Architecture
The five buildings in our park area originate from a spa that went bankrupt in 1983 after 100 years of operation. The establishment of the Silkeborg Vandkuranstalt in 1883 was also the beginning of Silkeborg's heyday as a spa town with many more spas. The buildings are Denmark's oldest preserved spa buildings and are thus a unique cultural environment. When the buildings were given their new cultural purpose in the 1990s, they were renovated so that the exterior facades retain the expression of the past. Inside, the renovation has created space for today's purposes.
The Society Building
Vilhelm Dahlerup (1836-1907) designed the Society Building, built in 1883. It contained dining rooms, salons, a reading room, a billiard room, a smoking room, an office, a reception, a kitchen, guest rooms and staff rooms in the attic. Today, the building is primarily used for the Granly Children's Institution and for the activities of the Silkeborg Ny Teater.
The Spa Building
Dahlerup also designed the Spa Building, built in 1883, and today enclosed by large extensions from 1917 and 1998. The function here was bath treatments and for a period the chief physician's consultation. A. Høeg-Hansen designed the two double-height wings of rooms that were added to the Spa Building in 1917. Per Lausten, Årstiderne Arkitekter, supervised the renovation and extension of the Spa Building in 1998. The Spa Building today forms the base for the exhibitions presented by the Art Centre Silkeborg Bad .
Søvilla
Søvilla was also designed by Vilhelm Dahlerup, and at the time contained 14 guest rooms. Today, Silkeborg Bunkermuseum has association rooms on the 1st floor and the Silkeborg Bad Art Center operates Café Søvilla on the ground floor for guests of the Sculpture Park.
Skovvilla
Skovvilla was designed by Anton Rosen (1859-1928), built in 1885 as his first independent work. The spa needed an additional guesthouse, and up to 32 spa guests could now be accommodated here. Rosen was one of the great exponents of fine arts and went beyond his nationwide work to leave a great mark on Silkeborg. The Silkeborg Bad Art Centre showed changing exhibitions in Skovvilla from 1996 to 2012, and since 2013 the building has been the setting for a documentary exhibition that gives our guests the opportunity to delve into the history of the spa era.
Granly
In 1895, Villa Granly was built in a corner of the park area. For about ten years it was used for patients with tuberculosis, and later as a private residence for the chief physician and his family. Today it is used by the Granly Children's Institution.