Mails til Sankt Nicolaus by Birthe Mau Lavigne

In 1954 the kindergarten was moved to a new building in Valdemarsgade where the institution Børnely has survived into the 21st century. The institution was managed by a number of deacons from Stefansforeningen which also used the building for religious children's services and meetings for christian organizations.

Originally the institution was simply called Asylet (English: The Asylum), which at the time meant kindergarten, but it was quickly changed to Stefansforeningens Børnely or colloquially just Børnely. The building was designed to house 100 children and it was constructed in 1883 by architect Carl Lange. On 10 March 1883 an editorial in Århus Stiftstidende invited people to donate and on 9 April 1883 a list of contributors was published. The kindergarten was commissioned by the religious charitable organization Stefansforeningen and was paid for by charitable contributions and fundraisers. The large number of new inhabitants made it necessary to provide daycare for children of the working class. In the 1880s Aarhus experienced rapid growth and the population ballooned from 6.000 people in 1850 to 50.000 in 1900. The building originally functioned as a kindergarten but is today home to an art gallery.

The house was built in 1768 and was listed in the national Danish registry of protected buildings and places by the Danish Heritage Agency on 8 November 2008. Mejlen or Asylet Børnely is a house, former asylum and a listed building in Aarhus, Denmark.

Mails til Sankt Nicolaus by Birthe Mau Lavigne