karl Kristensen bought the land with the clause that no competing business was allowed from the building. 

Feilberg's House - Møllevej 2
Folklore researcher H. F. Feilberg (1831-1921) has given his name to the house, where he lived from 1891 to 1921. H. F. Feilberg bought the house from carpenter and folk high school teacher Jørgen Rasmussen Kirkebjerg, who had built the house. H. F. Feilberg was a theologian by education and worked as a priest in North Schleswig from 1856 to 1864. where he was deposed from office by the Prussian authorities. While living in North Schleswig, his interest in folklore research was aroused, and in 1863 he published the folklore story "Fra Heden". After working as a teacher for a period of time, he was again called to be a priest in South Jutland. From 1869 to 1876 he was parish priest of Brørup and Lindknud, which are located just north of Askov. 

Lindely - Møllevej 1
The house was built in 1892 by carpenter Jørgen Rasmussen Kirkebjerg. He had been a student at Askov Folk High School 1883-84 and lived in the town, where he worked as a physical education teacher at the folk high school. When he took over Askov Sløjdskole in 1895, he sold the house to gardener Hans Refslund, who in turn sold it to folk high school teacher Marius Kristensen in 1901. Marius Kristensen (1869-1941) worked from 1895 to 1928 as a teacher at Askov Folk High School, from 1915 also as co-principal. He was educated cand. mag. in Danish, and the years in Askov were characterized more by research than by teaching. His field of research was Nordic philology. He was a member of a number of scientific societies and institutions and had an extensive scientific production. In 1906 he became a dr. phil. with a dissertation on "The Foreign Words in the Oldest Danish Written Language". In 1928 he received a lifelong salary from the Carlsberg Foundation and moved to Copenhagen, where he diligently continued his scientific work. In 1930, Isidora Vøls bought Lindely and moved the sale of yarn and embroidery from Lille Veum here. She sold the house in 1935 to Ingeborg Appel, who in 1947 resold the house to Askov Folk High School. Ingeborg Appel was the daughter of Ludwig and Charlotte Schrøder, the principal couple of Askov Folk High School, and was married to Jacob Appel, the son of the principal couple at Rødding Folk High School. He was principal of Askov Folk High School in the years 1906-1928. He was at times a minister (culture, education and church) and in the meantime Ingeborg was principal of the folk high school and looked after the family's 5 children. Ingeborg was also a gymnastics teacher, and was the driving force in spreading Swedish gymnastics in society. The gymnastics system provided a counterbalance to the hard work in agriculture. 

Møllevej 15 
The house was originally a wooden weaving house built according to the Swedish model by weaver Paula Trock (1989-1979) in 1929. Paula was very interested in the commercial possibilities of weaving - especially for women. The house was designed by architect Knud Barfoed. The house formed the framework for workshops for the weaving school Askovhus. The education at Askovhus was either 1- or 2-year, and the school only admitted women. After 1 year at Askovhus you were trained as a craft weaver, after 2 years you were trained as a weaving teacher. The made-to-order workshop Troba was attached to the school. The setting in Askov quickly became too small, and Troba moved to rented premises in Vejen. In 1934, Paula Trock took the consequence of the cramped conditions in Askov and moved both the school and the workshop to a newly built building in Sønderborg. Askovhus was the country's first technical school for women only.

> connection with the establishment of the expanded folk high school in 1878, Poul la Cour (1846-1908) was employed as a teacher of the natural sciences in connection with the establishment of the expanded folk high school in 1878. With his appointment, the school secured an extremely well-qualified teacher. Poul la Cour came from a position as deputy director at the Danish Meteorological Institute. At the same time, he had embarked on an extensive inventive activity. Most famous is probably his invention of the tone wheel (1878), which made it possible to send 12 telegrams simultaneously. The invention business continued in Askov, where he threw himself into wind electricity with great energy.