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Review: Frankrigsgade Kollegiet — a nine-storey powerhouse

Dorms disclosed — The Frankrigsgade residence hall is out in the Amager district, and as a resident it is you that decides whether you want to really get involved, or just have a place to live.

The nine-storey Frankrigsgade dorm is the home of 126 students in a slightly anonymous-looking concrete building on the island suburb of Amager. For a monthly rent of DKK 3,500, you get a room with your own toilet and bathroom, and access to a shared kitchen that you share with 13 other residents.

Frankrigsgadekollegiet

Address: Frankrigsgade 50, 2300 Copenhagen.

www.frankrigsgadekollegiet.dk

Rent: DKK 3,500

Application process: You need to study a certified Danish degree programme. And then you write yourself up on a waiting list.

 

There is no particular ‘type’ of person living in Frankrigsgade Kollegiet, according to one of the residents Lukas Zeppelin.

SEE THE FULL ‘DORMS DISCLOSED’ UNIVERSITY POST SERIES: Reviews by student residents of dorms and residence halls in Copenhagen

»There are all sorts living here. They are so different – and this leads to a good dynamic.«

No expectations

This applies, for example, to people’s social commitment. There are, according to Lukas Zeppelin, »no expectations at all« placed on you as a resident. But it’s possible to be social if you want to.

»It’s a great place if you’re not too much into the partying, but want something to happen once in a while,« says Lukas Zeppelin. »That you do not want to be social all the time, but neither are you all alone. This is a great compromise for many people.«

You can quickly get involved in the various committees, however. Like the garden committee or the residents’ council, according to Lukas Zeppelin. The beer financing on site are taken care of by a beer fund, which Lukas Zeppelin, as chairman, considers to be one of the most important decision-making bodies in the dorm.

»That’s where you buy the brews!«

There is also a party committee that is responsible for organising parties like the free bar party in the autumn, and the big ‘tour de chambre’, which involves all the floors. Apart from the party room and the garden courtyard, there are no other common areas in the entire residence hall. This means that it can be a challenge to get to know each other across the floors, according to Lukas Zeppelin.

There are 126 students in the dormitory.
image: Foto: Anna Trads Viemose.
In the foyer, mail boxes share space with a football table.
image: Foto: Anna Trads Viemose.
Decorating each other's cabinets is a true dorm tradition.
image: Foto: Anna Trads Viemose.

Party and spring clean

The sense of community is easier to find on the different floors, where each of them has with their own traditions. The ninth floor, for example, has a lot of traditions associated with the annual spring cleaning.

Dorms disclosed

There are loads of dormitories, kollegiums, and student residences in Copenhagen, yet most of the information available is in Danish.

Some are small, old houses with pretty gardens, others are giant concrete buildings with tiny windows.

This is a review by a student reporter. But in the Dorms Disclosed series, it is the residents themselves that review the dorms that they live in.

Here is an overview with links to all of the dormitory and student accommodation reviews we have published so far, written by the people who know them the best.

If you want to write an English-language review of your dorm write to uni-avis@adm.ku.dk with ‘Dorms Disclosed’ in the subject header.

»I always look forward to it,« says Lukas Zeppelin. »It’s really boring to clean, so we dress up and get drunk – but then we have to do all the chores!«

The floor also continues a traditional drinking game of unknown provenance accompanied by the Danish song ‘Kongens Have’ by a band called TopGunn, and the Scandinavian residence hall classic Tour de Chambre party is, of course, also on the programme. But there are also quieter and more laid back communal activities like film evening and common dining.

»I can only speak well of this place,« says Lukas Zeppelin, adding that even though all of the rooms are completely identical in terms of square metre-age and layout, you do get a good »penthouse« view from the top of the building: »So keep your fingers crossed that you will get a room on the ninth floor if you move in!«

[This review has been written by a student reporter at the University Post. If you want to write an English-language review of your dorm write to uni-avis@adm.ku.dk and mark it ‘Dorms Disclosed’]

READ ABOUT OTHER RESIDENCE HALLS AND DORMS HERE: Student housing reviews: Dorms and residences in Copenhagen

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