Early history of Brobyværk Inn
Read the inn's previous history here written by Rene Jørgensen, son of Ib and Anne-Lise Jørgensen. The story is summarized by 5 Facebook posts and can be read here together and completely unedited below.
Back in 1918 Peder Hansen had put the inn up for sale. He had lost his wife after a very difficult birth. At that time, people did not have the opportunities that our society has today.
Peder was therefore forced to find a solution so that he could look after his 7 children....
One day a young girl came to the inn and applied for the position of housekeeper....
She got the job and Peder fell very much in love with her... subsequently they had 3 children together
At that time it was not accepted that you fell in love with women who were many years younger than you and therefore Peder took the situation seriously and put the inn for sale....
From Brobyværk Kro we wish you all a very Merry Christmas...
The housekeeper, whose name was Anna, became a skilled crooner relatively quickly...
In fact, she was so skilled that she continued to run the inn after Peter Hansen's death in 1934.
She has several extensions made to the inn, there is actually a major development under Anna's ownership....
As told last night, she gave birth to 3 children....
One of these children was our grandmother.... ( Ib's mother )
Her name was Maria Elisabeth Hansen.
Maria was born in 1922...
In 1941, Maria Elisabeth finds her husband Lars Arne Jørgensen, and they are married in 1942....
Lars Arne was working at Nilbro at the time.
(In case anyone is in doubt, Nilbro is what we know today as KEN...)
In his spare time, he rented washing machines to farms and large gatherings...
Maria Elisabeth becomes pregnant in 1947, and in April 48, Ib is born......
To be continued......
In 1953, Lars Arne decides to go 100% into the inn and in this connection he stops his work at Nilbro.
At that time, "little" Ib, 4 years old..
At the age of 8 Ib is told that he will be a chromand..... at that time there was not much choice, because Ib was an only child.
Maria Elisabeth and Lars Arne set in motion a number of initiatives in the years that followed.
They are having more rooms made at the inn. Among other things, they refurbish the old stable.
They are also having what we know as the veranda repaired and the tavern hall is being extended with a stage...
They also put the inn's cuisine on the map....
For a number of years they have been known far and wide for their English steaks....
Little Ib grows up and starts his apprenticeship as a cook at Hotel Svendborg in 1965...
In 1970, Ib meets his future wife Lise.
In 1971 he starts an apprenticeship as a waiter at the Ugly Duckling in Odense.
In 1973 Ib graduates and is now both a cook and a waiter.
In November 1973 Ib and Anne Lise get married, and they reveal during the wedding that Ulrich is inside her womb....
Ulrich is born in June 1974, and the small family lives on Hesselhøjvej in Brobyværk.
An ongoing takeover of the inn is underway.
In March 1976 René is born.
In 1977 Arne and Maria Elisabeth celebrate their 25th anniversary at the inn.
Maria Elisabeth dies in January 1980.
Lisbeth is born at Faaborg hospital on February 2nd
Arne and Ib have started to restore the old rooms and in 1983 almost all rooms in the old wing are renovated.
In 1985, Ib and Anne Lise start preparing a major expansion of the inn.
They realise that to secure the future of the inn, more rooms are needed.
In 1987, the construction of a new wing of rooms is started, containing 14 new double rooms.
The new room building is completed April 1988.
Arne Jørgensen dies in October of the same year.
This is the last part of the story about the Jørgensen family at Brobyværk Kro.
If you want to read the previous paragraphs, they are here on the Facebook page...
Relatively soon after the opening of the new room wing, a whole new segment of guests will arrive.
Weekend stays become a regular part of the inn's offer and guests come from near and far.
In the mid-90s, "little" Ib managed to get on the TV2 programme, Lykkehjulet...
He comes out with a watch on his arm...
We are very pleased to be part of Dansk Kroferie, which is now known as Small Danish Hotels.
Our guests come from all over the world and we benefit from the Gelting ferry which brings many Germans here.
In 2003 we are contacted by Danish Radio who want to visit us to make a broadcast about inns in Denmark.
Brobyværk Kro ends up being selected together with 3 other inns.
The programme host Nis Boesdal and his team made a fantastic broadcast from our point of view, focusing on the inn and Brobyværk and the surrounding area.
The exposure is huge and many new guests are coming to the inn.
The broadcast is rebroadcast countless times and each time, it is noticeable on all fronts.
At the end of the 00s, the inn is put up for sale...
Potential buyers keep turning up, but nobody gets to put their autograph on the bill of sale in the first "round"...
In the summer of 19, the new owners of Ove Nielsen's nursery in Allested show up. From the outset, they have an interest in the inn and in late 2019 we agree on the terms of their purchase of Brobyværk Kro.
On 15/2-2020 we will leave Brobyværk Kro and hand it over to the Feldborg family.
We want you all to welcome them very well.
From our side, we would like to thank everyone who has participated in the celebrations over the last 100 years.
Thanks to our staff throughout the period. Without you it would not have been possible to come this far....
Thanks to ALL who supported us. Where many inns closed, our inn continued in a higher and higher tempoo....
We wish you all the best...
Thanks for everything - it's been a fantastic journey..
The most loving thoughts
Ib & Anne-Lise
Lisbeth, Ulrich & René
(see posting fb 24 Dec 2019) (see posting fb 25 Dec 2019) (see posting fb 26 Dec 2019) (see posting fb 31 Dec 2019) (see posting fb 26 Jan 2020)