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The little house with a big secret 

Køge’s old town centre contains many preserved buildings from the 1500s and 1600s, and here you’ll find one of the most distinctive in the city. The small listed house was rediscovered by chance in 1888, when 14 layers of limewash were removed and a carved door lintel with the year 1527 appeared. This made the house in Kirkestræde Denmark’s oldest dated half‑timbered building.

Beneath the house lies a fieldstone cellar with an arched doorway and a staircase that once lay open until rubbish caused the ground level to rise by more than a metre. Today, the cosy cellar provides the setting for events and exhibitions hosted by Køge Library.

Visit the cosy library and experience the house from the inside

On the brink of demolition – saved at the last moment

Once, an identical house stood right next to it – both were so‑called våninger, built for rental. While the neighbouring house was demolished in 1908, number 20 was saved thanks to a determined effort from the National Museum and Køge Museum. It underwent a major renovation – the thatched roof was replaced with monk‑and‑nun tiles, and an old extension was removed.

Over time, everyone from a retired soldier wearing a turban and scimitar to a fur trader with a wife and ten children lived here – so conditions must have been cramped in the tiny house measuring only 4 by 5 metres! The last resident was a former consul general of Brazil, before the building became part of Køge Library in 1958..

Experience more fantastic half‑timbered houses in Køge

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Danmarks største torv
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Danmarks ældst fungerende rådhus
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From Merchant's House to Museum