Heinrich Ernst Schirmer (27 August 1814 – 6 December 1887) was a German-born architect most noted for his work in

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 ...

. Schirmer worked in Norway from 1838 to 1883 and left his mark on a number of public buildings. He contributed significantly to the introduction of the so-called Swiss architectural style in Norway, based partly on

Italian villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Typology and distribution Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas ...

style,

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

, and

neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

Biography

Schirmer was born in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, Germany. He was the son of Johan Gottlieb Schirmer and Johanne Sophie Kühne. He was the father of architect Adolf Schirmer. He received his architectural education at art academies in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

from 1831 to 1834, and in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

from 1834 to 1837. In Munich he was influenced by German neoclassicist architect

Leo von Klenze Leo von Klenze (Franz Karl Leopold von Klenze; 29 February 1784, Buchladen (Bockelah / Bocla) near Schladen – 26 January 1864, Munich) was a German neoclassicist architect, painter and writer. Court architect of Bavarian King Ludwig I, Leo ...

and his nation-building and urban design ideas. Schirmer was construction manager for the rebuilding of the

Oslo Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Oslo Cathedral.jpg , imagesize = 230px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = Oslo Cathedral from St ...

between 1849 and 1850. In 1853 he entered into a partnership with fellow German-born architect

Wilhelm von Hanno Andreas Friedrich Wilhelm von Hanno (15 December 1826 – 12 December 1882) was a German-born Norwegian architect, sculptor and painter. He was among the leading architects in Norway during the middle of the 1800s. Biography Wilhelm von Hanno ...

. Their partnership lasted until 1864. Among their works were

Gaustad Hospital Gaustad Hospital ( no, Gaustad sykehus) is a psychiatric hospital in the neighborhood of Gaustad in Oslo, Norway. Founded in 1855, it is Norway's oldest purpose-built psychiatric hospital. It opened as the nation's first insane asylum designed ac ...

, Tangen Church (1854),

Vestre Aker Church Vestre Aker Church is a church at Ullevaal in Oslo that was consecrated in 1855. The church was at first named Aker Church, but was renamed to Vestre Aker Church in 1861. The church is built in Neo Gothic style, drawn by architect Heinrich Ernst ...

(1853–1855) and Østre Aker Church (1857–1860). Schirmer and Hanno designed all stations on Norway's first railway line, the

Hoved Line In telecommunications, trunking is a technology for providing network access to multiple clients simultaneously by sharing a set of circuits, carriers, channels, or frequencies, instead of providing individual circuits or channels for each clie ...

between Christiania and

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet. General information E ...

, finished in 1854. His partnership with Hanno ended in 1864. Among Schirmer's later works are the designs of churches in Øksendal (1864),

Ørsta is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre Districts of Norway, region of Western Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Ørsta ( ...

(1864), Fiskum (1866, burned 1902),

Hareid Hareid is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Hareid. The other main population centers are Brandal and Hjørungavåg. The municipality is situ ...

(1877) and

Vartdal Vartdal is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1895 until its dissolution in 1965. The area now sits in the northwestern part of the Ørsta municipality, along the Vartdalsfjorden. The admin ...

(1877). Schirmer's first large commission was the restoration of the

Nidaros Cathedral Nidaros Cathedral ( no, Nidarosdomen / Nidaros Domkirke) is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county. It is built over the burial site of Olav II of Norway, King Olav II (c. 995–1030, reigned 1015–102 ...

, which was then in ruins. He started his preliminary investigations in 1841, finished the drawings in 1845, and the reconstruction work started in 1869. Schirmer's last major works in Norway were the creation of the hospitals

Rikshospitalet Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet is one of the four main campuses of Oslo University Hospital in Oslo, Norway. It was an independent hospital, ''Rigshospitalet'', later spelled ''Rikshospitalet'' ("The National Hospital"), from 1826 to 2009 ...

, built between 1874 and 1883, and

Ullevål Hospital Ullevaal Stadion () is an all-seater football stadium located in Oslo, Norway. It is the home ground of the Norway national football team, and the site of the Norwegian Cup Final. From its opening in 1926 to 2009 it was the home ground of FK ...

from 1887.

Personal life

Schirmer was appointed a knight of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

in 1860. Schirmer married Sophie Ottilia Major (1821–1861). They were the parents of architects Adolf Schirmer (1850–1930) and

Herman Major Schirmer Herman Major Schirmer (20 June 1845 – 11 April 1913) was a Norwegian architect, educator and historian of art. He has been described as "one of the chief ideologues" of Norwegian romantic nationalism. He was also a diligent writer and Norway's fi ...

(1845–1913).

Gallery

File:Stabekk castle.jpg, Slottet at

Ringstabekk Ringstabekk is a district in Bærum, Norway. Named after the local farm, the district is also known for its schools and the sports field. The sports club Stabæk IF originates in the area. The farm The district originates from the farm Øvre Stabæ ...

Bærum Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...

(1851) File:Moss Tollboden Moss.jpg, Cultural Heritage Building at Moss (1859) File:Hamar fengsel.jpg, Hamar Prison at

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

Hedmark Hedmark () was a county in Norway before 1 January 2020, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmark and Oppland counties were merged i ...

(1864) File:Orsta kyrkje.JPG, Ørsta Church at

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...

(1864) File:Vartdalkyrkje2.jpg, Vartdal Church at

(1876)

References

External links

Nidaros Cathedral
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schirmer, Heinrich Ernst 1814 births 1887 deaths Architects from Leipzig 19th-century German architects Architects from Oslo German expatriates in Norway