Bertram Larsen was a leading

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 ance ...

manufacturer of tower clocks. The firm created a vast number of

tower clock Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

s and

Carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...

s for Danish churches, castles and manor houses, town halls, railway stations and other landmark buildings. It was also responsible for the restoration of a significant number of historic clocks, including

Lund astronomical clock Lund astronomical clock, occasionally and at least since the 16th century referred to as Horologium mirabile Lundense (''Latin'': "the wonderful clock in Lund"), is a 15th-century astronomical clock in Lund Cathedral. Mentioned in written sources ...

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 archiepi ...

in 1909–1923.

History

Early history, 1827–1880

The firm was founded in 1827 by Gustav Zettervall in

Sorø Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in east Denmark. The population is 7,999 (2022).

. He later moved the operations first to Ringsted and then

Køge Køge (, older spelling ''Kjøge'') is a seaport on the coast of Køge Bugt (''Bay of Køge'') 39 km southwest of Copenhagen. It is the principal town and seat of Køge Municipality, Region Sjælland, Denmark. In 2022, the urban area had a p ...

. The firm was from 1847 continued by his foster son Bertram Larsen (1823–1877). After Bertram Larsen's death in 1877, it was continued by his widow Juliane Emilie Thygesen (1820–1901) under the management of their son Julius.

Julius Bertram Larsen, 1880–1935

Julius Bertram Larsen (1854–1935) moved the firm to Copenhagen when his mother ceded the ownership of it in 1880.

Fridtjof Bertram-Larsen, 1935–1970s

After Julius Bertram Larsen's death in 1935, the business was run by his son, Fridtjof Bertram-Larsen (1891–1980). His works include the carillons at

Odense Cathedral St. Canute's Cathedral ( da, Odense Domkirke or Sankt Knuds Kirke), also known as Odense Cathedral, is named after the Danish king Canute the Saint ( da, Knud den Hellige), otherwise Canute IV. It is a fine example of Brick Gothic architecture. T ...

, Ribe Cathedral and

Church of Our Saviour Church of Our Saviour (or Savior), Church of the Savio(u)r, Church of Our Merciful Savio(u)r, or variations thereof, may refer to many Christian churches dedicated to Our Saviour (Our Lord), including: Americas United States (by state) * Church ...

. The firm closed in the 1970s.

Selected works

Tower clocks

* Frederiksholms Kanal 18, Copenhagen (1870s) * Herrested Church, Herrested (1880) * Church of Our Lady, Svendborg (1884) * Ærøskøbing Church,

Ærøskøbing Ærøskøbing () is a town in central Denmark, located in Ærø Municipality on the island of Ærø. The suffix - købing means a trade town in the languages that derive from Old Norse. Ærøskøbing's houses and streets are delicately restore ...

(1885) * Svendborg Town Hall, Svendborg * Jesus Church, Copenhagen (1891/1895) * Dipylon, Dipylon, Copenhagen (1892) * St. Nicolas' Church, Svendborg (1894) *

Emmaus Church Emmaus (; Greek: Ἐμμαούς, ''Emmaous''; la, Emmaus; , ''Emmaom''; ar, عمواس, ''ʻImwas'') is a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Luke reports that Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, before tw ...

, Copenhagen (1895) * Frederiksborg Castle, Hollerød (1895) * Holy Cross Church, Copenhagen (1895) * Kongegården,

Korsør Korsør is a town on Zealand, Denmark. It is located in Slagelse Municipality. Until 2007 Korsør was the seat of Korsør Municipality. The town is located west of Slagelse, north-west of Skælskør and connects to Nyborg through the Great Bel ...

(1901) * Kastelskirken, Copenhagen (1895) * Aarhus Cathedral,

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

(1907) * Meilgaard,

Djursland Djursland () is a 44 km × 33 km hilly lowland peninsula in Denmark at the entrance to the Baltic Sea, between Denmark and Sweden in Northern Europe. Djursland protrudes into the Kattegat sea, as part of the larger peninsula of Jutland, ...

(1921) *

Torbenfeldt Torbenfeldt Castle is a manor house located 15 km south-west of Holbæk on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. The estate covers 1,711 hectares of land (2000). History The origin of the name Torbenfeldt is unclear but it may refer to Torben ...

Holbæk Municipality Holbæk municipality is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in northwestern Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in Denmark. The municipality includes the island of Orø, and covers an area of 583 km², and has a total p ...

(1921) * Hobro Tinghus, Hobro (1922) * Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen * Slaglille Church, Slaglille (No. 806, 1908) * St. Canute's Cathedral, Odense * Copenhagen Cathedral, Copenhagen * Gutenberghus, Copenhagen *

Gammel Holtegård Gl. Holtegaard is a former Manor house in Rudersdal Municipality north of Copenhagen, Denmark, today operated as an arts centre and a museum. It was built by the Danish Baroque architect Lauritz de Thurah (1706–1759), for his own use in 1757. It ...

, Rudersdal Municipality, Denmark *

Søllerød Town Hall Søllerød Town Hall ( da, Søllerød Rådhus), now renamed Rudersdal Town Hall, was built for the former Søllerød Municipality which in 2007 became part of Rudersdal Municipality, combining Søllerød and Birkerød. The building is located in ...

, Rudersdal Municipality (1943) ;Restored tower clocks *

Ledreborg Ledreborg is a palatial mansion near Lejre, to the southwest of Roskilde on the Danish island of Zealand. Today's Baroque building was completed in 1746 by Minister of State Johan Ludvig Holstein (1694–1763) who commissioned J.C. Krieger to c ...

, Lejre (1875) *

Dragør Church Dragør Church is a Lutheran church in Dragør, Denmark. It belongs to the Church of Denmark. History In 1449, the Bishop of Roskilde authorized the installation of a temporary altar during the annual herring market at Dragør which attracted up t ...

Dragør Dragør () is the main town of Dragør Municipality, (Denmark), which includes the village of Store Magleby. The city hall and seat of the municipal council lies on Kirkevej 7 (postal code 2791 Dragør) in Store Magleby, which has enough space f ...

(1882-1885) * St. Peter's Church, Copenhagen (1900s) *

Reformed Church Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

(1916/1918/1933) *

Dannemare Church Dannemare Church is a Neo-Romanesque church in the village of Dannemare, some south of Nakskov on the Danish island of Lolland. Built in 1897, it replaced the earlier Romanesque church which burnt down in 1897.Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of Region Sjælland (Region Zealand). As of 1 January 2022, it has 57,618 inhabitant ...

, Denmark (1887) *

, Lund, Sweden (1909-23) * Roskilde Cathedral,

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

(1931) * Isaak Habrecht's astronomical clock in Rosenborg Castle, Copenhagen * Tower clock of

, Copenhagen * Planetarium of the

Round Tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and ful ...

, Copenhagen * St. Nicolas' Church,

* St, Nicolas' Church, Copenhagen * Regensen, Copenhagen

Carillon s

* Frederiksborg Chapel, Hillerød (1886) ;Restored carillons * Carillon of

, Lejre

References

External links

{{Commons category, Bertram Larsen Clock manufacturing companies of Denmark Danish companies established in 1827 Defunct companies of Denmark