Detached houses in Skive

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The first villas

The first villas in Skive date back to the mid-1800s and early 1900s. Back then, such single-family homes were reserved for the few who could afford them. Some of the villas sprang up in the neighborhood around Resenvej, for example.

Example: In the 1910 villa at Resenvej 14, the wealthy Schaarup family of manufacturers lived surrounded by a green garden. Unknown photographer, ca. 1930. Skive City Archive.

State loan houses 1933-1958

From 1933 to 1958, it became possible for many Danish families to build their own house. During this period, the state offered cheap loans for the construction of single-family houses.

Today, you can find so-called “state loan houses” in all Danish cities.

In Skive, the state loan houses can be found on Skovbakken, in the neighborhood by Kielgastvej and Porshøjvej and in the area by Norgaardsvej. The houses are very different. Some are designed by architects and others by constructors or perhaps even by the builders themselves.

The government loans were initially intended for poor families. They could significantly improve their living conditions by moving away from the dense inner-city neighborhoods to suburbs with light, air and green gardens. Later, the city’s wealthy also got a taste for government loans.

The houses had to meet minimum requirements such as insulation and bathroom facilities. To limit costs, the houses could not exceed 110 square meters. The figure was later increased to 130 square meters.

Example: Drawing of Vestervang 12, built in 1950 for a government loan of DKK 18,700 to municipal assistant Martin Nielsen. It was a characteristic red-brick state loan house for the ordinary family, designed by architect Chr. Christensen. The living space was just 83 square meters. This did not include the practical rooms in the basement for fuel and laundry. In this way, the house remained within the legal maximum area requirement. In addition, there was an unused attic, which was not converted into living space until 1965.

Detached houses since 1958

In 1958, the Danish Parliament decided to abolish the state loan scheme, and the last state loans were granted in 1959.

However, the construction of single-family homes continued in the following decades. This happened in the south in the new district of Egeris and in the north in Resen and Vinde. Denmark was now experiencing an economic boom and increased prosperity. Therefore, it was now possible to take out loans on ordinary terms.

The state loan houses helped shape the Danish suburbs, where the dream of a private garden and comfortable living conditions was realized. These ideals now lived on in the detached house construction of the 1960s and 1970s, which was often characterized by the typical house companies.

Example: After 1958, special tax benefits made it possible for most people to take out bank and credit union loans. As a result, construction continued on a large scale. One example of this was the Kristiansen family, who in 1975 built their own house at Vestagervej 3 according to drawings by architect Østergaard Nielsen. The family lived here until 2014. Photo: Annelise Kristiansen.

Low-energy houses

Especially for Skive and as one of the first places in the world, low-energy houses were experimented with in the 1970s in areas such as Solhaven, Humlevej and Glattrup.

Sources

  • Text based on posters from the exhibition “The dream of your own state mortgage house” at Skive Byarkiv/Skive Museum in 2021.
  • Rosenberg Bendsen, Jannie and Bendtsen, Dorthe: Drømmen om et eget hus : statslånshuse 1933- 1959, Strandberg Publishing, 2021 (the book contains many examples from Skive).

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