Karens Minde
Karens Minde is a former mental hospital in Copenhagen that is now a local cultural centre. It is located in the Kongens Enghave district at Wagnersvej 19.
The site began as part of the Kellerian Institutions, founded in 1867 by Johan Keller. The oldest building on the site was completed in 1880 and designed by Vilhelm Klein in Renaissance Revival style. A Neoclassical extension was added in 1914, designed by Einar Thuxen. In 1949, three red wooden buildings were moved to the site to house more residents after refugees had stayed at Kløvermarken. A heritage-listed garden pavilion from Sankt Hans Hospital in Roskilde was brought to Karens Minde in 2002.
The city took over Karens Minde in 1980. After years of vacancy, it was converted into a cultural centre and opened in 1997. The site was listed as protected in 1992.
Today Karens Minde includes a public library, the Enghave Brygge Local Historic Archives, a café, and spaces for a wide range of cultural activities and community groups. The surrounding greenspace, Karens Minde Aksen, opened in 2023 as parkland and a greenway that also helps manage heavy rainfall. The area features a playground and a children's farm with horses, sheep, rabbits and alpacas. The greenspace continues as a meandering route that connects to areas beyond the railway tracks and serves for rainwater retention during cloudbursts.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:24 (CET).