Adam van Düren was a master builder and stonemason active in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

and Sweden at the end of the fifteenth century and the first decades of the sixteenth century (he is attested from about 1487 until about 1532). Adam appears to have been of

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regi ...

n origin and probably came from the city of

Düren Düren (; ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne on the river Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the territory of the Eburones, a pe ...

, alluded to in the byname. He was first active at the building of the choir of

Linköping Cathedral Linköping Cathedral ( sv, Linköpings domkyrka) is an active Lutheran church in the Swedish city of Linköping, the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Linköping in the Church of Sweden. One of the largest Gothic cathedrals in Europe, it is situa ...

(about 1487-1498), and has been identified as one of two masons whose style is clearly recognisable in the ornaments there. He was probably the architect of the fortified house of

Glimmingehus Glimmingehus is a medieval era castle located at Simrishamn Municipality, Scania in southern Sweden. It is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499–1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denma ...

. His signature ADAM and the year 1505 is included in a relief at the third floor of

showing the owner of the house,

Jens Holgersen Ulfstand Jens may refer to: * Jens (given name), a list of people with the name * Jens (surname), a list of people * Jens, Switzerland, a municipality * 1719 Jens, an asteroid See also * Jensen (disambiguation) * Jenssi Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) i ...

, and his two wives in front of the crucified Christ, but his style can be recognised in several other reliefs in the building. He later restored the crypt of

Lund Cathedral Lund Cathedral ( sv, Lunds domkyrka) is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Sweden in Lund, Scania, Sweden. It is the seat of the Bishop of Lund and the main church of the Diocese of Lund. It was built as the Catholic cathedral of the archi ...

, where he, among other things, installed drain pipes under the floor to prevent flooding. He was briefly active in Stockholm in 1520-21, where he built a chapel in the south-eastern part of the Church of St. Nicolas (

Storkyrkan Storkyrkan (, ), also called Stockholms domkyrka (Stockholm Cathedral) and Sankt Nikolai kyrka (Church of Saint Nicholas), is the oldest church in Stockholm. Storkyrkan lies in the centre of Stockholm in Gamla stan, between Stockholm Palace a ...

), where he also added an inscribed relief on a pillar, depicting an eel and two lions.

References

*Rydbeck, Otto: van Düren, Adam", ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'', vol. 11, p. 694-697. *Weibull, Lauritz, "Adam van Düren", in: ''Studier i Lunds domkyrkas historia'', Lund, 1906 {{DEFAULTSORT:Duren, Adam Van Danish stonemasons Danish sculptors Swedish male sculptors 15th-century German sculptors German male sculptors 16th-century German sculptors Danish architects Swedish architects 16th-century German architects