Baron Theophil Edvard von Hansen (; original Danish name: Theophilus Hansen, ; 13 July 1813 – 17 February 1891) was a Danish architect who later became an Austrian citizen. He became particularly well known for his buildings and structures in Athens and Vienna, and is considered an outstanding representative of

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

and

Historicism Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying the process or history by which they came about. The term is widely used in philosophy, ant ...

Biography

Hansen was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. After training with Prussian architect

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, urban planning, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed b ...

and some years studying in Vienna, he moved to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

in 1837, where he studied architecture and design, with a concentration and interest in

Byzantine architecture Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great established a new Roman capital in Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the Fall of Cons ...

. During his stay in Athens, Hansen designed his first building, the

National Observatory of Athens The National Observatory of Athens (NOA; ) is a research institute in Athens, Greece. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest List of research institutes in Greece, research foundation in Greece. The Observatory was the first scientific research insti ...

and two of the three contiguous buildings forming the so-called "Athenian Trilogy": the Academy of Athens and the National Library of Greece, the third building of the trilogy being the

National and Capodistrian University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...

, which was designed by his brother

Hans Christian Hansen Hans Christian Svane Hansen (8 November 1906 – 19 February 1960), often known as H. C. Hansen or simply H. C., was a Danish politician who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1955 until his death in 1960. A Social Democrat, Hansen served ...

(1803–1883). The Greek-Austrian entrepreneur

Georgios Sinas Georgios Sinas (, ; 20 November 1783 – 18 May 1856) was an Austrian-Greek entrepreneur and banker. He became a national benefactor of Greece and was the father of another Greek national benefactor, Simon Sinas. He was also the founder of the N ...

(1783–1856), who donated the observatory, called Hansen to Vienna in 1846, where Hansen took up an apprenticeship with noted Austrian architect

Ludwig Förster Ludwig Christian Friedrich (von) Förster (8 October 1797 – 16 June 1863) was a German-born Austrian architect. While he was not Jewish, he is known for building Jewish synagogues and churches. Ludwig Förster studied in Munich and Vienna. ...

(1797–1863). In his early works, such as the museum in the

Vienna Arsenal The Arsenal is a former military complex of buildings in the south-east of Vienna in the Landstraße, third district. Several brick buildings in a rectangle layout make up the complex which is located on a bank south of the Gürtel, Vienna, Lands ...

, Hansen was still rather aligned to a more romantic style. In later years, he became the most outstanding representative of Renaissance-inspired historicism (

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...

), which also came to be known as Viennese-style. This style extended into the smallest details of the interior design and partially accepted the courses of a synthesis of the arts. Along with Förster and many others, Hansen was one of the most important and influential architects of the Viennese

Ringstraße The Ringstrasse or Ringstraße (pronounced Help:IPA/Standard German, �ɪŋˌʃtʁaːsə:File:De-Ringstraße.ogg, ⓘ, lit. ''ring road'') is a 5.3 km (3.3 mi) circular grand boulevard that serves as a ring road around the historic city centre, ...

. His most famous work is the

Austrian Parliament building The Austrian Parliament Building (, colloquially ''das Parlament'') in Vienna is the meeting place of the two houses of the Austrian Parliament. The building is located on the in the first district, ''Innere Stadt'', near Hofburg Palace and t ...

, which was created in the style of an ancient, neo-classic temple, and serves to refer to the Greek beginnings of

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

. Hansen was originally a staunch critic of the Classical style that was taught to him at the Copenhagen Academy. Over the years, however, he came to incorporate Classical elements into his forms. ''Bauleiter'' on this project was Swiss-Austrian architect Hans Auer (1847–1906) who would go on to win the competition for the Swiss Bundeshaus. Hansen's famed

Musikverein The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. The acoustics of the building's 'Grea ...

in Vienna is one of the most notable concert halls in the world; a concert hall whose design and acoustics are often admired and copied in present-day music houses. Athens academy

Hansen worked together with Austrian sculptor Vincenz Pilz (1816–1896) and artist

Carl Rahl Carl Rahl, sometimes spelled Karl Rahl (13 August 1812 – 9 July 1865), was an Austrian painter. Life Rahl was born in Vienna to Carl Heinrich Rahl (1779–1843), an engraver. He attended the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and won a prize at ...

(1812–1865), as well as with architect

Otto Wagner Otto Koloman Wagner (; 13 July 1841 – 11 April 1918) was an Austrian architect, furniture designer and urban planner. He was a leading member of the Vienna Secession movement of architecture, founded in 1897, and the broader Art Nouveau mo ...

(1841–1918). In 1884 Emperor

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

honoured Hansen with a

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

y in the Austrian nobility and he was since styled "

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

von Hansen". He died in 1891 in Vienna.

Work

, 1842 * House of military invalids,

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, 1851–1863 * Academy of Athens, Athens, starting from 1856 * Museum of Military History in the

, 1856 * Old Municipal Hospital in

Patras Patras (; ; Katharevousa and ; ) is Greece's List of cities in Greece, third-largest city and the regional capital and largest city of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaiko ...

, Greece, 1857 * Cemetery chapel Christuskirche at the

Matzleinsdorf Protestant Cemetery Matzleinsdorf Protestant Cemetery () is a historic church-owned and operated Protestant cemetery located in the Favoriten district of Vienna, the capital city of Austria. History and details Throughout the centuries, the Vienna Protestants did ...

, Vienna, 1858 *

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Vienna Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (''Griechenkirche zur Heiligen Dreifaltigkeit'') is a Greek Orthodox Church Cathedral in the first district of Vienna, Austria, in the historic Greek neighborhood of Vienna's Innere Stadt. The neighborhood has ...

, 1858–1861 *

Palais Todesco ''Palais Todesco'' is a '' Ringstraßenpalais'' in Vienna, Austria, constructed from 1861 to 1864 on plans by architect Theophil Hansen. It was built for the aristocratic family. One of the inhabitants was Baroness Sophie von Todesco, who estab ...

, Ringstrasse, Vienna, 1861–1864 * Palace of Archduke Wilhelm, Vienna, 1864–1868 *

, Vienna, 1867–1870 *

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna () is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1688 as a private academy, it is now a public university. The academy is also known for twice rejecting admission to a young Adolf Hitler in 1907 and 1908. ...

, 1871–1876 * Philharmonic Concert Hall,

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

, 1871–1873 *

Vienna Stock Exchange Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, 1874–1877 *

Austrian Parliament Building The Austrian Parliament Building (, colloquially ''das Parlament'') in Vienna is the meeting place of the two houses of the Austrian Parliament. The building is located on the in the first district, ''Innere Stadt'', near Hofburg Palace and t ...

, Vienna, 1874–1883 *

Zappeion The Zappeion (, ) is a large, palatial building next to the National Gardens of Athens in the heart of Athens, Greece. It is generally used for meetings and ceremonies, both official and private and is one of the city's most renowned modern land ...

, Athens, 1874–1888 * New Lutheran church,

Kežmarok Kežmarok ( or ; , , , ) is a town in the Spiš region of eastern Slovakia (population 16,000), on the Poprad River. Prior to World War I, it was in Szepes county in the Kingdom of Hungary. History Settlement at Kežmarok dates back to the Up ...

, 1879–1892 * Castle Nadelburg,

Lichtenwörth Lichtenwörth (Central Bavarian: ''Lichtnwiad'') is a market town in Austria. It is situated by the rivers Leitha and Warme Fischa. The market town has a kindergarten school, an elementary school and a high school. It also has a music school. ...

, Lower Austria 1880–1882 *

National Library of Greece The National Library of Greece () is the main public library of Greece, located in Athens. Founded by Ioannis Kapodistrias in 1832, its mission is to locate, collect, organize, describe and preserve the perpetual evidence of Greek culture and its ...

, Athens, starting from 1888

Gallery

07Athen Observatorium1.jpg, ''Athens Observatorium'' Attica 06-13 Athens 28 Academy of Athens.jpg, ''Academy of Athens'' part of the 'Athenian Trilogy' in Athens Wien - Haus des Wiener Musikvereins (1).JPG, ''Musikverein'' building in Vienna Musikverein Goldener Saal.jpg, ''Goldener Saal'' in the ''Musikvereinsgebäude'' in Vienna Athens_Zappeion.jpg, The ''Zappeion Megaron'' in Athens Castle-nadelburg.jpg, ''Castle Nadelburg'' in Lichtenwörth, Lower Austria Wien parlament.JPG, ''Reichsrat'' in Vienna, today the

Palais_Hansen_Wien_2010_2.jpg, ''Palais Hansen'' in Vienna Attica 06-13 Athens 32 National Library.jpg, ''National Library of Greece'' Kezmarok11.jpg, ''New Lutheran church'' in

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Theophil Von 1813 births 1891 deaths Austrian barons Austrian people of Danish descent Danish expatriates in Austria Danish neoclassical architects Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery Architects from Copenhagen Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal People associated with the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna Architecture of Athens 19th-century Danish architects

Biography

Work

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links