Håkon Andreas Christie (30 August 1922 – 14 December 2010) was a
Norwegian architectural historian
An architectural historian is a person who studies and writes about the history of architecture, and is regarded as an authority on it.
Professional requirements
As many architectural historians are employed at universities and other facilities ...
, antiquarian and author. Together with his wife,
Sigrid Marie Christie (18 April 1923 - 16 May 2004) he worked from 1950 on the history of Norwegian
church architecture
Church architecture refers to the architecture of Christian buildings, such as Church (building), churches, chapels, convents, and seminaries. It has evolved over the two thousand years of the Christian religion, partly by innovation and partly ...
, particularly
stave churches. Their research resulted in ''Norges Kirker'' which consisted of seven major volumes covering churches in
Østfold
Østfold () is a county in Eastern Norway, which from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023 was part of Viken. Østfold borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other ...
,
Akershus
Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...
and
Buskerud
Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...
.
Biography
Christie was born at
Nannestad in Akershus, Norway. He was the son of
Hartvig Caspar Christie (1893-1959) and his wife Elisabeth Theodora Stabell (1898-1977). His father was a
Provost who supervised
Church of Norway
The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...
parishes in Akershus including
Østre Bærum,
Høvik
Høvik is a suburban area in the municipality of Bærum, Akershus, Norway, within the Oslo metropolitan area. Primarily a residential area, its population was 4,311 in 2005.
Høvik is typically divided into two parts: Nedre (lower) and Øvre (up ...
,
Asker
Asker (), also called Asker proper (''Askerbygda'' or ''gamle Asker'' in Norwegian), is a district and former Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus, Norway, located approximately 20km southwest of Oslo. From 2020 it is part of the ...
and Nannestad. His family resided in the minister's house by in Nannestad. He participated in the resistance during
Nazi occupation of Norway
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the World War II, Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the Norwegian Campaign, German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi G ...
and in 1945 he entered the
Norwegian Institute of Technology
The Norwegian Institute of Technology ( Norwegian: ''Norges tekniske høgskole'', NTH) was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 58 years, after which it was ...
in
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...
, where he graduated in 1949.
As a student, he worked as assistant to the architect
Gerhard Fischer. He continued as an assistant to Fischer from 1950 and was hired as building historical consultant / research fellow at the
Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage
The Directorate for Cultural Heritage ( or ''Direktoratet for kulturminneforvaltning'') is a etat, government agency responsible for the management of cultural heritage in Norway. Subordinate to the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment, it mana ...
project on Norwegian churches. From 1970, he was an
antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...
until he retired in 1991. He was a researcher from 1994 at the
Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research
The Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (, NIKU) is a cultural heritage research institute based in Oslo, Norway.
Organization
The institute has nearly 80 employees and regional offices in Bergen, Trondheim, Tønsberg and Tromsø. I ...
.
HÃ¥kon Christie was a member of the
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway.
History
The Royal Frederick University in Christiania was establis ...
and the
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland.
The usu ...
. He was appointed a Knight of the 1st Class in the
Order of St Olaf and was awarded the
Grosch medal, Urnes Medal and
Europa Nostra award.
Sigrid Marie Bing Christie graduated from the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...
in 1949 with a master's degree in art history. From 1950 to 1970, she was a research fellow with the
Norwegian Research Council. She was a member of the Liturgy Commission of 1965 (''Liturgikommisjonen av 1965'') which undertake a comprehensive revision of the
Liturgy
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...
of the Church of Norway. She was employed in the National Archives (''Riksantivar'') from 1970. In 1974, she earned her
Ph.D. She was a co-editor of the Norwegian Artists Lexicon (''Norsk kunstnerleksikon'') from 1978 to 1986. In 1988 Sigrid Christie became a knight of St. Olav's Order and in 1999 she received the Urnes medal (''Urnes-medaljen'').
Sigrid Christie died in 2004 and HÃ¥kon Christie in 2010. Both HÃ¥kon and Sigrid Christie were buried in the churchyard of
Ullern Church in the district of
Ullern
Ullern is a List of boroughs of Oslo, borough of the city of Oslo, Norway.
History
The borough has its name from an old farm, Old Norse language, Norse ''Ullarin''. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the Norse god Ullr. The l ...
in Oslo.
Selected works
*Christie, HÃ¥kon & Sigrid (1959) ''Norges kirker''
*Christie, HÃ¥kon & Sigrid (1969) ''Norges kirker Akershus''
*Christie, HÃ¥kon (1974) ''Middelalderen bygger i tre'' (Oslo: Universitetsforlaget)
* Christie, Håkon (1981) ''Stavkirkene – Arkitektur i Norges kunsthistorie'' (Oslo: Universitetsforlaget)
*Christie, Håkon (2009) ''Urnes stavkirke : den nåværende kirken på Urnes'' (Oslo: Pax forlag)
References
Related reading
*Christie, Sigrid and HÃ¥kon (1981) '' Norges kirker'' (Oslo: Gyldendal)
*Christie, Sigrid (1973) ''Den lutherske ikonografi i Norge inntil 1800'' (Oslo: Land og kirke)
External links
Norges Kirker websiteDrawings by HÃ¥kon Christie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christie, Hakon
1922 births
2010 deaths
People from Nannestad
Architects from Oslo
Norwegian architectural historians
Norwegian Institute of Technology alumni
Norwegian antiquarians
Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal
Norwegian resistance members