Anders Sandvig (11 May 1862 – 11 February 1950) was a Norwegian

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental doctor, dental physician, dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in provi ...

most noted for having founded

Maihaugen Maihaugen (''De Sandvigske Samlinger på Maihaugen, Lillehammer'') is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Lillehammer, Norway. Maihaugen, with close to 200 buildings, is one of Northern Europe's largest open-air museums and one of the l ...

, an innovative regional

ethnological Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural anthropology, cultural, social anthropology, so ...

and

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

museum in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

, documenting the

vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture (also folk architecture) is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. It is not a particular architectural movement or style but rather a broad category, encompassing a wide range a ...

Gudbrandsdalen Gudbrandsdalen (; ) is a valley and Districts of Norway, traditional district in the Norway, Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer (town), Lillehammer and the lake ...

Biography

Sandvig was born at

Bud In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or Plant embryogenesis, embryonic Shoot (botany), shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a Plant stem, stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormancy, dormant conditi ...

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in the northernmost part of Western Norway, Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the Molde (town), town of M ...

, Norway. He was the son of Sjur Sandvig and Maren Knudsdotter Hustad. He first worked as an apprentice with a jeweler in

Kristiansund Kristiansund (, ; historically spelled Christianssund and earlier named Fosna) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality on the western coast of Norway in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal counties of Norway, county. The admin ...

where he often performed gold work for dentists. He was trained as a dentist in Kristiansund with later training at 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 ...

and in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. During his stay in Germany, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. In 1885, he moved to Lillehammer to start a dentist practice and promote his recovery. At this time he was the only dentist in

. On a travel to

Skjåk Skjåk is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bismo. Most of the municipal residents live in the Billingsdalen ...

in 1894, he came to the realization that Norwegian farmers had not yet begun to appreciate their cultural heritage. He acquired his first house, a dwelling house built in 1764 at Skjåk. The building was moved to the large property he had near Lillehammer. By the turn of the century he had six antiquarian buildings and a large amount of other objects. In 1902, the Society for Lillehammer Byes Vel bought the collection and had it moved to Maihaugen just outside of Lillehammer. The city of Lillehammer set aside an area known as

and bought Sandvig's collection and established the Sandvig Collections (''De Sandvigske Samlinger'') in 1904. Sandvig was at first hired as unpaid curator, but was later appointed the museum's first director. Sandvig also traveled extensively to promote ethnological museums, including Vesterheim in

Decorah, Iowa Decorah is the largest city in and county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,587 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of Iowa ...

Personal life

In 1889 he married Anna Georgine Uchermann (1868–1950). In 1900 he became a knight and in 1907 commander of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

. He was also commander of the Swedish

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry founded on 29 May 1772 by Gustav III, King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. His ...

. He retired from the museum in 1947 at 85 years of age. He died in 1950 at Lillehammer.

References

Other sources

*Engen, Arnfinn (2004) ''Samlaren Anders Sandvig'' (Samlaget: Oslo) *Jacobsen, Gaute; Wallin Weihe, Hans-Jørgen (2012) ''Anders Sandvig og Maihaugen'' (Hertevig Akademiske: Stavanger)

External links

Maihaugen website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandvig, Anders 1862 births 1950 deaths People from Møre og Romsdal University of Oslo alumni Norwegian dentists Norwegian curators Directors of museums in Norway Order of Saint Olav Recipients of the Order of Vasa