Gudbrand Gregersen de Saág (born Gudbrand Gregersen; hu, saági Gregersen Guilbrand; 17 April 1824 – 24 December 1910) was a Norwegian-born Hungarian bridge engineer, architect and member of the

Hungarian nobility The Hungarian nobility consisted of a privileged group of individuals, most of whom owned landed property, in the Kingdom of Hungary. Initially, a diverse body of people were described as noblemen, but from the late 12th century only high- ...

since 1884.

Biography

Gregersen was born on 17 April 1824 to farmer Nils Gregersen (1804–1868) and Anne Trulsdatter (1803–1838) in

Modum Modum is a municipality in Buskerud in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vikersund. The municipality of Modum was established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The area has a long tr ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. A young man and a crafter, Gregersen came to

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Habsburg Empire The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

in the 1850s, where he established a company within general contracting. After a few years, the company had become one of the leading in the Kingdom. Living in the town

Szob Szob (german: Zopp an der Donau) is a town in Pest county, Central Hungary, Hungary. It is just south and east of the Slovak border on the north bank of the Danube. Szob is on a major electrified rail connection from Bratislava and a major railw ...

, near to

, Gregersen was married with Aloyzia (Luise) Sümegh (1836–1906), a daughter of Josef Sümegh and Katharina Stitz. They had 19 children together, of whom seven died as infants. Gregersen designed the

Elisabeth Bridge Elisabeth Bridge ( hu, Erzsébet híd) is the third newest bridge of Budapest, Hungary, connecting Buda and Pest across the River Danube. The bridge is situated at the narrowest part of the Danube in the Budapest area, spanning only 290 m. ...

between the two parts of the city of

Komárom Komárom (Hungarian: ; german: Komorn; la, Brigetio, later ; sk, Komárno) is a city in Hungary on the south bank of the Danube in Komárom-Esztergom County. Komárno, Slovakia, is on the northern bank. Komárom was formerly a separate villag ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(today between the cities of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

and

Komárno Komárno, ( hu, Komárom, german: Komorn, sr, Коморан, translit=Komoran), colloquially also called ''Révkomárom, Öregkomárom, Észak-Komárom'' in Hungarian language, Hungarian; is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube an ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. He also designed and lead the carpenter works on the building of the

Hungarian Parliament The National Assembly ( hu, Országgyűlés, lit=Country Assembly) is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 199 (386 between 1990 and 2014) members elected to 4-year terms. Election of members is done using a semi-propo ...

and the Museum of Fine Arts and on the former building of the National Theatre in

. In 1884 Gregersen with wife and (some) children were ennobled by Francis Joseph, Apostolic King of Hungary. They were also granted a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

which, in the upper field, displays the Norwegian Lion. Gregersen died on 24 December 1910 in

. He remained a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

all his life.

Literature

;Norwegian * Norwegian Biographical Encyclopædia
Gudbrand Gregersen Saági
* Drammens Tidende
Bondesønn ble nasjonalhelt
* Økonomisk Rapport
Portrettet: Adelig og følsom
* Sveaas, P.A.: ''Familien Gregersen og Gudbrand Gregersen, ungarsk adelsmann fra Modum'' ;Hungarian * Evangélikus Országos Múzeum
Gregersen, Gudbrand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saag, Gudbrand Gregersen de 1824 births 1910 deaths Hungarian nobility Hungarian people of Norwegian descent Hungarian engineers Norwegian engineers Bridge engineers People from Modum Hungarian architects Hungarian Lutherans 19th-century Lutherans

Biography

See also

Literature