The Houses of Mahler
Almost leaning against the cemetery wall of Sct. Bendts Church lie The Mahler Houses, located at Sct. Bendtsgade 5, parcel no. 83. Side by side stand a yellow house, built in 1865, and a red house, built in the 18th century, which together form a single property.
The nickname "The Mahler Houses" originates from the last private owner, master mason Lauridts H. N. Mahler, who built the yellow house.
The red house served in Ringsted’s early years as a tollhouse and excise booth. Toll fees were payments required to travel along the country road—a kind of import duty on the agricultural products that farmers brought to town to sell at the market.
In 1922, master mason Mahler sold the houses to Sct. Bendts Church on the condition that he and his wife could live there rent-free until their deaths.
In 1924, the houses were granted limited preservation status and listed as Class B buildings, and in 1984, the front buildings received full preservation status.
While under church ownership, The Mahler Houses were rented out as private residences. However, the land register for Ringsted Urban Lots notes that in 1964, a ban was imposed on renting out the western part of the houses (the red building) once the existing tenancy ended.
In 2007, the City Council expressed interest in purchasing The Mahler Houses from the Parish Council, with plans to incorporate them into the new premises for Historiens Hus – Ringsted Museum and Archive at Amtsstuegården. These plans were later abandoned, as were the plans to relocate Historiens Hus to Amtsstuegården.
In 2012, The Mahler Houses were sold to a private buyer.
Text from wiki.ringstedhistorie.dk