Varehuset Messen, Købmagergade 42

From 19th‑Century Department Store to City Icon

Varehuset Messen rose on Købmagergade in 1895 as one of Copenhagen’s early modern department stores, operated by the firm Hilligsøe, Køedt & Co. The building embodied a new era of urban commerce, where multiple goods and services were gathered under one roof in a bright, purpose‑built structure. Behind its large panes of glass, Copenhageners encountered a world of curated displays, imported novelties and everyday necessities, all packaged in an atmosphere of urban sophistication.The store closed in 1971, but the name Messen still clings to the corner as a kind of urban memory. Today the structure is occupied by Niels Brock Copenhagen Business College, shifting the focus from consumption to education yet preserving the building’s role as a daily gathering place in the city’s commercial core.

Layers of History on Købmagergade

The site of Varehuset Messen has been part of Copenhagen’s story for centuries. In the 17th and 18th centuries it consisted of smaller merchant properties, typical of the dense Old Town fabric. Over time, these plots were combined and redeveloped as trade expanded and the street grew in importance. The area was home to merchants, artisans and shopkeepers, reflecting Købmagergade’s evolution from meat market lane to one of the city’s principal shopping streets.A plaque on the façade commemorates scientist and bishop Niels Steensen (Steno), who lived on the site long before the department store era. His presence connects this busy commercial corner with the broader history of Danish science and ideas, reminding visitors that the street’s story is intellectual as well as mercantile.

Architecture Shaped for Display

Architect Emil Blichfeldt, also known for work on Tivoli’s main entrance, gave Varehuset Messen a confident historicist façade suited to its role as a showcase for goods. The five‑storey building stretches along both Købmagergade and Klareboderne, articulated in a rhythm of bays that unify the long elevations while allowing generous window openings for shopfronts and upper‑floor light.Stone details, cornices and pilasters frame the windows and accentuate the corners, giving the building a formal presence among the neighbouring townhouses. Above it all, the roofline is animated by gables and the distinctive statue of Hermes, god of trade and travel, reinforcing the commercial character that defined the building’s original purpose.

Hermes Watching the Pedestrian Street

The rooftop statue of Hermes, created by Julius Schultz, is one of the building’s most recognisable features. Perched above the crossing of Købmagergade and Klareboderne, the figure looks out over the stream of shoppers, students and visitors that continually flows along this car‑free street. It is a subtle reminder of the long relationship between commerce and architecture in Copenhagen.Below, the broad windows and generous ground‑floor openings reflect the building’s former life as a showcase for goods. Today they reveal classrooms and corridors instead of counters and display cases, but the fundamental idea of visibility and connection with the street remains intact.

A Corner Within Copenhagen’s Urban Fabric

Købmagergade itself is one of Copenhagen’s key pedestrian arteries, lined with shops and historic buildings and linking major city squares. Varehuset Messen sits near the centre of this axis, sharing the streetscape with landmarks such as the Round Tower and heritage courtyards reached through narrow passageways. The building’s long façades and chamfered corner help open the space at street level, creating a small widening in the flow of the crowd.Despite the constant movement outside, the interior now supports a quieter rhythm of lectures and study. This contrast between bustling street and structured academic life gives the building a dual character, both firmly embedded in the daily life of the city and slightly set apart from it.

Experiencing the Building Today

Visitors encounter Varehuset Messen primarily from the outside, reading its history in stone, brick and sculpture. The details reward a slow look: the proportions of the windows, the sequence of bays, and the way the upper storeys are stacked above the former retail zone. The Hermes statue invites you to trace the building’s silhouette against the sky, while the plaque to Niels Steensen draws attention back down to eye level and to earlier chapters of the site’s story.Even without stepping inside, the building offers a compact lesson in how Copenhagen has layered commerce, knowledge and everyday life into its streets. It stands as a reminder that behind many shopfronts and façades in the Old Town lie multiple generations of stories, each leaving its mark on the city’s appearance and character.