Fovrfeld Ferieby - en pioneridé

I 1938 fik Danmark den første ferielov, som gav lønmodtagere ret til to ugers ferie. På den baggrund stiftede fagbevægelsen rejsebureauet Dansk Folkeferie, der skulle sikre arbejderne gode og billige ferietilbud.

For mange arbejdere drejede det sig først og fremmest om at holde en billig ferie, f.eks. ved at besøge familie, venner og bekendte andre steder i landet. En anden mulighed var cykelferie med telt, som heller ikke ville beløbe sig til alverden, eller indkvartering på vandrerhjem.

Den slags ferier havde Dansk Folkeferie dog ikke i tankerne. Ingen af de 650.000 ferierende arbejdere skulle føle sig som 2. klasses borgere med hensyn til indkvartering, og yderligere skulle de gerne have en ferie med indhold. Der var derfor store forventninger til ferielovens betydning i praksis, og en række større byer som Aalborg, Århus og Helsingør tumlede med planer om opførelse af større hoteller til at modtage de hundredvis af arbejdere, man forventede skulle på ferie. I Århus tilbød restauratørerne ligefrem kommunen et samarbejde om opførelsen af et stort hotel.
 

Ideen om en ferieby
Også i Esbjerg var hotelplaner langt fremme, indtil der på et møde i november 1938 mellem Arbejdernes Fællesorganisation og Erhvervsudvalget i Esbjerg kom en helt unik idé på bordet, nemlig opførelse af en ferieby. Forslaget kom på bordet omkring midnatstid, og trods det sene tidspunkt satte man sig, fyldt af begejstring, i bilerne og kørte ud til det sted på Hjertingvej, hvor man tænkte sig feriebyen placeret på et areal, der tilhørte Esbjerg Kommune. Alle mødedeltagere var overbeviste: Her skulle der opføres en hel ferieby på 30-40 huse.

Hurtigt tog Arbejdernes Fællesorganisation kontakt til arkitekt Harald Peters (1891-1951) og bad ham tegne en række standardhuse. Han var intet tilfældigt valg af arkitekt, for han havde allerede stor erfaring i at bygge sommerhuse på bl.a. Fanø. Opgaven nu var dog noget anderledes, for husene skulle opføres i en afstand på 12-14 meter fra hinanden, men ellers være ens indrettet. Hvert hus skulle indeholde en rummelig opholdsstue, to sovekabiner, et meget lille køkken samt et værelse på loftet. Han skønnede, de kunne opføres for 2.500 kr. stykket. De beskedne køkkenfaciliteter skyldtes, at feriegæsterne ikke selv skulle kokkerere. I konceptet indgik nemlig en kantinebygning til alle større måltider.

Arkitekt Harald Peters (1891-1951) – portræt 1932.
Architect Harald Peters (1891-1951) – portrait from 1932.

Udlejningen skulle ske gennem Dansk Folkeferie, der jo netop var sat i verden for at sikre gode ferier til ferierende arbejdere. Det indebar, at »feriepakken« ikke blot skulle rumme ferieboliger af god standard til rimelige priser, men også tilbud om billige måltider samt en række udflugtsmuligheder til de ferierende. Altså en form for »all inclusive«, som vi vil kalde det i dag.

Udspillet til Dansk Folkeferie lød på en ugentlig leje i højsæsonen på ca. 20 kr., og så kunne de ferierende selv bestemme, om de ville have hele huset selv eller dele det med et andet par, typisk når der var tale om par uden børn. Desuden var det tanken at opføre en lille restauration i feriebyen, hvor man kunne købe sin mad til billige penge. Forhåbningen var, at en Esbjerg-restauratør ville byde på opgaven og sikre en madordning, der skulle fungere via billetter. Vurderingen var, at en uges ferie i feriebyen ville kunne gøres for 40 kr., incl. udgifterne til de udflugter, Esbjerg Turist- og Erhvervskontor ville arrangere for feriegæsterne.


Et af Harald Peters 15 feriehuse i oprindeligt design. Uden skorsten for opvarmning havde man ikke brug for i et sommerhus, der kun skulle bruges fra midten af maj til midten af september.
One of Harald Peters' 15 cottages in its original design. Which means no chimney since there was no need for heating in a cottage that was only going to be used from mid-May to mid-September.

Konceptet faldt i Dansk Folkeferies smag, og der blev indgået en samarbejdsaftale med Dansk Folkeferie, som garanterede for belægningen i »den egentlige ferietid«, dvs. fra 15. maj til 1. september. Den 16. januar vedtog byrådet et minimeret projektet – der var afsat 50.000 kr. til formålet, og som havde som forudsætning, at Esbjerg Kommune gav grunden mellem Hjertingvej og Gravlunden. Der måtte dog yderligere en byrådsbehandling til for at opfylde Dansk Folkeferies krav om en marketenderi-bygning, men den vedtagelse kom igennem byrådet den 13. februar 1939. Det endelige projekt omfattede kun 15 huse og en marketenderibygning, men prisen var til gengæld steget fra 50.000 til 65.000 kr.

Marketenderiet til Fovrfeld Ferieby – her fotograferet i 1954, hvor feriebyen for længst var historie, og husene blev brugt til husvildeboliger.
The Canteen Building of Fovrfeld Holiday Resort 1954. Then the holiday resort was no longer in operation and the buildings were being used for homeless people.

Løs skitse af beliggenhedsplanen for Fovrfeld Ferieby fra begyndelsen af 1939.
Sketch of the location plan of Fovrfeld Holiday Resort from the beginning of 1939.

Derefter handlede det bare om at komme i gang – der skulle afholdes licitation, og feriesæsonen var lige om hjørnet.

Den offentlige debat
Mens byrådet først og fremmest havde haft »feriekroner« i øjnene ved byrådsbehandlingen, var den offentlige debat noget mere nuanceret. Bl.a. kritiserede en borger placeringen – stranden ved Sædding var ikke noget at skrive hjem om. Med sommerens fremherskende østenvinde var der uger, hvor vandet end ikke ”var hjemme” ved højvande, så man kun havde muddervand at bade i. Ideologiske spørgsmål dukkede dog også op – var feriebyen kun for arbejdere med en fagforeningsbog? Nej, lød svaret, men gæstens indkomst skulle være på en arbejders niveau. Opholdet skulle endvidere være af en uges varighed. Hele projektet skulle nemlig ses i et bredere perspektiv – gennem sit samarbejde med det store engelske rejsebureau Workers’ Travel Association med en årlig omsætning på 13 millioner kr. kunne man forestille sig engelske arbejdere komme til Esbjerg for at studere fænomenet ferieby. Ingen grund til bekymring, lød de beroligende ord til skeptikerne – Esbjerg skulle være turistcentrum, og derfor måtte man ikke gå i for små sko.

Avisskriverierne fortsatte dog resten af projektperioden, bl.a. fordi det kooperative selskab Hustømrernes Selskab vandt licitationen. »Kammerateri« lød det fra den borgerlige fløj i byrådet. At byggeriet så heller ikke var færdigt til tiden, gav de kritiske røster yderligere medvind. Angrebene var mange og forklaringerne og undskyldningerne ligeså. Færdigt var byggeriet dog ikke som aftalt, men der var heller ingen ventende kø af gæster, selv om Dansk Folkeferie gjorde sit til at reklamere for feriebyen: En brochure om feriebyen blev trykt i mere end 10.000 eksemplarer:

Forsiden af Dansk Folkeferies brochure for Fovrfeld Ferieby. Brochuren blev trykt i 10.000 eksemplarer.
The front page of the flyer for Fourfeld Holiday Resort. The travel agency Dansk Folkeferie printed 10,000 copies.

Åbningen og den første sæson
Feriebyen skulle have åbnet den 9. maj 1939, men først den 28. maj blev Dansk Folkeferies hvide vimpel med de to blå FF’er – Fovrfeld Ferieby – hejst over feriebyen. De første gæster kom i pinsen, dvs. den 20. maj. Det var 73 cykelryttere, der skulle overnatte i forbindelse med Esbjerg Cycle-Rings jubilæumsarrangement. Først den 3. juni rykkede de første egentlige sommergæster ind. I hele juli måned var alt optaget.

Det var fortrinsvis københavnere, der tog på ferie i Esbjerg, og over for en af de lokale aviser fortalte én af gæsterne, at de var blevet overvældet af Vadehavet og den friske luft. Og fra husmoderhold lød der stor tilfredshed med at være fri for madlavning i en uge.

Indkvartering af 75 af de 193 deltagere i Esbjerg Cycle-Rings 20-års jubilæumsløb i maj 1939 var feriebyens første opgave. Her ses nogle af deltagerne fotograferet ved feriehusene.
In the middle of May 1939 Esbjerg Cycle Club celebrated its 20 years anniversary with a bike race. 193 cyclists participated in the race of whom 75 stayed af Fovrfeld Holiday Resort as its first guests.

I alt gæstede 450 personer feriebyen i den første sæson. Gæsterne blev bedt udfylde et spørgeskema om feriebyen og deres ophold i den. Grundlæggende havde de været tilfredse, og deres klager var at regne for bagateller.

For Esbjerg Kommune havde feriebyen betydet 17.000 kr. i bruttoomsætning, hvilket var tilfredsstillende, da ferieloven jo ikke var slået fuldt igennem endnu.

På baggrund af sæsonen 1939 var alle i slutningen af august 1939 derfor parate til en ny sæson i 1940.

Ændrede forudsætninger

I løbet af en uges tid ændrede forudsætningerne sig. Årsagen var udbruddet af 2. Verdenskrig den 3. september 1939 og bomberne i Frodesgade 150-152 fra et engelsk fly den 4. september 1939. Indtil da havde Esbjerg intet luftforsvar, men efter angrebet på byen blev der sendt antiluftskyts og soldater hertil. I den første tid kunne de bo i telte, men da vinteren nærmede sig, var Fovrfeld Ferieby blandt de ledige bygninger, der kunne anvendes til indkvartering af soldater. Og blev det.

Ødelæggelserne på Frodesgade 150-152 efter det engelske flys bomber den 4. september 1949.
The remains of the apartment building 150-153 Frodesgade after the British bombs on September 4th 1939.

I januar 1940 spurgte Dansk Folkeferie Esbjerg Erhvervsråd om forventningerne til den kommende sæson, idet Dansk Folkeferie havde planer om at benytte feriebyen som i 1939. Esbjerg Erhvervsråd havde ikke travlt med at svare. 200.000 kr. om året i indtjening ved udlejning til soldater var økonomisk mere interessant end nogle feriegæster midt på sommeren.

Og derved blev det. Feriehusene blev aldrig brugt til det oprindelige formål igen: Først var danske soldater indkvarteret der, så tyske – og efter befrielsen blev de lettere ombyggede og udvidede feriehuse anvendt som husvildeboliger. I den funktion var de endnu at se indtil 1968. Og de blev ikke skrottet, men videregivet til f.eks. ungdomsorganisation med »et mobilitetsfremmende« tilskud på 1.500 kr. pr. hus.

En familie fotograferet foran deres husvildebolig i den tidligere Fovrfeld Ferieby. De har indrettet sig med en lille have foran huset. Ca. 1950.
A family has their picture taken in front of their cottage around 1950. They have made a small garden in front of their cottage in the former Fovrfeld Holiday Resort. Like many other Esbjerg families from 1945-1970 they were homeless and looking for accommodation.

Mange år senere tog Danske Folkeferie ferieby-konceptet op igen, men det var med huse af en helt anden kvalitet – og Esbjerg blev ikke én af de udvalgte byer.

Fovrfeld Holiday Resort – a New Idea

In 1938, the Danish Parliament passed the first vacation law, which allowed employees two weeks' holiday each yeas. Because of this, the trade unions founded Dansk Folkeferie, a travel agency which was going to ensure the workers good and cheap holiday offers.

Many workers were looking for a cheap holiday, e.g. to visit family, friends and acquaintances elsewhere in the country. Another option was a bicycle holiday with tent, which would not be that expensive, or accommodation in hostels.

It was, however, not holidays like that Dansk Folkeferie had in mind. None of the 650,000 workers on holiday should feel like second-class citizens when it came to accommodation, and furthermore the travel agency also would like to sell holidays with an educational concept. All over the country ideas popped up how to get the best out of the new law, and a number of larger cities such as Aalborg, Aarhus and Elsinore worked on plans to be build large hotels to receive the hundreds of workers who were going to make use of their new rights.

The idea
Also in Esbjerg, hotel plans were well advanced, until a unique idea was brought to the table at a meeting in November 1938 between the Workers' Joint Organization and the Business Committee of Esbjerg, namely the construction of a holiday resort. The proposal came on the table around midnight, and despite the late time of the day all the meeting participants, filled with enthusiasm, jumped into their cars and drove o the location on Hjertingvej, where the holiday resort was proposed to built on land owned by the City of Esbjerg. Everybody were convinced: It was an excellent location for a holiday resort with 30-40 houses.

The following day The Workers' Joint Organization called Harald Peters (1891-1951), a local architect, and asked him to design a number of standard houses. He was no accidental choice of an architect, because he already had a lot of experience in building cottages on the island of Fanø. This new task, however, was somewhat different, for the houses were going to be identical but built 12-14 meters from each other. Each house should contain a spacious living area, two bed rooms, a tiny kitchen and a room in the attic.

His estimate was that they would cost DKK 2,500 apiece. The modest kitchen facilities were due to the concept that all meals would be served in the canteen building.

Dansk Folkeferie was going to manage all reservations. This meant that the »holiday package« not only should include good standard accommodation at reasonable prices, but also offer cheap meals as well as a number of excursions. An early version of »all inclusive« as we would call it today.

The local offer to Dansk Folkevirke was a weekly rental during the peak season of approx. DKK 20, and then guests could decide whether they wanted the whole house themselves or would share it with another couple, typically in the case of couples without children. Furthermore, the idea was to build a small restaurant – a canteen building – in the resort where the renters could buy their meals at a reasonable price. The local group hoped that a restaurant owner from Esbjerg would bid on the job to secure food arrangements based on a ticket system. A week's holiday in the holiday resort was assessed to cost DKK 40 for a week, incl. the expenses for the excursions that Esbjerg Tourist and Business Office would arrange for the guests at the resort.

The offer was accepted by Dansk Folkeferie, and according to the contract Dansk Folkeferie guaranteed the occupancy during »the actual holiday time«, ie. from May 15th to September 1st. On January 16th 1939, Esbjerg City Council passed a minimized project and allocated DKK 50,000 for the purpose – on the condition that Esbjerg City Council provided the building site between Hjertingvej and the Gravlunden.

However, the decision turned out not to be final since Dansk Folkeferie kept asking for a canteen building which the City Council accepted on February 13th, 1939. The final project included only 15 houses and a canteen building, but the price had increased from DKK 50,000 to 65,000.

Then it was all about getting started – tendering had to be held and the holiday season was just around the corner.


The public debate
The political discussion of Esbjerg City Council was mainly concerned with »holiday crowns« where as the public debate was broader and more nuanced. A citizen criticized the location – the beach at Sædding was nothing to talk about. With the prevailing wind from the East in the summer time, there were weeks where the water was not even »home« at high tide, so you only had mud water when you wanted to go for a swim. More political questions also turned up – was the resort only for trade unionists? No, the answer was, but the guest's income should be at the level of a worker. The stay should also last a week. The whole project was to be seen in a broader perspective – through its collaboration with the big English travel agency Workers' Travel Association with an annual turnover of DKK 13 million, one could also imagine English workers coming to Esbjerg to study the phenomenon of a holiday resort. No worries, the reassuring words sounded to the sceptics – Esbjerg was going to become a tourist center, so the warning was not to walk in too small shoes.

However, the local newspapers kept writing about the project even to the very end. Some of this was due to the fact that the cooperative company The Carpenters’ Society won the tender. »Cronyism« was the word the Liberal and the Conservative parties of Esbjerg City Council used. Furthermore, the construction work was not finished on time which gave the political opposition another opportunity to voice its critic. The attacks were many and the explanations and excuses also. And – the construction was not completed on time, but fortunately there was no line up of waiting guests, though Dansk Folkeferie made a new effort to promote the resort. A flyer about the resort was printed in more than 10,000 copies.

The opening and the first season
Fovrfeld Holiday Resort had May 9th 1939 as its expected opening day but their flag was not hoisted until May 28th. A week before – at Pentecost – the first guests stayed in the resort. They were 75 cyclists participating in the 20 year anniversary race of Esbjerg Cycling Club. The first real guests moved in on June 3rd. Throughout the month of July there was no vacancy.

It was mainly people from Copenhagen who stayed at Fovrfeld Holiday Resort. One of the guests told a local newspaper that they had been overwhelmed by the Wadden Sea and the fresh air. The housewives did not hesitate to mention how much they had enjoyed not having to cook for a week.

In total, 450 people stayed at the holiday resort in the first season. Guests were asked to fill out a questionnaire about the resort and their stay there. The 150 replies basically showed that the guests had been satisfied and their the complaints were not significant.

The City of Esbjerg estimated that the resort had meant DKK 17,000 in gross sales, which was satisfactory, as the holiday law was not fully implemented yet.

At the end of August 1939 and based on the figures from 1939, everyone was ready for a new season in 1940.

A worldwide change
Over the course of a week, everything changed. On September 3rd, 1939, Great Britain and France declared Germany war – WW2 was on. Less than 24 hours later, on September 4th, 1939, a British bomber out of course dropped four bombes over Esbjerg and destroyed the apartment building at 150-152 Frodesgade and killed a lady. Until then, Esbjerg had no air defence, but after the attack on the city, anti-aircraft guns and soldiers were sent here. In the beginning they were staying in tents, but as the winter approached, Fovrfeld Holiday Resort was possible accommodation of soldiers. In the end of October 1939 the Danish soldiers moved into the vacant houses of Fovrfeld Holiday Resort.

In January 1940, Danish Folkeferie asked the Esbjerg Business Council about their expectations for the coming season, as the Dansk Folkeferie was expecting to use the resort as in 1939. The Business Council was in no hurry to respond. DKK 200,000 in revenue annually from the Army was financially more interesting than having tourists staying for two-three months in the summertime.

And this was the end of it. Fovrfeld Holiday Resort was never used for its original purpose again: First, Danish soldiers were accommodated there, then German soldiers took over. After WW2, the slightly remodelled and expanded cottages were used as housing for homeless people. They were still being used for that until 1968. And they were not destroyed then, but passed on to e.g. youth organization with a grant of DKK 1,500 per house.

Many years later, Danske Folkeferie revived the holiday resort concept with houses of a completely different quality – and Esbjerg was not one of the selected cities.

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