Emil Axel Berg (5 August 1856 – 10 December 1929) was a Danish architect. He received the Neuhausen Prize,

C. F. Hansen Medal The C. F. Hansen Medal (Danish: C. F. Hansens Medaille) is awarded annually with few exceptions to one or more recipients by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts for an outstanding contribution to architecture. It is the Academy's highest obtainabl ...

, and Eckersberg Medal, and was honored as a Knight of

Order 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 a ...

Early years

Born in Copenhagen, Berg was the son of weight manufacturer, and captain in the Copenhagen Fire Brigade, Vilhelm Julius Berg and Caroline Frederikke Albine Bruun. He studied carpentry when he was 16 but a year later, in 1873, he began studying architecture. He graduated at the Technical University of Denmark in 1877 and at the Royal Danish Academy in December 1880.Rikke Tønnes, "Axel Berg"
''Kunstindekx Danmark & Weilbachs kunstnerleksikon''. Retrieved 13 December 2012.

Career

Berg, who practiced a Historicist approach, had a good sense of which style to use for each of his projects. His first project was the almost complete renovation of Bregentved in the Rococo style (1891), for which he was awarded the C. F. Hansen Medal in 1893. His renovation of

Vemmetofte Convent Vemmetofte Convent ( da, Vemmetofte Adelige Jomfrukloster, Vemmetofte Kloster) is a former manor house in Faxe Municipality south of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was turned into a convent by Princess Sophia Hedwig of Denmark in 1735. Since 1975 it ha ...

(1909) was Early Baroque."Axel Berg"
''Den Store Danske''. Retrieved 13 December 2012. He was awarded the Neuhausen Prize in 1885 and in 1910, the Eckersberg Medal. In addition to country houses, he designed a number of banks and office buildings, including Privatbanken's headquarters in various styles (1911). Berg was chairman of the

Architects' Association of Denmark The Danish Association of Architects (Danish: , abbreviated to AA), is an independent professional body for architects in Denmark. History The Danish Association of Architects was founded at the initiative of L. A. Petersen on 21 November 1879 ...

in 1902-04 and again in 1907-09, becoming an honorary member in 1924. He was a member of the Competition Committee for

Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...

in 1904, a consultant to the Danish Ministry of Culture in matters relating to church heating 1894-1923, and was a member of the Royal Academy's plenary session in 1911. Berg was behind the establishment of the Architects Association Support Fund, to which he devoted much time and effort, also supporting it financially. He participated in exhibitions at Charlottenborg Palace in 1885, 1905 and 1910; a commemorative exhibition was held in 1930. Berg also participated in the Nordic Exhibition of 1888, and the Copenhagen City Hall Exhibition in 1901. He exhibited in Berlin in 1910 and 1911. He was of the last generation of historicist architects who freely imitated or worked various historical styles. But he was not a supporter of a single style as some of his contemporaries were, However, he used the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

and Rococo styles as starting points. Berg never married and is buried in the

Vestre Cemetery Vestre Cemetery ( da, Vestre Kirkegård, meaning "Western Cemetery") is located in a large park setting in the Kongens Enghave district of Copenhagen, Denmark. With its 54 hectares it is the largest cemetery in Denmark. The cemetery is land ...

Works

* Epitaph in Helsingør Cathedral (Neuhausen Prize 1885) * New manor house and farm building in Bregentved (1887–1891, C. F. Hansen Medal 1893) * Rebuilding of

Marienborg Manor Marienborg Manor is an Estate (land), estate on the Denmark, 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. Ma ...

Møn Møn () is an island in south-eastern Denmark. Until 1 January 2007, it was a municipality in its own right but it is now part of the municipality of Vordingborg, after merging with the former municipalities of Langebæk, Præstø, and Vordingbo ...

(1893) * New steeple at Rosenholm Castle (1893–1896) * Restoration of Næsseslottet in Lyngby including construction of pavilions (1896, 1906) * Private residence, Uraniavej, Frederiksberg (1897) * Nielsen & Winther's Engine Works, Blegdamsvej 60, Copenhagen (1897–1899) * Privatebanken, now C. F. Tietgen's House, Børsgade 4-8 (1901–1904) * Københavns Laane and Diskontobank, Amagertorv 24 (1904–1906) * Knippelsbro superstructure (1906–1908) * Rebuilding and modernization of

(1907–1909) * The villa Wessels Minde, Gentoftegade 9, Gentofte (1910, awarded by the Municipality of Gentofte) * Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening (Danish Employers' Confederation), Vestervoldgade / Ny Kongensgade, Copenhagen (1910–1911) * The Gunløg apartment block, Snorresgade / Bergthorasgade / Isafjordsgade, Islands Brygge, Copenhagen (1912) * Branch of Danmarks Nationalbank, Aarhus (1926) * Tomb for the builder Jørgen Jensen, Solbjerg Park Cemetery (1899, carved by Hans & Jørgen Larsen, decoration by Frederik Hammeleff) * Tomb for Inspector Jørgen Leemeier at Holmens Cemetery (1899) File:Bregentved from bridge.jpg, Bregentved File:Rosenholm Slot Herskabsstalden.jpg, Stables at Rosenholm File:C F Tietgens Hus København.jpg, Former Privatbanken headquarters

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Axel 1856 births 1929 deaths Architects from Copenhagen Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Technical University of Denmark alumni Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal Recipients of the C.F. Hansen Medal