Thorvald Jørgensen (27 June 1867 - 15 May 1946) 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, most known for his design of

Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...

, the seat of the

Danish Parliament The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands an ...

, after it had been destroyed in a fire. He has also designed a number of churches in Copenhagen. He was Royal Building Inspector from 1911 to 1938.

Early life and education

Thorval Jørgen was born in Norsminde outside

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 ...

, Denmark. He completed a carpenter's apprenticeship in Aarhus in 1885 and then moved to

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 ...

where he was admitted to 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 ...

the same year, where he was taught by

Hans Jørgen Holm Hans Jørgen Holm (9 May 1835 – 22 July 1916) was a Danish architect. A pupil of Johan Daniel Herholdt, he became a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and a leading Danish proponent of the National Romantic style. Biograph ...

Martin Nyrop Martin Nyrop (11 November 1849 18 May 1921) was a Danish architect. Early life and education Nyrop was born on 11 November 1849 at Holmsland, Ringkøbing, the son of parish priest Christopher Nyrop (1805–1879) and Helene Ahlmann (1807–1874). ...

Ferdinand Meldahl Ferdinand Meldahl (16 March 1827 – 3 February 1908) was a Danish architect best known for the reconstruction of Frederiksborg Castle after the fire in 1859. Meldahl was one of the leading proponents of historicism in Denmark. Biography He was ...

and

Albert Jensen Albert Jensen (25 December 1847 – 26 June 1913) was a Danish architect. He collaborated with Ferdinand Meldahl on several projects, including the completion of Marble Church in Copenhagen and Charlottenborg Exhibition Hall. He also design ...

. He graduated in 1889, won the Academy's large gold medal in 1893 for ''A church with rectory'', and then worked for

on the ''Overformynderiet'' institution building in Copenhagen from 1892 to 1893. In 1892 he received the Academy's scholarship and over the next years travelled widely in Europe, particularly in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Career

From the turn of the century, he designed a number of churches in and around Copenhagen. His design of

Brorson's Church Brorson's Church ( Danish: ''Brorsons Kirke'') is a church located in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. The church is named after Hans Adolph Brorson. History Brorson's Church was built from 1898 to 1901 to the design of Thorvald Jør ...

was rewarded with the

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 ...

. In 1905 he won the competition for the design of the new

after

Christian Frederik Hansen Christian Frederik Hansen (29 February 1756 – 10 July 1845), known as C. F. Hansen, was the leading Danish architect between the late 18th century and the mid 19th century, and on account of his position at the Royal Danish Academy of Art (''De ...

's previous Christiansborg Palace had been destroyed in a fire. Construction started the next year but before the building was completed in 1928 after a prolonged and difficult political process, the design had changed considerable from Jørgensen's original winning proposal. It was met with strong criticism. In 1911 Jørgensen was appointed Royal Building Inspector. The rest of his works work mainly included churches and public buildings but also a number of villas and country houses.

Style

With influence from his teachers from the Academy, Holm and Nyrop, Jørgen belonged to the Herholdt-Holmske group of Danish

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 which relied on Medieval Danish architecture for inspiration, rather than

's more internationally inclined followers. Later he turned to Neo-Baroque (

) 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 ...

(

Gentofte Town Hall Gentofte Town Hall ( Danish: Gentofte Rådhus) is the administrative centre of Gentofte Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. The main building is from 1939 and is situated on Bernstorffsvej. Gentofte Fire Station is situa ...

). Hellerup Church shows influence from

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

(''Jugendstil'').

Selected buildings

* Nathanael's Church,

Amager Amager ( or, especially among older speakers, ) in the Øresund is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 212,000 inhabitants (January 2021) a small appendage to Zealand. The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (includi ...

, Copenhagen (1900) * Skt Annæ Hus, 16

Sankt Annæ Plads Sankt Annæ Plads (English: St. Ann's Square) is a public square which marks the border between the Nyhavn area and Frederiksstaden neighborhoods of central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a long narrow rectangle which extends inland from the waterfron ...

, Copenhagen(1898) *

, Copenhagen (1898–1901) * Hellerup Church,

Hellerup Hellerup () is a very affluent district of Gentofte Municipality in the suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. The most urban part of the district is centred on Strandvejen and is bordered by Østerbro to the south and the Øresund to the east. It compri ...

(1899–1900) * Grenens Badehotel,

Skagen Skagen () is Denmark's northernmost town, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalborg. The Port of Skagen is ...

(1899–1900, later burnt) * 18 Kochsvej (villa),

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 ...

, Copenhagen (1900) * 31 Viggo Rothes Vej (villa),

Charlottenlund Charlottenlund is a suburban area on the coast north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the administrative seat of Gentofte Municipality. Bordered to the east by the Øresund, to the South by Hellerup and to the north by Klampenborg, it is one of the w ...

(1901) * Community house, St. James' Church,

Østerbro Østerbro () (literally, "Eastern Bridge") is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located just north of the city centre, outside the old city gate Østerport which, after it was moved around 1700, used to be located clo ...

, Copenhagen (1901–02) * Brønshøj Rectory,

Brønshøj Brønshøj, part of the municipality of Copenhagen, forms, together with Husum, the administrative city district (''bydel'') of Brønshøj-Husum, in Denmark. History The first mention of the village Brønshøj (Brunshoga), is in a letter dated Oc ...

, Copenhagen (1902) * 16 Tuxens Allé (redesign of the painter

Laurits Tuxen Laurits Regner Tuxen (9 December 1853 – 21 November 1927) was a Danish painter and sculptor specialising in figure painting. He was also associated with the Skagen Painters. He was the first head of Kunstnernes Frie Studieskoler, an art school ...

's house,

(1902) * Isaiah Church, Malmøgade, Copenhagen (1903–12) * Tram waiting room, Rådhuspladsen, Copenhagen (1903, moved to 43 Stokholmsvej in Mørdrup pr.

Espergærde Espergærde is a town situated in North Zealand near Øresund in Denmark and is statistically considered part of the larger urban area Espergærde-Snekkersten- Elsinore, some 5 to 8 km south of the centre of Elsinore and in reality separated fr ...

, 1948) * Mogens Frijs' palæ (redesign), 1 Ny Kongensgade, Copenhagen (1903–04) * Danske Sygeplejerskers Rekreationshjem, Smidstrup at Vedbæk (1904) * Skagens Apotek,

(1904) * Frihavns Church, Willemoesgade, Copenhagen (1904–05) * Rectory, Vanløse Church, Vabløse (1905) * Royal Library Garden,

Slotsholmen Slotsholmen (English: The Castle Islet) is an island in the harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, and part of Copenhagen Inner City. The name is taken from the successive castles and palaces located on the island since Bishop Absalon constructed the ci ...

(1906, with Johannes Magdahl Nielsen) *

, Copenhagen (1906–28) * Værnedamsvej/Gammel Kongevej (residential building), Frederiksberg (1906) * 2-4 Trianglen (residential building),

, Copenhagen (1906) * 6 Bukkeballevej (country house), Strandvejen,

Rungsted Rungsted, also known as ''Rungsted Kyst'' is an affluent suburban neighborhood in Hørsholm Municipality on the Øresund coast north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The center of Hørsholm is located two kilometers west of Rungsted. At the Øresund coast i ...

(1907) * Mariendal Church, Nitivej, Frederiksberg (1907–08) * Villa Guldmaj, 10 Åkandevej,

(1911) * Varde Museum,

Varde Varde is a Danish city in southwestern Jutland and is the primary city in the municipality of Varde, in Region of Southern Denmark. In 2015 municipality changed its motto to "We in nature" to emphasize its rural atmosphere. The town has an old ma ...

(1913–14) * Post- og Telegrafvæsenet workshops and garages, 40-44 Amager Fælledvej,

, Copenhagen (1919) * Østerbros Post Office, 1

Øster Allé Øster Allé (literally "East Avenue") is a street in the Østerbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark, connecting Trianglen to Vibenhus Runddel. The northern part of the street, after Parken Stadium, Denmark's national football stadium, bisects F� ...

, Østerbro, Copenhagen (1921–22) * Christiansborg Chapel (restoration), (1921 and 32) * Post Giro Building (redesign of existing building) 23 Holbergsgade, Copenhagen (1923) * Korsør Church (new spire),

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 ...

(1924) * Inspectorate for Tobacco Taxation,

Frederiksholms Kanal Frederiksholms Kanal is a canal in central Copenhagen, Denmark, which runs along the south-west side of Slotsholmen, together with Slotholmens Kanal separating the island from Zealand. The name also applies to the continuation of Rådhusstræde whi ...

, Copenhagen (1931) *

, 161 Bernstorffsvej,

(1934–36) * North Wing, Gentofte Town Hall,

(1942–44, with Kai Rasmussen) * Posst Giro Building, 123

Vester Voldgade Vester Voldgade ( lit. "West Rampart Street") is a street in Copenhagen, Denmark which runs from Jarmers Plads to the waterfront between Frederiksholms Kanal and Langebro, passing the City Hall Square on the way. Together with Nørre Voldgade an ...

, Copenhagen(1938) *

Gentofte Fire Station Gentofte Fire Station (Danish: Gentofte Brandstation) is situated adjacent to Gentofte Town Hall on Bernstorffsvej in Gentofte Municipality, Greater Copenhagen, Denmark. It is operated by Beredskab Øst. History Gentofte Fire Department was fou ...

, Gentofte (1938 with Kai Rasmussen)

Gallery

Image:Nathanaels Kirke Copenhagen.jpg, Nathanael's Church
1897–99 Image:Brorsons Kirke Copenhagen.jpg,

1898–1901 Image:Hellerup Kirke 2007.jpg, Hellerup Church
1899–1900 Image:Esajas Kirke Copenhagen.jpg, Isaiah Church
1903–12 Image:Frihavnskirken Copenhagen.jpg, Frihavns Church
1904–05 Image:Mariendals Kirke Copenhagen.jpg, Mariendal Church
1907–08

References