Theophil Freiherr von Hansen
Encyclopedia
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
name: Theophilus Hansen) (July 13, 1813 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...
- February 17, 1891 in 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...
) was a 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
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...
who later became an Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n citizen. He became particularly well-known for his buildings and structures in Vienna, and is considered an outstanding representative of neoclassicism
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
.
After training with Karl Friedrich 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...
and some years studying in Vienna, he moved to 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...
in 1837. It was here that he studied architecture and design, with a concentration and interest in 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...
. During his stay in Athens, Hansen designed the National Observatory of Athens
National Observatory of Athens
The National Observatory of Athens is a research institute in Athens, Greece. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest research foundation in Greece, as it was the first scientific research institute built after Greece became independent in 1829, and one of the oldest research institutes in Southern...
building and two of the three contiguous buildings forming the so-called "classical trilogy", namely 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...
, the third building of the trilogy being the National and Capodistrian University of Athens, which was designed by his brother Christian Hansen
Christian Hansen (architect)
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...
. Upon his move to Vienna in 1846, he took up an apprenticeship with noted Austrian architect Ludwig Förster
Ludwig Förster
Ludwig Christian Friedrich Förster was a German-born Austrian architect.Ludwig Förster studied in Munich and Vienna. He founded the Allgemeine Bauzeitung in 1836...
.
In his early works, such as the museum at The Arsenal in Vienna
Arsenal (Vienna)
The Arsenal is a former military complex of buildings in the south-east of Vienna in the third district.Several brick buildings in a rectangle layout make up the complex which is located on a bank south of the Landstraßer Gürtel...
, Hansen was still rather aligned to a more romantic style. In later years, he became the most outstanding representative of Renaissance-inspired historicism (Neorenaissance), which also came to be known as Viennese-style. This style extended into the smallest details of the interior design and partially accepted the courses of a synthesis of the arts.
Along with Förster and many others, Hansen was one of the most important and influential architects of the Viennese Ringstraße
Ringstraße
The Ringstraße is a circular road surrounding the Innere Stadt district of Vienna, Austria and is one of its main sights...
. His most famous work is the Austrian Parliament
Parliament of Austria
In the Parliament of Austria is vested the legislative power of the Republic of Austria. The institution consists of two chambers,* the National Council and* the Federal Council ....
building, which was created in the style of an ancient, neo-classic temple, and serves to refer to the Greek beginnings of democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
. Hansen was originally a staunch critic of the Classical style that was taught to him at the Copenhagen Academy. Over the years, however, he came to incorporate Classical elements into his forms. Bauleiter on this project was Hans Auer
Hans Auer
Hans Wilhelm Auer was a Swiss-Austrian architect best known for his design of the Swiss Bundeshaus in Bern.Auer was born in Wädenswil...
, who would go on to win the competition for the Swiss Bundeshaus
Bundeshaus
The Federal Palace is the name of the building in Bern in which the Swiss Federal Assembly and the Federal Council are housed.The building was designed by the architect Hans Auer and its inauguration took place on 1 April 1902...
.
Hansen's famed Musikverein in Vienna is one of the most notable concert halls in the world; a concert hall whose design and acoustics are often admired and copied in present-day music houses.
Hansen worked together with Viktor Pilz and Carl Rahl
Carl Rahl
Carl Rahl, sometimes spelled Karl Rahl , was an Austrian painter.Rahl was born in Vienna to Carl Heinrich Rahl , an engraver. He attended the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and won a prize at the age of 19. From there he traveled to Munich, Stuttgart, Hungary, and in 1836 to Italy...
, as well as with Otto Wagner
Otto Wagner
Otto Koloman Wagner was an Austrian architect and urban planner, known for his lasting impact on the appearance of his home town Vienna, to which he contributed many landmarks.-Life:...
. In 1884 Emperor Franz Joseph
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
honoured Hansen with a baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
y in the Austrian nobility and he was since styled "Freiherr
Freiherr
The German titles Freiherr and Freifrau and Freiin are titles of nobility, used preceding a person's given name or, after 1919, before the surname...
von Hansen".
Works
- ZappeionZappeionThe Zappeion is a building in the National Gardens of Athens in the heart of Athens, Greece. It is generally used for meetings and ceremonies, both official and private.-Constructing the Zappeion:...
, Athens, 1845 - Academy of Sciences, Athens, starting from 1856
- Army-Historical Museum in the ArsenalArsenalAn arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
, Vienna, 1856 - Old Municipal Hospital in PatrasPatrasPatras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
, Greece, 1857 - Cemetery chapel Christuskirche at the Matzleinsdorf Protestant CemeteryMatzleinsdorf Protestant Cemetery, Matzleinsdorf Evangelical Cemetery is a historic Protestant cemetery located in the Favoriten district of Vienna , the capital city of Austria.-History and details:...
, Vienna, 1858 - Greek-orthodox church at the Fleischmarkt, Vienna, 1858–1861
- Palace of Archduke Wilhelm, Vienna, 1864–1868
- Musikverein, Vienna, 1867–1870
- Academy of Fine Arts ViennaAcademy of Fine Arts ViennaThe Academy of Fine Arts Vienna is an institution of higher education in Vienna, Austria.- History :The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy by the court-painter Peter Strudl, who became the Praefectus Academiae Nostrae. In 1701 he was ennobled as Baron of the Empire...
, 1871–1876 - Philharmonic Concert Hall, BrnoBrnoBrno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
, 1871–1873 - Vienna Stock Exchange, 1874–1877
- Austrian Parliament BuildingAustrian Parliament BuildingThe Austrian Parliament Building in Vienna is where the two Houses of the Parliament of Austria conduct their sittings. The building is on the Ringstraße boulevard in the first district Innere Stadt, close by the Hofburg Palace and the Palace of Justice.The main construction lasted from 1874 to 1883...
, Vienna, 1874–1883 - Castle Nadelburg, LichtenwörthLichtenwörthLichtenwörth is a town in Austria. It is situated by the Leitha and Warmer Fischa.The market town has a kindergarten school, an elementary school and a high school. It also has a music school.- History :The place was first mentioned in the 12th century....
, Lower Austria 1880-1882