Hou gamle skole GB
Hov gamle skole. 2014
Hou gl. skole. Træskulpturen Børnetræet
Intro
The old school in Hou was built in 1896 by Gosmer-Halling Parish Council and contained classrooms as well as a flat for the teacher.
The old school in Hou was built in 1896 by Gosmer-Halling Parish Council and contained classrooms as well as a flat for the teacher.
Compared with other villages, the school in Hou was built quite late. This is because Hou is a relatively new town – people tended to live in the village of Halling just north of Hou and the children went to school there. Before the new municipal school in Hou was built, a private school had been established in Østergade. The monthly fee per child amounted to DKK 1 ( about EUR 0.15) and all the pupils were taught together regardless of age.
Each year, all the children from the parish – including Hou, Halling, and Gosmer – were invited by the local landlord Emil von Holstein-Rathlou to attend a grand Christmas party at the Rathlousdal manor near Odder.
The school was in use until the municipal reform in 1970, when steps were taken to build a new school, which opened in 1971. Since then, the old school has been used as a nursery.
In 1920, a gym was added to the school. Besides PE-lessons, the building was also used by the parish priest for church services throughout the 1920s – it is likely that the proper parish church, which was located in the village of Halling, was considered to be too far away.
Since the number of pupils continued to rise, it was necessary to transform parts of the gym into classrooms and a library in the 1960s.
When pupils transferred to the new school in 1971, the building served as a welfare centre for the elderly for a period. Today, the handsome building houses a community centre for the local citizens.