Niels Jacobsen (14 September 1865 - 31 January 1935) was a Danish architect and politician who worked primarily in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

. He was also the Chairman of

The Lego Group Lego A/S (trade name: The Lego Group) is a Danish toy production company based in Billund, Denmark. It manufactures Lego-brand toys, consisting mostly of interlocking plastic bricks. The Lego Group has also built several amusement parks aroun ...

until his death.

Biography

Born in

Aabenraa Aabenraa (; , ; Sønderjysk: ''Affenråe'') is a town in Southern Denmark, at the head of the Aabenraa Fjord, an arm of the Little Belt, north of the Denmark–Germany border and north of German town of Flensburg. It was the seat of Sønderjyl ...

, Jacobsen was the son of shipbuilder Niels Jacobsen and Marie Kjaer. Jacobsen initially trained as a bricklayer. In September 1884, he began his studies 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 Dan ...

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 studied under

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 ...

. Graduating in 1890, he was subsequently employed by

Johan Daniel Herholdt Johan Daniel Herholdt (13 August 1818 – 11 April 1902) was a Danish architect, professor and royal building inspector. He worked in the Historicist style and had a significant influence on Danish architecture during the second half of the 19th a ...

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

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). ...

. He opened his own design studio in Odense in 1893. From 1894 to 1908, he taught at Odense Technical College, served on the Board of Directors 1909-25, and participated in architectural competitions as a judge. Jacobsen was a member of the Odense City Council 1909-25, and chairman from 1911. He was honored as a

Knight of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known ...

. Jacobsen was in Italy in 1891. He exhibited at

Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition The Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition (''Charlottenborg Forårsudstilling'') is an annual art exhibition in Copenhagen, Denmark. The event is held at the Charlottenborg Exhibition Building (''Kunsthal Charlottenborg''). Kunsthal Charlottenborg ...

in 1898, the

World Exhibition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1900, the City Hall exhibition in Copenhagen in 1901, as well as the

Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin __NOTOC__ The Kunstgewerbemuseum, or Museum of Decorative Arts, is an internationally important museum of the decorative arts in Berlin, Germany, part of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Berlin State Museums). The collection is split between t ...

in 1910. On August 11, 1893, he married Christiane Sophie Magdalene Bertram Petersen Møller (born 1872, Gråsten). He died in 1935 and is buried in Odense.

Selected works

Odense

* Grand Hotel, Jernbanegade 18 (1896–97, extended 1911 by Jacobsen) * Telephone exchange, Jernbanegade 16 (1897) * Extension of Funen Art Museum, Jernbanegade 13 (1897–98) * Odense Technical College, Hunderupvej 15 (1898, 1921) * Fyens Forsamlinghus, Kongensgade 64-68 (1900, 1910) * Handelsbanken, Vestergade 12-14 (1900, partially preserved) * Ansgars Church (1902) * Restoration of Sankt Hans Rectory, Odense (1906) * ''Fyns Tidenes'' building, Fisketorvet (1907) * Electricity Power Station, Klosterbakken (the original part 1908) * University Society Building, Slotsvæget (1909) * Gråbrødreplads 6-7 (1910–11) * Odense Vinkompagni, Klostervej 5-13 (1911–12, 1917) * Odense Theatre, Jernbanegade 21 (1913–14) * PC Rasmussen's Department Store, Vestergade 16 (1914) * Bispegården, Klaregade 17 (1916) * Det Borgerlige Byggeselskab, tradesman field (1917) * Foundation Eilschous Boliger, Lahnsgade (1919–20) * Odense Courthouse, Albanigade 28 (1919–21) * Expansion of the Odense County and City Hospotal (1926–28); * Hans Christian Andersen Museum (1929–30)

Elsewhere

* Ommel Church, Æro (1892–94) * Chapel in Glorup Park (limestone, 1898) * St. George Church near Aabenraa (1903–04) * Nordslesvigske Folkebank, Aabenraa (1911–12) * Tower of Marstal Church (1920)

References

External links

*
Niels Jacobsen
at Kunstindeks Danmark/Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobsen, Niels 1865 births 1935 deaths People from Aabenraa Municipality People from Odense Danish architects