Clasens Gaard

Clasens Gaard, Algade 3, 9300 Sæby. Bygget: 1750'erne.

Relation til Herman Bang

Historie

Oprindelig opført som byfogedens gård. Byfoged Boech gav gården sit nuværende udtryk i 1800tallets begyndelse og anlagde også den i datiden berømmede have, der i dag er bypark bag gården.

I 1893 overtog ægteparret Clasen gården, og indrettede hotel.

De opførte østfløjen, hvor der i dag er byhistorisk arkiv, den kaldtes Kunstnerfløjen, da det var her datidens kunstnere kunne få billigt(gratis) kost og logi. Clasens Hotel og Have var samlingssted for de mange forfattere og malere, der opholdt sig i Sæby i perioden. Kunstnerne kom til Sæby fra midten af 1800tallet for at male i den idylliske Sæbygård skov. Kunstnerne skabte opmærksomhed om den stille provinsby, og flere kunstnere og forfattere besøgte gennem årtier Sæby.

På Østkysten besøgte de også Johannes Knudsen på Bangsbo, og kunstnerkolonien i Skagen.

Herman Bang boede her oftest på Clasens Hotel og arrangerede fest og musik i haven, hvor der også var udskænkning og keglebane.

Han skrev novellen ”Sommerglæder” om en dag på Brasens Hotel. Bang karikerer det bedre borgerskab og ikke mindst ægteparret Clasen, i et omfang der på ingen måde står mål med den moderlige kærlighed og økonomiske støtte de altid havde ydet ham. Det fortælles stadig i byen i dag, at hans noget hårde skildring af ægteparret Clasen fik dem til at forlade byen i skam, og at fru Clasen lukkede sig grædende inde på et loftsværelse i fire måneder. Clasens forlod dog Sæby i 1899, novellen udkom i 1902.

(Man må gerne fortælle gode myter og historier som guide, blot men selv sørger for at afkræfte dem igen)

Gustav Wied var den eneste af den kendte forfattere, der slog sig permanent ned i Sæby. Han og familien flyttede ind på Rolykke i skovens udkant, hvor Gustav Wied ville finde ro til at arbejde, og lykke til familien. Ro fandt han umiddelbart ikke, for han lejede desuden også et lejede værelse på Clasens hotel, for at få arbejdsro fra sin støjende familie.

Også Gustav Wied skrev med inspiration fra Sæby, ligesom Holger Drachmann, der foretrak at bo på Sæby Kur- og Badehotel.

I dag er her Byhistorisk Arkiv med samling af fotos og byhistorie. Besøg også udstillingen i Clasens Have (juni – sept.).

History

Originally built as the town bailiff's farm. City bailiff Boech gave the farm its present appearance at the beginning of the 19th century and also laid out the then famous garden, which today is the city park behind the farm.

In 1893, the Clasens took over the farm and established a hotel.

They built the east wing, where today there is a town history archive, it was called the Artists Wing, as it was here that the artists of the time could get cheap (free) board and lodging. Clasens Hotel and Garden was a meeting place for the many writers and painters who stayed in Sæby during this period. Artists came to Sæby from the mid-1800s to paint in the idyllic Sæbygård forest. The artists drew attention to the quiet provincial town, and several artists and writers visited Sæby over the decades.

On the east coast, they also visited Johannes Knudsen at Bangsbo, and the artists' colony in Skagen.

Herman Bang usually stayed at the Clasens Hotel and organised parties and music in the garden, where there was also a bar and bowling alley.

He wrote the short story "Sommerglæder" about a day at Brasens Hotel. Bang caricatures the upper middle classes, and especially the Clasens, to an extent that is in no way commensurate with the motherly love and financial support they had always given him. It is still said in town today that his somewhat harsh portrayal of the Clasens caused them to leave town in shame, and that Mrs Clasen shut herself away crying in an attic room for four months. However, the Clasens left Sæby in 1899, and the novel was published in 1902.

(You are welcome to tell good myths and stories as a guide, as long as you make sure to debunk them yourself)

Gustav Wied was the only one of the well-known writers who settled permanently in Sæby. He and the family moved into Rolykke on the edge of the forest, where Gustav Wied would find peace to work, and happiness for the family. He did not find peace immediately, for he also rented a room at Clasens Hotel to get some working peace from his noisy family.

Gustav Wied also wrote with inspiration from Sæby, as did Holger Drachmann, who preferred to stay at Sæby Kur- og Badehotel.

Today it houses the City History Archive with a collection of photos and urban history. Visit also the exhibition in Clasens Garden (June - Sept.).