Christian Thams
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Christian Thams (9 September 1867 – 22 May 1948) was a Norwegian architect, industrialist, businessman and diplomat. Thams was also a founder and major shareholder of Société du Madal, a Norwegian company which operated coconut oil plantations and extracted colonial taxes from the indigenous population in Zambezia,
Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
.


Background

Christian Marius Thams was born 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 ...
in Søndre Trondhjem county,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. His parents were Marentius Thams (1836-1907) and Emilie Christine Ullitz (1838-1916). He was educated at a school for boys in
Grenchen Grenchen () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Lebern (district), Lebern in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Solothurn (canton), Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located at the foot of the Jura mountains betwee ...
,
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
and at a technical school in
Holzminden Holzminden (; ) is a town in southern Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Holzminden (district), Holzminden. It is located on the river Weser, which at this point forms the border with the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. Christian Thams studied at Technikum Winterthur in
Zurich, Switzerland Zurich (; ) is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The urban area was home to 1.45 ...
, where he graduated in 1886. The following year, he established himself as an architect with practice in Nice and Paris. The foundation of the family fortune was Örkedals Mining Company. His grandfather Wilhelm August Thams (1812-1884), together with Norwegian businessman
Christian Salvesen Christian Salvesen was a Scottish whaling, transport and logistics company with a long and varied history, employing 13,000 staff and operating in seven countries in western Europe. In December 2007, it was acquired by France, French listed tr ...
, had started Ørkedalens Mining in
Meldal Municipality Meldal is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it joined Orkland Municipality. It was part of the Orkdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality ...
in 1867. The acquisition of the Løkken Mine in 1896 marked their dominant position with control of all mines in the region. The Løkken mine was however flooded, and in order to extract the pyrite Thams had to empty the mine of water. This was done by constructing a pipeline from nearby lake Bjørnlivatnet to transport water to a power station inside the mine. This power station produced 60 kilowatt to run a pump station mounted on a timber raft. As the water was pumped out of the mine, the raft sank with the sinking water, and in this way the mine was emptied of water in two years.


Career

In 1904 Christian Thams founded
Orkla Grube-Aktiebolag Orkla Mining Company Ltd. () was a Norwegian mining company established in 1904. The company was the largest mining company in Norway in the aftermath of World War I, and was among the world's largest pyrite producers. After closing of the mining ...
whose main activity was mining at
Løkken Verk Løkken Verk (or simply ''Løkken'') is a village in Orkland Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located south of the village of Svorkmo, east of the village of Bjørnli, and north of the municipal center of Meldal (village), Meld ...
. Thams soon realized that extended access to electricity would be of great benefit to his businesses. He therefore decided to build a hydro electric plant, and got a concession to build at Skjenaldfossen waterfall, following his acquisition in 1899 of the rights to utilize the power from the river. This marked the beginning of large-scale production at the mine and an important milestone in the history of the Norwegian industrial conglomerate Orkla. Christian Thams is also known for construction of
Thamshavnbanen The Thamshavn Line () was Norway's first electric railway, running from 1908 to 1974 in what is now Trøndelag county. Today it is operated as a heritage railway and is the world's oldest railway running on its original alternating current elec ...
, the first electric railroad in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
, visited by Norwegian
King Haakon VII Haakon VII (; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was King of Norway from 18 November 1905 until his death in 1957. The future Haakon VII was born in Copenhagen as Prince Carl of Denmark. He was the second son of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess ...
at its opening on July 10, 1908. Among Thams' other activities was Strandheim Brug, a
sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
and prefabrication of houses business. This production was also powered by hydroelectricity. The successful
industrialization Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...
of the activities in
Orkdal Municipality Orkdal is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Trøndelag Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it joined Orkland Municipality. It was part of the O ...
coincided with other key entrepreneurial ventures of that time (1890 to 1910) that were all based on the new technology of hydroelectricity. Most of them are still key players in the Norwegian economy. In addition to Orkla,
Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norway, Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around th ...
,
Borregaard Borregaard is a Norway, Norwegian company, established in 1889 in the southeastern town of Sarpsborg in Østfold county. Its main products were traditionally pulp and paper. The company later started producing Chemical industry, chemicals based ...
and
Hafslund Hafslund is a borough located east of the city centre in the city of Sarpsborg, Norway, Before 1992, Hafslund was a part of Skjeberg municipality. The name Hafslund derives from ''Hafr'', the Old Norse name for husband, and ''lundr'', meaning gr ...
are prominent examples.


Honors

Christian Trams served as Belgian Consul General in Norway, French vice-consul, and Commercial Trade representative for Monaco. Thams received various honors including Gold medal for designing the Norwegian pavilion at the
Exposition Universelle (1889) The of 1889 (), better known in English as the 1889 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 6 May to 31 October 1889. It was the fifth of ten major expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937. It attracted more t ...
, Knight First Class
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 ...
, Knight in the Swedish
Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...
and Knight of the
French Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...
. His former residence in the village of
Orkanger Orkanger is a town and the administrative centre of Orkland Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The town sits at the end of the Orkdal Fjord, an arm of the Trondheimsfjord. Orkanger is the commercial centre of Orkland Municipality and it ...
, ''Bårdshaug Herregård'', was located on the banks of the Orkdalsfjord, an arm of the
Trondheimsfjord The Trondheim Fjord or Trondheimsfjorden (), an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norway's List of Norwegian fjords, third-longest fjord at long. It is located in the west-central part of the country in Trøndelag county, and it stretches from Ørl ...
, at the mouth of the Orklaelva. It is today the site of a historic hotel.''Bårdshaug Herregård''
(Bårdshaug Herregård, De Historiske A De Historiske Property)


See also

* Chr. Salvesen & Chr. Thams's Communications Aktieselskab


References


Other Sources

*Tokle, Bjørn (1998) ''Communication gjennom 100 år'' (Chr. Salvesen & Chr. Thams's Communications Aktieselskab)


External links


Orkla Industrial MuseumChristian Salvesen & Thams Aktieselskab's Communications Bårdshaug Herregård
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thams, Christian 1867 births 1948 deaths Architects from Trondheim European colonisation of Africa People from Sør-Trøndelag Norwegian railway architects Norwegian industrialists Norwegian company founders Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal Thams family