Emil Axel Berg (5 August 1856 – 10 December 1929) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. He received the Neuhausen Prize, C. F. Hansen Medal, and

Eckersberg Medal The Eckersberg Medal (originally the ''Akademiets Aarsmedaille'' or Annual Academy Medal) is an annual award of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. It is named after Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, known as the father of Danish painting. The Ec ...

, and was honored as a Knight of Order of the Dannebrog.

Early years

Born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Berg was the son of weight manufacturer, and captain in the Copenhagen Fire Brigade, Vilhelm Julius Berg and Caroline Frederikke Albine Bruun. He studied carpentry when he was 16 but a year later, in 1873, he began studying architecture. He graduated at the

Technical University of Denmark The Technical University of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet), often simply referred to as DTU, is a polytechnic university and school of engineering. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's fir ...

in 1877 and at the Royal Danish Academy in December 1880.Rikke Tønnes, "Axel Berg"
''Kunstindekx Danmark & Weilbachs kunstnerleksikon''. Retrieved 13 December 2012.

Career

Berg, who practiced a

Historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...

approach, had a good sense of which style to use for each of his projects. His first project was the almost complete renovation of

Bregentved Bregentved is a manor house located 3 km east of Haslev on the Danish island of Zealand. It has been owned by the Moltke family since the middle of the 18th century. History Early history The first known reference to Bregentved is from 1 ...

in the

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

style (1891), for which he was awarded the C. F. Hansen Medal in 1893. His renovation of Vemmetofte Convent (1909) was Early Baroque."Axel Berg"
''Den Store Danske''. Retrieved 13 December 2012. He was awarded the Neuhausen Prize in 1885 and in 1910, the Eckersberg Medal. In addition to country houses, he designed a number of banks and office buildings, including Privatbanken's headquarters in various styles (1911). Berg was chairman of the Architects' Association of Denmark in 1902-04 and again in 1907-09, becoming an honorary member in 1924. He was a member of the Competition Committee for Christiansborg Palace in 1904, a consultant to the

Danish Ministry of Culture The Minister for Culture of Denmark ( da, Kulturminister) is the Danish political minister office responsible for culture, head of the Ministry of Culture of Denmark. The political responsibility for culture, as well as church and education, was ...

in matters relating to church heating 1894-1923, and was a member of the Royal Academy's plenary session in 1911. Berg was behind the establishment of the Architects Association Support Fund, to which he devoted much time and effort, also supporting it financially. He participated in exhibitions at

Charlottenborg Palace Charlottenborg Palace ( da, Charlottenborg Slot) is a large town mansion located on the corner of Kongens Nytorv and Nyhavn in Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally built as a residence for Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve, it has served as the base of the ...

in 1885, 1905 and 1910; a commemorative exhibition was held in 1930. Berg also participated in the

Nordic Exhibition of 1888 The Nordic exhibition of Industry, Agriculture, and Art of 1888 (''Den Nordiske Industri-, Landbrugs- og Kunstudstilling i Kjøbenhavn 1888'') was an exhibition that aimed to feature the best of art, industry, and agriculture from the five Nordi ...

, and the Copenhagen City Hall Exhibition in 1901. He exhibited 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 ...

in 1910 and 1911. He was of the last generation of

historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...

architects who freely imitated or worked various historical styles. But he was not a supporter of a single style as some of his contemporaries were, However, he used the Baroque and

styles as starting points. Berg never married and is buried in the

Vestre Cemetery Vestre Cemetery ( da, Vestre Kirkegård, meaning "Western Cemetery") is located in a large park setting in the Kongens Enghave district of Copenhagen, Denmark. With its 54 hectares it is the largest cemetery in Denmark. The cemetery is landscape ...

Works

* Epitaph in Helsingør Cathedral (Neuhausen Prize 1885) * New manor house and farm building in

(1887–1891, C. F. Hansen Medal 1893) * Rebuilding of

Marienborg Manor Marienborg Manor is an estate on the Danish island of Møn. The estate has a large park with public access. The main building was demolished in 1984. The estate, covering , contains the thatched tenant farm of Egeløkke. Manorial records exist f ...

on Møn (1893) * New steeple at

Rosenholm Castle Rosenholm Castle ( da, Rosenholm Slot) is Denmark's oldest family-owned castle. It is located on Djursland, north of Hornslet and northeast of Aarhus. It is one of the best-preserved complexes from the golden age of the manor house – from 15 ...

(1893–1896) * Restoration of Næsseslottet in

Lyngby Kongens Lyngby (, Danish for "the King's Heather Town"; short form Lyngby) is the seat and commercial centre of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Lyngby Hovedgade is a busy shopping street and the site ...

including construction of pavilions (1896, 1906) * Private residence, Uraniavej,

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

(1897) * Nielsen & Winther's Engine Works, Blegdamsvej 60, Copenhagen (1897–1899) * Privatebanken, now C. F. Tietgen's House, Børsgade 4-8 (1901–1904) * Københavns Laane and Diskontobank, Amagertorv 24 (1904–1906) *

Knippelsbro Knippelsbro (English: Knippel Bridge) is a bascule bridge across the Inner Harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, connecting Børsgade (English: Stock Exchange Street) on Zealand-side Slotsholmen to Torvegade (English: Market Street) on Christianshavn. ...

superstructure (1906–1908) * Rebuilding and modernization of Vemmetofte Convent (1907–1909) * The villa Wessels Minde, Gentoftegade 9, Gentofte (1910, awarded by the Municipality of Gentofte) * Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening (Danish Employers' Confederation), Vestervoldgade / Ny Kongensgade, Copenhagen (1910–1911) * The Gunløg apartment block, Snorresgade / Bergthorasgade / Isafjordsgade,

Islands Brygge Islands Brygge ( English: Iceland's Quay) is a harbourfront area in central Copenhagen, Denmark, located on the north-western coast of Amager. The neighbourhood is noted for its waterfront park Havneparken, which is one of the most popular are ...

, Copenhagen (1912) * Branch of Danmarks Nationalbank, Aarhus (1926) * Tomb for the builder Jørgen Jensen, Solbjerg Park Cemetery (1899, carved by Hans & Jørgen Larsen, decoration by Frederik Hammeleff) * Tomb for Inspector Jørgen Leemeier at

Holmens Cemetery Holmen Cemetery ( Danish: Holmens Kirkegård) is the oldest cemetery still in use in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was first located next to the naval Church of Holmen in the city centre but relocated to its current site on Dag Hammarskjölds Allé in t ...

(1899) File:Bregentved from bridge.jpg, Bregentved File:Rosenholm Slot Herskabsstalden.jpg, Stables at Rosenholm File:C F Tietgens Hus København.jpg, Former Privatbanken headquarters

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Axel 1856 births 1929 deaths Architects from Copenhagen Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Technical University of Denmark alumni Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal Recipients of the C.F. Hansen Medal