page_title: Bombebøssen
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Bombebøssen / History
caption_attribution_description: English: A ceremony at Bombebøssen in Christianshavn, Copenhagen, Denmark, marking the 150-years birthday of the founder
context_page_description: Bombebøssen is a listed property from 1896 overlooking Christianshavn Canal in the Christianshavn neighbourhood of central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built by the charity Sømandsstiftelsen Bombebøssen to provide housing for indigent seamen.
context_section_description: Sømandsstiftelsen Bombebøssen was founded on 2 November 1819 by kommandør Peter Norden Sølling. Sølling was born in 1758 in Kristianssand in Norway to Danish parents and enrolled at the Naval Academy in Copenhagen at age 12. He later worked for several of the large trading companies and served as captain on voyages to China.
  After the English Wars, he became a Waterscout in Copenhagen. The loss of the Danish fleet in 1807 and the national bankruptcy in 1813 led to difficult times for the Danish maritime sector and severe unemployment for the many Danish seamen. Sølling witnessed the hardships of the seamen through his work and decided to take affair, asked the king for permission to collect money for the establishment of a charity which was to provide housing for indigent seamen. He converting a 200-pound bomb from the bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807 which had been found in Dybensgade into a mite box. The institution first opened in two rented rooms at Wilders Plads in 1921.
   
  In 1825, Sølling acquired a property on the corner ofDybensgade and Skvaldergade, close to St Nicolas' Church, which provided housing for 50 residents. In 1840 the institution moved to a new building in Brogade (No. 8) where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stands today. The current building on Overgaden oven Vandet No. 48 was built in 1894. In 1954, Bombebøssen moved to a new building in Dronningensgade.
caption: Bombebøssen's yard in 1908: A ceremony marking the 150-year anniversary of Sølling
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