When the Postal Service went into a Convent

By Birgitte Agersnap

23. Sep. 2009

What is the link between Archbishop Eskil, King Frederick the 2nd, and the Postmaster in Esrum? A funny story has emerged from the Museum's secret compartments. 

The postmaster had his office to the right of the main entrance; the same place as Frederick the 2nd and the abbots of the convent before him.  

From Cowl to Postal Cap

A convent is meant to be remote - a place where the surroundings encourage mediation and absorption. Consequently, it probably created some stir when the Esrum Convent suddenly reverberated with the sounds of stamping and efficient footsteps of postmen. On 7th December 1919, the old monastery was turned into a post office. Postmaster Schafranek (1870-1944) made himself comfortable where, centuries earlier, the abbot and later Frederick II had had their private chambers.

Why was the convent taken by the postal service? Well, it was simply difficult for the service to find room for a post office in Esrum. The Cistercian convent founded by archbishop Eskil in 1151 caught the eye. The monks had been sent packing long ago, and Frederick the 2nd's dragoons had decamped. After negotiations with the Treasury Department which administrated the buildings at the time, the service was allowed to fit up a post office in the only preserved medieval building of the convent.   

Postal Vandalism

The building that first housed the postal office and which is today known as the Esrum Convent is actually a late medieval extension to the old four-winged convent. Shortly after the Reformation, the oldest part of the convict was gradually demolished together with the church.

Since then, the convent building that was spared has undergone several conversions and restorations. Royal Inspector of Listed State Buildings Johannes Magdahl Nielsen (1862-1941) was appointed head of the thorough conversion in 1919. He was an architect well-known to the service as already in 1919 he had built several post offices. However, not everybody was pleased with the result. The verdict of the press was: Vandalism in the Convent!  

The surroundings were, however, perfect for the hunting and gardening enthusiast, postmaster Schafranek. For a while, also the district revenue officer lived in the side wings of the convent with his housekeeper and workman, and in the cloister circus of that time there was a bus stop. The convent was indeed revitalized when the postal service moved in.  

Around 1940, the post office moved into a side wing when the National Museum established a storehouse in the main building in order to protect the national treasures during the occupation. They stayed there until the mid 1990’s – at that time the post office’s days in convent were over long ago.  

Traces of an Office - Even Today

Stud farm, pharmacy, prison, refugee camp, beer depot, Christian the 4th's powder room - the functions of the convent have been widely different through the centuries. The post office was a closed chapter in the 1960's. Today, the place forms the framework of a culture and nature centre.

Despite the many conversions there are still traces of the postal era: At the top of the front stairs you should look for the Flensburg bricks forming a pattern in the floor. They mark the space where the counter used to be. If you look closely, you may be able to see the almost erased remains of a fresco painting on the back wall. You must imagine a large painting showing the North Zealand landscape with various post offices. The voice of the postal service is still interfering with the many sounds of the past in the convent rooms.    

Do you know something about the post office in Esrum Convent? Post & Tele Museum will be grateful for any information. Please contact us on tel. 33 41 09 00 or e-mail museum@ptt-museum.dk
 

  

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Esrom Postkontor af Johnny Kierstein
Se "Det Danske post- og Telegrafvæsen" side 18 Bind III
Der kommer mere senere. 

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