Helge Thiis
Encyclopedia
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
. He is most noted for being the cathedral architect at Nidaros Cathedral
Nidaros Cathedral
Nidaros Cathedral is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It was the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nidaros from its establishment in 1152 until its abolition in 1537. Since the Reformation, it has been the cathedral of the...
.
Background
Helge Thiis was born in TrondheimTrondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
, Norway. He was the son of curator and museum director, Jens Thiis
Jens Thiis
Jens Thiis was a Norwegian art historian, conservator and a prominent museum director. He was conservator at Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum in Trondheim 1895 and director at Nasjonalgalleriet in Oslo 1908–1941.He was unusual alert to tendencies of his time...
and Ragna Dons Wilhelmina (1870-1939). The family moved to Kristiania in 1908, when his father was appointed director at the National Art Museum (now the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design).
Helge Thiis took his final examination in 1915 and began studying architecture at the Royal Institute of Technology
Royal Institute of Technology
The Royal Institute of Technology is a university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH was founded in 1827 as Sweden's first polytechnic and is one of Scandinavia's largest institutions of higher education in technology. KTH accounts for one-third of Sweden’s technical research and engineering education...
in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, receiving his diploma in 1919. He worked 1920-23 as assistant architect for Arnstein Arneberg
Arnstein Arneberg
Arnstein Rynning Arneberg was a Norwegian architect. He was active as an architect for 50 years and is often considered the leading architect in Norway of his time. -Background:...
in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, followed by architect Gunnar Asplund
Gunnar Asplund
Erik Gunnar Asplund was a Swedish architect, mostly known as a key representative of Nordic Classicism of the 1920s, and during the last decade of his life as a major proponent of the modernist style which made its breakthrough in Sweden at the Stockholm International Exhibition...
in Stockholm, and again in Oslo in the architectural firm of Andreas H. Bjercke (1883-1967) and Georg Eliassen (1880-1964). He was an art critic at the Norwegian daily newspaper, Nationen
Nationen
Nationen is a Norwegian daily newspaper, founded in 1918. It has a circulation of approximately 14,000 and primarily targets farmers and the agriarian sector, with focus on district politics, farming, commentaries and features. It is based in Oslo, with offices in Trondheim and Fagernes, and edited...
, from 1924 to 1929.
Nidaros Cathedral Restoration
Nidaros Cathedral
Nidaros Cathedral is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It was the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nidaros from its establishment in 1152 until its abolition in 1537. Since the Reformation, it has been the cathedral of the...
Restoration Work). In 1929, he had won the competition for the reconstruction of the design of the west front and central tower of the Nidaros Cathedral. It included the redesign of the main octagon tower, the helmet and the completion of the Nidaros Cathedral West Front
Nidaros Cathedral West Front
The Nidaros Cathedral West Front , which includes multiple sculptures, was the final portion of the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway that was restored. This is the cathedral's main facade and one of the most beautiful and ornate portions of the church...
.
Most of it was covered with recesses for statues in the French Gothic style. The reconstruction of Nidaros Cathedral thus became an important arena for many of the leading Norwegian sculptors. Many of Norway’s leading sculptors joined in creating the western façade, working for several decades. Thiis was appointed as the cathedral architect, a position he held from 1930 until his death in 1972.
Personal life
He was married to the painter Greta Thiis, née Swendborg (1896-1982). He was appointed Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1953.Other works
- Residence for Professor Kristian Brandt, Oslo 1930.
- Reconstruction of ReinReinReins are items of horse tack, used to direct a horse or other animal used for riding or driving. Reins can be made of leather, nylon, metal, or other materials, and attach to a bridle via either its bit or its noseband.-Use for riding:...
Church, on commission from the author Johan BojerJohan BojerJohan Bojer was a popular Norwegian novelist and dramatist. He principally wrote about the lives of the poor farmers and fishermen, both in his native Norway and among the Norwegian immigrants in the United States.-Biography:...
, Rein 1931. - Own residence "Rogne", TrondheimTrondheimTrondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
, 1935. - Residence for the Bishop in Trondheim, 1956.
- Residence for the sculptor Tone Thiis Schjetne and doctor Per Schjetne, Trondheim 1961.
Other sources
- Bakken, Arne Nidarosdomen – en Pilegrimsvandring (Aschehoug, Oslo: 1997) ISBN 82-03-22186-6.
- Danbolt, GunnarGunnar DanboltGunnar Danbolt is a Norwegian art historian.He was born in Bergen, the son of merchant Odd Gauslaa Danbolt and Astrid A. Knudsen . In 1968, he married art historian Hjørdis Hauge....
Nidarosdomen, fra Kristkirke til nasjonalmonument (Andresen og Butenschøn, Oslo: 1997) ISBN 82-7694-024-2. - Ekroll, Øystein Nidarosdomen - Vestfrontens skulpturer (Nidaros Domkirkes Restaureringsarbeiders forlag. Trondheim: 2006) ISBN 82-7693-061-1.