Christian Heinrich Grosch (21 January 1801 – 4 May 1865) 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 the ...

architect. He was a dominant figure in Norwegian architecture in the first half of the 1800s.

Biography

Christian Heinrich Grosch was 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 ...

, Denmark. His family moved to Frederikshald (now Halden) in

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side o ...

, Norway during 1811. He was first educated by his father, Heinrich August Grosch (1763-1843) who was a painter, graphic designer and teacher. When The Royal Drawing School was established in Christiania (now Oslo) in 1818, his father gained employment there as an instructor and re-located the family. Christian Heinrich attended the Royal Drawing School from 1819 to 1820. He also studied engineering with instructors including Benoni Aubert and

Theodor Broch Peter Theodor Broch (27 January 1904 – 26 April 1998) was a Norwegians, Norwegian lawyer and politician for the Norwegian Labour Party, Labour Party. He was born in Oslo, Kristiania as a son of Colonel Ole Jacob Broch (1875–1963) an ...

. In 1824, he completed his training at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dani ...

in Copenhagen. Christian Grosch became Oslo's first "city conductor", which is to say he acted as the city's chief architect, planning engineer, and building inspector. He also accepted private architectural assignments and was responsible for many of the city's landmarks, including the oldest part of

Oslo Stock Exchange Oslo Stock Exchange ( no, Oslo Børs) (OSE: OSLO) is a stock exchange within the Nordic countries and offers Norway’s only regulated markets for securities trading today. The stock exchange offers a full product range including equities, deriv ...

, the first campus 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 ...

, the original building for

Norges Bank Norges Bank / Noregs Bank is the central bank of Norway. The bank shall promote economic stability in Norway. Norges Bank also manages the Government Pension Fund of Norway and the bank’s own foreign exchange reserves. History The history of ...

and the factory building of

Prinds Christian Augusts Minde Prinds Christian Augusts Minde was an asylum, workhouse and social institution located at Storgata 36 in downtown Oslo, Norway. History Mangelsgården was built in 1670–1698. The building was originally raised as a holiday residence with ...

. During the course of his career, Grosch was responsible for the architectural design of over 80 churches scattered throughout Norway. From 1833 to his death in 1865 he was appointed state consultant (''Statlig bygningsinspektør'') for the royal buildings around Christiania. He was succeeded by

Georg Andreas Bull Georg Andreas Bull (26 March 1829 – 1 February 1917) was a Norwegian architect and chief building inspector in Christiania (now Oslo) for forty years. He was among the major architects in the country, and performed surveying studies and arche ...

. The position is considered as the predecessor of the government agency

Statsbygg The Norwegian Directorate of Public Construction and Property ( no, Statsbygg) is a Norwegian government agency that manages central parts of the real estate portfolio of the Government of Norway. Operation The Norwegian Directorate of Public Co ...

. The

Grosch medal Grosch medal (Grosch-medaljen) is a Norwegian architecture prize awarded bi-annually. Foundation and purpose The prize was established on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Christian Heinrich Grosch, and the first medal was awarded to Sverre F ...

(''Grosch-medaljen'') was established by Groschselskapet as an architecture award in Norway in 2001 on the 200th anniversary of his birth.''Om Groschselskapet'' (Groschselskapet)
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Gallery

Image:Universitetet i Oslo sentrum.jpg, University of Oslo Image:Oslo Børs - Stock Exchange (14635530422).jpg, Oslo Stock Exchange Image:TromsoDomkirkeFraRWithsPlass.JPG, Tromsø Cathedral Image:Observatoriet Oslo.jpg, Observatory in Oslo File:Prinds Christian Augusts Minde 2007 cropped.jpg, Prinds Christian Augusts Minde

References

Other sources

* Aslaksby, T. & U. ''Hamran: Arkitektene C.H.G. og Karl Friedrich Schinkel og byggingen av Det kongelige Frederiks Universitet'' (1986) * Bugge, A. ''Arkitekten, stadskonduktør C.H.G.: hans slekt, hans liv, hans verk'' (1928) * Seip, E. ''C.H.G.: Arkitekten som ga form til det nye Norge'' (2001)

External links

Chr. H. Grosch 1801 - 1865, bygninger i NorgeGroschselskapet website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grosch, Christian Heinrich 1801 births 1865 deaths Norwegian urban planners Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour People from Halden Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni 19th-century Norwegian architects Danish emigrants to Norway People from Copenhagen