Gustav Adolph Lammers (26 May 1802 – 2 May 1878) was a Norwegian priest,

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, artist and

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

. He founded the country's first

dissenter A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, and ...

congregation, the first church to officially break away from the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. ...

Biography

Lammers was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark. He was the son of Ernst Anton Henrik Lammers (1770–1847) and Seriane Magdalena Hagen (1773–1843). His father was a

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a tw ...

. From 1818, he was a student of

Hans Linstow Hans Ditlev Franciscus (Frants) von Linstow (4 May 1787 – 10 June 1851) was a Danish/Norwegian architect who designed the Royal Palace in Oslo and much of the surrounding park and the street ''Karl Johans gate''. Background Hans Ditlev Franci ...

at the State Craft and Art Industry School () in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway, which he combined with studies in theology. He took his

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

in 1821 and earned his

cand. theol. Candidate (Latin ''candidatus'' or ''candidata'') is the name of various academic degrees, chiefly in Scandinavia, the Soviet Union, the Netherlands and Belgium. In Scandinavia, it is a higher professional-level degree usually corresponding to 5–7 ...

at the

University of Christiania The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

in 1825. He was a priest at the Hospital Church in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, an ...

from 1827 to 1835, during which time he was influenced by

pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy and ...

and Moravian views and came to know Bishop Peder Olivarius Bugge. Lammers was then appointed parish priest in

Bamble Bamble is a municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Langesund. General information Name The Old Norse form of the nam ...

. From 1839 to 1844, he was the parliamentary representative at the

Storting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years ...

for the County of Bratsberg (now

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

). He served as the architect of the newly constructed Bamble Church which was built in 1845 in Gothic revival style. He also designed

Hisøy Church Hisøy Church ( no, Hisøy kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Arendal Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the village of His on the island of Hisøya. It is one of the churches for the Hisøy parish which is p ...

Arendal Arendal () is a municipality in Agder county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the region of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Arendal (which is also the seat of Agder county). Some of the not ...

(1846–1849), Tanum Church in

Larvik Larvik () is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. The municipality of Larvik has about 46,364 inhabitants. The municipality has a 110&nbs ...

(1848–1850) and a chapel in

Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the ...

(1850). Additionally he designed altarpieces for a number of churches including Bakke Church in Trondheim (1833), Bamble Church (1845), Fiskum Church in

Øvre Eiker Øvre Eiker is a municipality in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Eiker. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hokksund. The old municipal ...

(1866) and Bø Church in

(1866). While studying in Germany, Lammers had a religious experience. Upon returning to Norway, he came into contact with a like-minded family focusing on prayer and the reading of the scriptures. In 1845, the Dissenter Act was passed, allowing Christian church gatherings for services other than those of the

. Lammers was ordained head minister () of Christians Church in Skien, but left the Church of Norway in July 1856.

Andreas Hauge Andreas Hauge (12 December 1815 – 13 January 1892) was a Norwegian priest, educator, editor and hymn writer. He also served as a representative in the Norwegian Parliament. Biography He was born in Aker in Akershus, Norway. He was the sole surv ...

, son of the more well-known

Hans Nielsen Hauge Hans Nielsen Hauge (3 April 1771 – 29 March 1824) was a 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran lay minister, spiritual leader, business entrepreneur, social reformer and author. He led a noted Pietism revival known as the Haugean movement. Hauge is als ...

, then took over as head minister in Skien. Lammers then started ('the Free Apostolic Christian Congregation'), the first

congregation to break with the Church of Norway. The same year, he also published ('Defense of the Free Apostolic Christian Congregation and its ). Within several years, there were Lammers

free churches A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions fro ...

and groups in some twenty locations in the country. After members of the new congregation began to practice

rebaptism Rebaptism in Christianity is the baptism of a person who has previously been baptized, usually in association with a denomination that does not recognize the validity of the previous baptism. When a denomination rebaptizes members of another denomi ...

, Lammers returned to the state church in 1860. The congregation was dissolved in 1874. Artistic interests took a greater place in Lammer's life after this. He also published several collections of hymns, including (Skien, 1852). He is buried at in Skien.

Personal life

In 1829, he married Henriette Nicoline Rode (1810–1898), daughter of military officer

Hans Henrik Rode Hans Henrik Rode (9 September 1767 – 29 December 1830) was a Norwegian military officer. Biography He was born in Frederikshald as a son of major Georg Frederik Rode and his first wife Vilhelmine, née Stockfleth. He took a military education ...

. Lammers was the uncle of singer

Thorvald Lammers Thorvald Lammers (15 January 1841 – 8 February 1922) was a Norwegian baritone singer, choral conductor, composer, and biographer. Lammers was born in Modum, and made his stage début in Oslo in 1873. He founded the choir known as ''Korfore ...

Influence

The

Mission Covenant Church of Norway The Mission Covenant Church of Norway (Norwegian: , formerly , DNM ), is an assembly of dissident or liberated Christian churches founded in 1884 after being instigated to do so by the Swedish-American evangelist Fredrik Franson. Gustav Adolph L ...

considers Lammers one of its founders. Lammers was noted by

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential pla ...

as an influence for the character of

Brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create a ...

in the play of the same name.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lammers, Gustav Adolph 1802 births 1878 deaths Clergy from Copenhagen Oslo National Academy of the Arts alumni University of Oslo alumni 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran clergy 19th-century Norwegian architects Norwegian artists Norwegian male artists Members of the Storting Norwegian ecclesiastical architects