It was not until a few years later, when married couple Henriette and J. A. Menger had taken over the place, that much was heard about the life at the brothel. Four girls lived there at a time, their payment consisting of board, lodging, clothes and half the customers’ payment. The other half went to the host couple. Occasionally, the girls got into debt with the hosts, making it difficult for them to leave the place even if they wanted to. Just like you hear about today.
Many of the townspeople were unhappy about the existence of a brothel in their town, and Menger also had to enter into a number of agreements in order to keep the place running. The agreement with the authorities was that all customers should be aged over 20 and that any female servants should be over the age of 40. The playing of music, dancing and the serving of liquor were not allowed. If the host couple went on to have children, they would only be able to live there until the age of 4.
In March 1872, the other homeowners on Østergade complained about the brothel. The complainants argued that they had difficulty renting out the apartments, and that property prices had fallen, and that, despite the agreements with the authorities, there was both piano playing and a daughter aged 13–14 living at the property. The complaints did not help, however, as the brothel remained until around the time of the reunification – though it had moved to another street in the early 1900s.
In the late 1800s, the property was taken over by the couple Hans Jesper Outzen (1832–1891) and Frederikke Andrea Outzen, née Jensen (1843–1907). Over the years, they changed the brothel into an actual inn with apartment rental.
