Christian Hansen (architect)
Encyclopedia
Hans Christian Hansen was a Historicist
Danish
architect who worked 18 years in Greece
where he was active in the transformation of Athens
from a small town to the country's capital and an international metropolis. Later in his career he returned to Denmark where he became a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and designed buildings such as the Copenhagen Municipal Hospital and the Østervold Observatory
. He was the brother of Theophilius Hansen who was also an internationally successful architect, active in Athens and Vienna
. He is considered to be a pioneer in the study and application of polychrome architecture
.
. He attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen
from 1816, just 13 years old, where he studied under Christian Frederik Hansen
, the leading Danish architect of the time, and Gustav Friedrich Hetsch
. Christian Frederik Hansen taught him a rational approach to architecture and Hetsch introduced him to Schinkel
whose influence he had brought to Denmark.
In 1831 Christian Hansen won the Academy's large gold medal and a travel scholarship. He then set out on a journey to Italy and Greece, first spending two years in Italy, mainly in Rome
and Sicily
.
. At the time, Athens was just a small village with a few thousand inhabitants, chosen as capital for historic and sentimental reasons. It was therefore set for massive redevelopment to become a modern metropolis. Hansen won the favour of King Otto
and was appointed Court Architect in 1834. In 1838, he was joined by his brother Theophilus who had also studied architecture at the Academy in Copenhagen but had been unsuccessful in getting commissions.
Christian Hansen's most famous work in Athens is the original main building for the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
. Construction started in 1839 using the proceeds of a fund-raising campaign from Greeks at home and abroad. It was inaugurated in 1841, though not entirely completed until 1864 due to lack of funds. It is built in marble in Greek Revival
style, also known as Neohellenic Classicism, of which it is considered one of the most important examples and a source of inspiration for many other buildings of the time, particularly in Germany. It is part of the so-called Neoclassical, or Athenian, Trilogy which was completed by his brother with the Academy of Athens
and the National Library of Greece
.
Hansen also designed private houses and churches. The latter include the Anglican
St. Paul's Church. It is designed in a mixed Victorian
and Gothic Revival
style.
Hansen's work in Athens also involved archeological excavations and investigations. Together with the German architect Eduard Schaubert he excavated and reconstructed the Temple of Athena Nike at the Acropolis
and he contributed to the compilation of material for Joseph Hoffer's account of horizontal curvature and optical corrections in Greek temples.
Hansen's reputation reached outside Greece and in 1850 Austrian Lloyd
commissioned him to build a marine arsenal and dockyards at Trieste
. The extensive building complex designed in the Rundbogenstil
with details inspired by Byzantine architecture
was constructed from 1852 to 1856.
and the surrounding islands but had to let someone else, C. A. Møller, temporarily take care of his obligations due to his engagements with Lloyds in Trieste.
In 1867, he became a member of the Academy in Copenhagen and Royal Building Inspector for Zealand, Lolland
and Falster
. That same year he also took over the professorial chair in architecture at the Academy which had become vacant with Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll
's death the year before.
As a practicing architect, Hansen never got the prominent role in Denmark upon his return which could have been expected after his achievements abroad. In Copenhagen he built the Municipal Hospital in the Rundbogenstil
which he had also applied in Trieste. His Østervold Observatory
was built on the former fortifications of the city to replace the astronomical observatory at the Round Tower
. For the University of Copenhagen he also designed a Zoological Museum in Krystalgade in Renaissance Revival style
. The building is today used by the university's administration but the lavishly decorated Grand Hall, where the large, stuffed animals used to be on display, is frequently used for exhibitions.
Christian Hansen died in 1883 and is interred at Assistens Cemetery.
Historicism (art)
Historicism refers to artistic styles that draw their inspiration from copying historic styles or artisans. After neo-classicism, which could itself be considered a historicist movement, the 19th century saw a new historicist phase marked by a return to a more ancient classicism, in particular in...
Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
architect who worked 18 years in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
where he was active in the transformation of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
from a small town to the country's capital and an international metropolis. Later in his career he returned to Denmark where he became a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and designed buildings such as the Copenhagen Municipal Hospital and the Østervold Observatory
Østervold Observatory
Østervold Observatory is a former astronomical observatory in Copenhagen, Denmark owned and operated by the University of Copenhagen . It opened in 1861 as a replacement for the University's old observatory at Rundetårn....
. He was the brother of Theophilius Hansen who was also an internationally successful architect, active in Athens and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. He is considered to be a pioneer in the study and application of polychrome architecture
Polychrome
Polychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. It has also been defined as "The practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths...
.
Early life and career
Christian Hansen was born in CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. He attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
from 1816, just 13 years old, where he studied under Christian Frederik Hansen
Christian Frederik Hansen
Christian Frederik Hansen , known as C.F. Hansen, was the leading Danish architect between the late 18th century and the mid 19th century, and on account of his position at the Royal Danish Academy of Art the most powerful person in artistic circles for many years...
, the leading Danish architect of the time, and Gustav Friedrich Hetsch
Gustav Friedrich Hetsch
Gustav Friedrich Hetsch was a German-born, Danish architect.Hetsch was born in Stuttgart and studied at the University of Tübingen and in Paris, where his teacher was Charles Percier. After finishing his studies, he worked for Jean-Baptiste Rondelet on the Church of Sainte-Geneviève...
. Christian Frederik Hansen taught him a rational approach to architecture and Hetsch introduced him to Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel was a Prussian architect, city planner, and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassical and neogothic buildings.-Biography:Schinkel was born in Neuruppin, Margraviate of...
whose influence he had brought to Denmark.
In 1831 Christian Hansen won the Academy's large gold medal and a travel scholarship. He then set out on a journey to Italy and Greece, first spending two years in Italy, mainly in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
.
Years in Athens
In 1833, Hansen travelled to Athens, recently been chosen as the new capital of the nascent Greece which had recently gained its independence from the Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. At the time, Athens was just a small village with a few thousand inhabitants, chosen as capital for historic and sentimental reasons. It was therefore set for massive redevelopment to become a modern metropolis. Hansen won the favour of King Otto
Otto of Greece
Otto, Prince of Bavaria, then Othon, King of Greece was made the first modern King of Greece in 1832 under the Convention of London, whereby Greece became a new independent kingdom under the protection of the Great Powers .The second son of the philhellene King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Otto ascended...
and was appointed Court Architect in 1834. In 1838, he was joined by his brother Theophilus who had also studied architecture at the Academy in Copenhagen but had been unsuccessful in getting commissions.
Christian Hansen's most famous work in Athens is the original main building for the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens , usually referred to simply as the University of Athens, is the oldest university in Southeast Europe and has been in continuous operation since its establishment in 1837. Today, it is the second-largest institution of higher learning in Greece,...
. Construction started in 1839 using the proceeds of a fund-raising campaign from Greeks at home and abroad. It was inaugurated in 1841, though not entirely completed until 1864 due to lack of funds. It is built in marble in Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
style, also known as Neohellenic Classicism, of which it is considered one of the most important examples and a source of inspiration for many other buildings of the time, particularly in Germany. It is part of the so-called Neoclassical, or Athenian, Trilogy which was completed by his brother with the Academy of Athens
Academy of Athens (modern)
The Academy of Athens is Greece's national academy, and the highest research establishment in the country. It was established in 1926, and operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Education...
and the National Library of Greece
National Library of Greece
The National Library of Greece is situated near the center of city of Athens. It was designed by the Danish architect Theophil Freiherr von Hansen, as part of his famous Trilogy of neo-classical buildings including the Academy of Athens and the original building of the Athens...
.
Hansen also designed private houses and churches. The latter include the Anglican
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
St. Paul's Church. It is designed in a mixed Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
and Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
style.
Hansen's work in Athens also involved archeological excavations and investigations. Together with the German architect Eduard Schaubert he excavated and reconstructed the Temple of Athena Nike at the Acropolis
Acropolis, Athens
Acropolis is a neighborhood of Athens, near the ancient monument of Acropolis, along the Dionysios Areopagitis, courier road. This neighborhood has a significant number of tourists all year round. It is the site of the Museum of Acropolis, opened in 2009....
and he contributed to the compilation of material for Joseph Hoffer's account of horizontal curvature and optical corrections in Greek temples.
Hansen's reputation reached outside Greece and in 1850 Austrian Lloyd
Austrian Lloyd
Austrian Lloyd Ship Management is a shipping company based in Limassol, Cyprus with shipping emphasis on bulk carriers, car carriers, container ships, and reefers. It is the flagship company of the Österreichischer Lloyd Group founded in 1991 by Hans-Georg Wurmböck and Eberhard Koch...
commissioned him to build a marine arsenal and dockyards at Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
. The extensive building complex designed in the Rundbogenstil
Rundbogenstil
Rundbogenstil , one of the nineteenth-century historic revival styles of architecture, is a variety of Romanesque revival popular in the German-speaking lands and the German diaspora....
with details inspired by Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...
was constructed from 1852 to 1856.
Homecoming and work in Denmark
After the revolt in September 1843 in Athens, a nationalist wave made it hard for foreigners to work in Greece. In 1851, Hansen returned to Denmark after almost 20 years abroad. He was appointed Royal Building Inspector for FunenFunen
Funen , with a size of 2,984 km² , is the third-largest island of Denmark following Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy, and the 163rd largest island of the world. Funen is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 454,358 inhabitants . The main city is Odense, connected to the...
and the surrounding islands but had to let someone else, C. A. Møller, temporarily take care of his obligations due to his engagements with Lloyds in Trieste.
In 1867, he became a member of the Academy in Copenhagen and Royal Building Inspector for Zealand, Lolland
Lolland
Lolland is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of 1,243 square kilometers . Located in the Baltic sea, it is part of Region Sjælland...
and Falster
Falster
Falster is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of 514 km² and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010. Located in the Baltic sea, it is part of Region Sjælland and is administered by Guldborgsund Municipality...
. That same year he also took over the professorial chair in architecture at the Academy which had become vacant with Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll
Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll
Michael Gottlieb Birckner Bindesbøll was a Danish architect active during the Danish Golden Age in the first half of the 19th century. Most known for his design of Thorvaldsens Museum in Copenhagen, he was a key figure in the stylistic shift in Danish architecture from late classicism to Historicism...
's death the year before.
As a practicing architect, Hansen never got the prominent role in Denmark upon his return which could have been expected after his achievements abroad. In Copenhagen he built the Municipal Hospital in the Rundbogenstil
Rundbogenstil
Rundbogenstil , one of the nineteenth-century historic revival styles of architecture, is a variety of Romanesque revival popular in the German-speaking lands and the German diaspora....
which he had also applied in Trieste. His Østervold Observatory
Østervold Observatory
Østervold Observatory is a former astronomical observatory in Copenhagen, Denmark owned and operated by the University of Copenhagen . It opened in 1861 as a replacement for the University's old observatory at Rundetårn....
was built on the former fortifications of the city to replace the astronomical observatory at the Round Tower
Rundetårn
The Rundetårn is a 17th-century tower located in central Copenhagen, Denmark. One of the many architectural projects of Christian IV, it was built as an astronomical observatory...
. For the University of Copenhagen he also designed a Zoological Museum in Krystalgade in Renaissance Revival style
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...
. The building is today used by the university's administration but the lavishly decorated Grand Hall, where the large, stuffed animals used to be on display, is frequently used for exhibitions.
Christian Hansen died in 1883 and is interred at Assistens Cemetery.
Selected buildings
- The Mint, Athens (1834–6)
- National and Kapodistrian University of AthensNational and Kapodistrian University of AthensThe National and Kapodistrian University of Athens , usually referred to simply as the University of Athens, is the oldest university in Southeast Europe and has been in continuous operation since its establishment in 1837. Today, it is the second-largest institution of higher learning in Greece,...
, Athens (1839–50) - St. Paul's Church, Athens (1838–1841)
- Eye Clinic, Athens
- Crown Prince's Palace, Athens
- Hotel for Austrian LloydAustrian LloydAustrian Lloyd Ship Management is a shipping company based in Limassol, Cyprus with shipping emphasis on bulk carriers, car carriers, container ships, and reefers. It is the flagship company of the Österreichischer Lloyd Group founded in 1991 by Hans-Georg Wurmböck and Eberhard Koch...
, LoutrakiLoutrakiLoutraki is a seaside resort located 84 km W of Athens and 4 km NE of Corinth in the Prefecture of Corinthia, Greece. Loutraki is the seat of the municipality Loutraki-Perachora. The town is well-known for its vast natural springs and its therapeutic spas.-History:In antiquity a town...
, Greece - Arsenal and Dockyards, TriesteTriesteTrieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
(1852–56), - Copenhagen Municipal Hospital, Copenhagen (1856–63)
- Østervold ObservatoryØstervold ObservatoryØstervold Observatory is a former astronomical observatory in Copenhagen, Denmark owned and operated by the University of Copenhagen . It opened in 1861 as a replacement for the University's old observatory at Rundetårn....
, Copenhagen (1859–61) - Museum of Zoology, Krystalgade, Copenhagen (1863–1869)
- Valkendorfs KollegiumValkendorfs KollegiumValkendorfs Kollegium is the oldest dormitory in Denmark and was founded on 26 February 1589 by the nobleman Christopher Valkendorf. The building he purchased was originally a monastery. The dormitory suffered a great deal during the Great Fire of Copenhagen in 1728. Though most of the brickwork...
(student residence), Sankt Peders Stræde, Copenhagen (1865–66) - Roman Bathhouse, Tordenskjoldsgade, Copenhagen (1868, since rebuilt)
- St. Nicolai's Church, HolbækHolbækHolbæk is a town in Denmark and the seat of Holbæk municipality with a population of 27,055 . The city is located in the northeastern part of Region Sjælland, Denmark....
, (1868–72) - Christiansdal Abbey, NæstvedNæstved MunicipalityNæstved is a municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand in the south of Denmark. The municipality includes the island of Gavnø. It covers an area of 681 km², and has a total population of 80,732 . Its mayor is Henning Jensen, a member of the Social Democrats political party...
(1870–71) - St. Joseph's Hospital, GriffenfeldsgadeGriffenfeldsgadeGriffenfeldsgade is a side street to Nørrebrogade in Inner Nørrebro in Copenhagen. The street has a multiethnic character, and houses a number of African specialty stores, coffee shops and restaurants....
, Copenhagen (1873–75, later extensions 1881 og 1904) - Palm House complex, University of Copenhagen Botanical GardenUniversity of Copenhagen Botanical GardenThe University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden , usually referred to simply as Copenhagen Botanical Garden, is a botanical garden located in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark...
(1874)