Mølleskolen (the Mill School)


In the early days of the town, children in Ry had to go to Fiirgårde School – the nearest public school, which was run by the Dover Parish council.

But from the mid-1880s, the population grew fast. A private school sprung up in a house on Fredensvej near the railway crossing, and soon there were so many pupils that a proper school house had to be built on Klostervej. Soon, it was itself too small, however, and in 1896, the 90 pupils were able to start using the entirely new buildings on Skanderborgvej – where the Mølleskolen (the Mill School) stands today. One of schools most significant teachers was the head teacher Peder Kristian Fjeldsted. For many years he was the chairman of Ry Artisan and Citizen Association, as well as of the local church committee. He was a member of this committee three times, and was one of the main forces behind the formation of Ry and District Tourist Association. He also took the initiative to layout the school garden, and cultivated it together with pupils so they could learn something about nature and plants. Since the late 1990s, Fjeldsteds Garden has been forest cemetery between Ry Church and Kildebakken. Fjeldsted also applied to the Parish Council to obtain some land next to the school for a playground and sportsfield, but the council said no. However, Fjeldsted was not put out, so he purchased the land himself and offered it for free to the Parish Council. In the end however, it was Ry Artisan and Citizen Association which took over the land. But Fjeldsted insisted on the adoption of an easement stipulating that the land could never be sold or mortgaged, but should be used as a playground for the school’s pupils. Many years later, in 1947, Ry Artisan and Citizen Association sold the land to Ry Municipality and Fjeldsted’s easement was extinguished in 1993. The school has changed its name from Ry Folke- and Realskole to Mølleskolen, and is today one of Denmark’s largest public schools with almost 1,000 pupils. Today, the land, which Fjeldsted secured remains the sports ground of Mølleskolen.