Knabrostræde 19
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment, Comedy club |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Founder | Thomas Hartmann, Dan Andersen, Torben Chris, Anders Fjelsted, Michael Schøt, Martin Bo Andersen (owners since 2018) |
| Headquarters | Copenhagen , Denmark |
| Products | Stand-up comedy performances |
Knabrostræde 19 is a Neoclassical edifice situated at the intersection of Knabrostræde and Kompagnistræde within Copenhagen's historic Old Town. Constructed by Johan Martin Quist amid the city's extensive rebuilding following the Copenhagen Fire of 1795, it gained protection status in Denmark’s registry of heritage buildings in 1918. Presently, it hosts , recognized as Copenhagen’s premier venue for comedy. Among its distinguished past inhabitants are the musician and composer Ivar Bredal and the architectural artist Niels Bredal.
17th and 18th centuries
In the mid-1600s, the site was owned by Rasmus Hansen Munk (-1670), an Icelandic merchant and brewer who also served as alderman of the Brewers Guild and was a member of Copenhagen’s municipal council known as the 32 Men. Following his passing, ownership transferred to his son Morten Munk (born 1647), who held prominent positions including kommerceråd and Supreme Court justice until his death in 1724. The property was identified as No. 54 in Snaren's Quarter according to the 1689 cadastre of Copenhagen.
Subsequently, Herman Jacobsen Gamst (1701-1755), initially trained as a barber-surgeon, acquired licensure to operate a brewery in Copenhagen in 1751. After his demise, his widow Margrethe Kirstine Jacobsdatter Juel maintained brewery activities at least until 1768.
By the time of the 1787 census, brewer Jens Michelsen Hostrup was proprietor, residing on-site with his family and brewery employees. Originally hailing from Mariager, Hostrup was linked to a brewing lineage that included an uncle owning a brewery on Brolæggerstræde. Upon Hostrup’s death in 1791, his widow Dorthea Christine remarried J.F. Schultz (1756–1817), a book printer who owned a nearby property.
The initial building was lost during the Copenhagen Fire of 1795. The existing structure was constructed between 1797 and 1798 under architect Johan Martin Quist as part of Copenhagen’s post-fire reconstruction.
19th century
Shortly after completion, distiller Johan Christensen purchased the property. The 1801 census documented 21 inhabitants distributed among four households, including Christensen’s family and workers. In the 1806 cadastre, it appeared as No. 51 and remained under Christensen’s ownership.
By 1840, twelve individuals resided there. Merchant Johannes Mesle Melbye occupied the ground floor with family and a maid, while eight lodgers—mostly students—lived on the second floor. Among them was Fritz Adolph Schmiegelow, who later pursued a career as a pharmacist in Rønne.
In 1845, three households occupied No. 51: Melbye’s family continued on the ground floor; composer and musician Ivar Bredal lived with his children and staff on the first floor; and Ane Kirstine Wolters, widow of a customs inspector, resided on the second floor alongside relatives and lodgers.
By 1850, the ground floor had been converted into a tavern managed by H. Petersen and his wife. The basement housed helmsman I.D. Engmann with his family.
Following the adoption of street numbering in 1859, No. 51 was redesignated as Knabrostræde 10 and Kompagnistræde 19.
The census of 1860 recorded thirty-nine residents across six households: greengrocer Ole Christiansen with family in the basement; master shoemaker Wilhelm Ausberg Heé on the first floor; helmsman Peter Gustav Wilhelm Nyman with family on the second floor; cooper Peter Andreas Holm’s family sharing quarters with an unmarried resident; plus two third-floor apartments occupied by office clerk Moses Philipsen’s household and three unmarried women engaged in sewing work respectively.
20th century
From 1977 until its shutdown in 1993, the premises hosted an art house cinema known as Delta Bio.
In 1998, Denmark's inaugural comedy club, Comedy Zoo, relocated from Baron Boltens Gård to the former cinema space at Knabrostræde 19. A group of stand-up comedians—Thomas Hartmann, Dan Andersen, Torben Chris, Anders Fjelsted, Michael Schøt—along with Comedy Zoo's CEO Martin Bo Andersen, took ownership of the venue in 2018.
Architecture
The building at Knabrostræde 19/Kompagnistræde 19 is constructed in red brick and consists of two wings spanning three stories above a walk-out basement. Its facade includes six bays along Knabrostræde and three bays on Kompagnistræde, complemented by a notable recessed three-bay bow-shaped corner. This architectural feature was commonly employed by Johan Martin Quist as a stylistic alternative to the typical chamfered corners mandated after the Copenhagen fire to facilitate fire brigade access. The ground level is finished with brown-painted plaster beneath a matching belt course, while the upper stories reveal exposed brickwork. Crowning the facade is a dark grey cornice. The sloped roof is fitted with five dormer windows facing the street and two chimneys rising through the roof ridge.
Today
Currently owned by E/F Knabrostræde 19, the property accommodates Comedy Zoo—the premier stand-up comedy venue in Copenhagen—within its ground floor and basement areas. Each upper level contains a single condominium unit, with an additional garret apartment added in 1980.