Jacob Wilhelm Nordan (23 February 1824 – 11 April 1892) was a Danish-born, Norwegian architect. During his career, he was one of the most prolific church architects in Norway.

Biography

Nordan 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 and came to Norway as a child with his mother. He attended the Royal Drafting School (''Den Kongelige Tegneskole'') in Christiania (now Oslo), where

Johannes Flintoe Johannes Flintoe (1786/87, Copenhagen - 27 January 1870, Copenhagen) was a Danish-born painter of Norwegian ancestry. He is known for his landscapes, costume studies and historical scenes. His works play a significant role in the transition to ro ...

Christian Heinrich Grosch Christian Heinrich Grosch (21 January 1801 – 4 May 1865) was a Norwegian architect. He was a dominant figure in Norwegian architecture in the first half of the 1800s. Biography Christian Heinrich Grosch was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. ...

and

Johan Henrik Nebelong Johan Henrik Nebelong (20 July 1817 – 2 March 1871) was a Danish architect. He worked in Norway from 1840 to 1853 and was best known for interior design work on ''Oscarshall'' (1847–1852). Nebelong also taught at the Royal Academy of Arts in ...

were among his teachers. From 1849 to 1852, Nordan worked under architect Johan Henrik Nebelong as assistant and building manager during the construction of

Oscarshall Oscarshall Palace is a ''maison de plaisance'' located in the small fjord Frognerkilen on Bygdøy in Oslo, Norway. History The palace was built from 1847 to 1852 by the Danish architect Johan Henrik Nebelong on commission from King Oscar I a ...

. From 1852 to 1855, he studied at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dan ...

in Copenhagen and received travel grants to

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. In 1856, he established architectural office in Christiania, while he also taught at the Royal Drafting School. While working for the Ministry of 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. ...

, he designed nearly one hundred churches. Among his designs are also Fritzøehus Manor located outside

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 ...

, the former fire and police station in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

Møllergata 19 Møllergata 19 is an address in Oslo, Norway where the city's main police station and jail was located. The address gained notoriety during the German occupation from 1940 to 1945, when the Nazi security police kept its headquarters here. This is ...

, and the bazaars on the public square at

Youngstorget Youngstorget ( en, Young’s Square) is a square and public space located in downtown Oslo. It lies at the junction of the streets Storgata and Møllergata and alongside Torggata. Constructed in 1846, it has become a symbol of political power in N ...

in downtown Oslo. In 1860, Nordan married Danish artist Henriette Dorothea Henius (1826-1903). Their son

Victor Nordan Victor Nordan (born 13 May 1862 in Christiania, Norway; died 8 May 1933 in Oslo, Norway) was a Norwegian architect, known for his many hospital buildings and also for designing nine churches. Nordan was the son of architect Jacob Wilhelm Norda ...

(1862-1933) was also an architect. He became his father's partner in 1887 and took over the company at his death 1892.

Gallery

Image:Førde kyrkje2.jpg, Førde Church in

Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was, up to 1 January 2020, a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the c ...

(1885) File:Askim kirke.jpg, Askim Church in

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other sid ...

(1878) File:Thorvald Meyers gate 38.jpg, Thorvald Meyers gate 38 at

Grünerløkka Grünerløkka is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. Grünerløkka became part of the city of Oslo (then Christiania) in 1858. Grünerløkka was traditionally a working class district; however, since the late 20th century the area has increasi ...

(1876) File:Hetlandsbanken.JPG, Stavanger Hetlandsbanken in

Stavanger Stavanger (, , US usually , ) is a city and municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the administrative center of Rogaland county. T ...

(1891) Image:Old Police Station in Oslo.JPG, Former fire and police station at

(1866) Image:Hustad-kirke-HH.JPG, Hustad Church in Fræna (1874) File:Grense Jakobselv Kirche.jpg, King Oscar II Chapel at Grense Jakobselv (1869)

References

External links

Design drawings by Jacob Wilhelm Nordan (nasjonalmuseet)
1824 births 1892 deaths People from Copenhagen Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Danish emigrants to Norway 19th-century Norwegian architects Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour Norwegian ecclesiastical architects {{norway-architect-stub