Anders Sandvig (11 May 1862 – 11 February 1950) was a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
dentist most noted for having founded
Maihaugen
Maihaugen (''De Sandvigske Samlinger på Maihaugen, Lillehammer'') is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Lillehammer, Norway. Maihaugen, with close to 200 buildings, is one of Northern Europe's largest open-air museums and is one of th ...
, an innovative regional
ethnological
Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). ...
and
architectural museum in
Lillehammer, documenting the
vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. This category encompasses a wide range and variety of building types, with differing methods of construction, from around the world, bo ...
of
Gudbrandsdalen
Gudbrandsdalen (; en, Gudbrand Valley) is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer and the lake of Mjøsa, extending towa ...
.
Biography
Sandvig was born at
Bud
In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be spec ...
in
Møre og Romsdal, Norway. He was the son of Sjur Sandvig and Maren Knudsdotter Hustad. He first worked as an apprentice with a jeweler in
Kristiansund
Kristiansund (, ; historically spelled Christianssund and earlier named Fosna) is a municipality on the western coast of Norway in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal county. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of ...
where he often performed gold work for dentists. He was trained as a dentist in Kristiansund with later training at the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
and in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
.
During his stay in Germany, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. In 1885 moved to Lillehammer to start a dentist practice and promote his recovery. At this time he was the only dentist in
Gudbrandsdalen
Gudbrandsdalen (; en, Gudbrand Valley) is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer and the lake of Mjøsa, extending towa ...
.
On a travel to
Skjåk
Skjåk is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bismo. Most of the municipal residents live in the Billingsdalen a ...
in 1894, he came to the realization that Norwegian farmers had not yet begun to appreciate their cultural heritage. He acquired his first house, a dwelling house built in 1764 at Skjåk.
The building was moved to the large property he had near Lillehammer.
By the turn of the century he had six antiquarian buildings and a large amount of other objects. In 1902, the Society for Lillehammer Byes Vel bought the collection and had it moved to Maihaugen just outside of Lillehammer.
The city of Lillehammer set aside an area known as
Maihaugen
Maihaugen (''De Sandvigske Samlinger på Maihaugen, Lillehammer'') is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Lillehammer, Norway. Maihaugen, with close to 200 buildings, is one of Northern Europe's largest open-air museums and is one of th ...
and bought Sandvig's collection and established the Sandvig Collections (''De Sandvigske Samlinger'') in 1904. Sandvig was at first hired as unpaid curator, but was later appointed the museum's first director.
Sandvig also traveled extensively to promote ethnological museums, including
Vesterheim in
Decorah, Iowa
Decorah is a city in and the county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,587 at the time of the 2020 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S. Route 52, and is the largest commun ...
.
Personal life
In 1889 he married Anna Georgine Uchermann (1868–1950). In 1900 he became a knight and in 1907 commander of the
Order of St. Olav. He was also commander of the Swedish
Order of Vasa
The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...
. He retired from the museum in 1947 at 85 years of age. He died in 1950 at Lillehammer.
References
Other sources
*Engen, Arnfinn (2004) ''Samlaren Anders Sandvig'' (Samlaget: Oslo)
*Jacobsen, Gaute; Wallin Weihe, Hans-Jørgen (2012) ''Anders Sandvig og Maihaugen'' (Hertevig Akademiske: Stavanger)
External links
Maihaugen website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandvig, Anders
1862 births
1950 deaths
People from Møre og Romsdal
University of Oslo alumni
Norwegian dentists
Norwegian curators
Directors of museums in Norway
Order of Saint Olav
Recipients of the Order of Vasa