Vilhelm Theodor Walther (13 November 1819 – 28 August 1892) 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 An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and Royal Building Inspector for

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

. He was born in

Kongens Lyngby Kongens Lyngby (, Danish for "the King's Heather Town"; short form Lyngby) is the seat and commercial centre of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Lyngby Hovedgade is a busy shopping street and the site o ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

and died in Aarhus. He was twice awarded the Academy's Neuhausen Prize (''Neuhausenske Præmie'') for excellence in architecture and in 1885, he received the Cross of Honor of the Order of the Dannebrog."Vilhelm Theodor Walther"
Gravsted.dk. Retrieved 13 December 2012. Walther completed a considerable amount of restoration work on the cathedral and St Paul's Church in Aarhus and designed a number of churches in the area. Walther died in Aarhus in 1892 of cholera.

Biography

After his confirmation, from 1843 he studied at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen under

Gustav Friedrich Hetsch Gustav Friedrich (von) Hetsch (28 September 1788 – 7 September 1864) was a Danish architect. Biography Hetsch was born in Stuttgart, he was the son of Philipp Friedrich von Hetsch (1758–1838). He studied at the University of Tübingen and ...

, winning the Grand Silver Medal in 1845 and, for his parliamentary building and courthouse, the Grand Gold Medal in 1857. He was also awarded the Neuhausen Prize on two occasions (1849 and 1857). In parallel with his studies, Walther supervised the construction of buildings in Norway,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and Altona, as well as designing various manor houses and the headquarters of the Silkeborg Paper Mill. Following short journeys to Germany and Holland, he made an extended trip to Germany, France and Italy on the Academy's major scholarship (1859–1861). On his return, he was appointed Royal Building Inspector for Jutland (1862), residing in Aarhus. There he accomplished a significant amount of work, restoring the interiors of the Church of Our Lady (1866) and the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

(1871). He also designed the Aarhus Art Museum (1877) and a number of private residences.Erik Schiødte, "Walther, Vilhelm Theodor"
''Dansk biografisk Lexikon / XVIII. Bind'', p. 243. Retrieved 13 December 2012. St Paul's Church in Aarhus (1887) is partly built to his designs. He also designed churches in Aaby, Holme and Skjørring, and restored St Martin's Church, Næstved, 1857–59, the exterior of

St Martin's Church, Randers St Martin's Church ( da, Sankt Mortens Kirke) is a red brick church in Randers in the north of Jutland, Denmark. It was built from 1494 to 1520 on the site of an earlier church which was first mentioned in 1346. History and architecture The red-b ...

, Thorsager Church, and the church in

Grenaa Grenaa (or Grenå) is a Danish town and seaport on the east coast of the Jutlandic peninsula. Tourism, education and commerce are important sectors in the economy of Grenaa. It is the only larger town on Djursland. Grenaa is the municipal seat, a ...

. Other works included customs houses in Randers,

Nykøbing Mors Nykøbing Mors is the largest town on the island of Mors in the Limfjord in Denmark. The town received its charter in 1299 and has a population of 9,033 (1 January 2022).

Thisted Thisted is a town in the municipality of Thisted in the North Denmark Region of Denmark. It has a population of 13,461 (1 January 2022)Hals and Als Odde, postal buildings in Brønderslev and Nykøbing, and a grammar school in Aalborg.

Assessment and awards

Walther was not particularly original but he was a competent, tasteful architect whose works displayed respect and seriousness. He was a titular professor in 1868, was awarded the Dannebrog in 1878, the Dannebrog Cross of Honor in 1885, and was elevated to Counsellor (''Etatsråd'') in 1892.

Works

The buildings Walther designed include:Torben Frische, "V.Th. Walther"
''Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbachs kunstnerleksikon''. Retrieved 13 December 2012. * Main building of Silkeborg Paper Mill (1844) * Main building of

Marienborg Manor Marienborg Manor is an estate on the Danish island of Møn. The estate has a large park with public access. The main building was demolished in 1984. The estate, covering , contains the thatched tenant farm of Egeløkke. Manorial records exist f ...

(1853–55) * Customs House in

Frederikshavn Frederikshavn () is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland, on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to "Frederik's harbor". It was originally named Fladstrand. The town ...

(1854) * Rector's building at Aarhus Cathedral School (1865) * Aarhus Craftmen's Association's Asylum, Paradisgade 5-7 (1866–67) * Randers Monastery (1866–69) * Aarhus Haandværkerforening (1867–68), Paradisgade 3 * Poverty and Dependency Institute in Aarhus (1869–70) * Åby Church, Aarhus (1872–73) * Viborg Town Hall (1872–74, together with Julius Tholle) * Aarhus Art Museum, now known as Huset (1876–77) * Customs Building, Nykøbing Mors (1878) * Customs Building, Randers (1879–80) * Holme Church, Aarhus (1882) * Gymnasium at Viborg Katedralskole (1882–83) * St Paul's Church, Aarhus (1884–87) * Customs Building, Thisted (1885) * Skørring Kirke,

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, ...

(1886–89) * Aalborg Cathedral School (1886–89) * Gymnasium at Randers State School, Vestergade (1888–90) * Post and telegraph building, Brønderslev (1889) * Post and telegraph building, Nykøbing Mors (1891–92) * Porch in Karup Church, Vendsyssel (1894)

Restoration

His restoration work includes: *St Martin's Church, Næstved (1859) *Church of Our Savior, Horsens (1866) *Church of Our Lady, Aarhus (1865) *Aarhus Cathedral (interior 1871, exterior 1882) *St Martin's Church, Randers (1888) File:Marienborg Møn 3.JPG,

, Møn File:Paulskirken.jpg, St Paul's Church, Aarhus File:Holme Aarhus church.JPG, Holme Church, Aarhus File:Skørring Kirke 01.jpg, Skørring Church File:HusetAarhus.jpg, Aarhus Art Museum

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walther, Vilhelm Theodor 1819 births 1892 deaths People from Kongens Lyngby Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Recipients of the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog