[2] In 1810 the merchant Hartvig Philip Rée bought a parcel of land on Vestergade 11 and constructed the building which would become known as Mønsted's House.

Rée successfully navigated the Danish state bankruptcy of the early 19th century and tax registers show he was the highest individual in 1818.

Rée eventually became the first person of Jewish descend in Denmark who was admitted to the small group of eligible citizens who could vote and hold official office.

[3] In 1865 Otto Mønsted settled in the city where he married the daughter of the local industry magnate Hans Broge in 1870.

Rée, Mønsted and the industrial production that took place on the Vestergade property had a large impact on the city in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and this was factored into the decision to list the building.