Lambert van Haven (16 April 1630 - 9 May 1695) was a Danish-Norwegian architect, master builder and painter. He was born in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, the son of the artist Solomon van Haven who had already succeeded in winning the favour of the Danish-Norwegian monarchy. Starting in 1653, he spent some 16 years travelling in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

where he studied

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

painting and architecture. Under

Christian V Christian V (15 April 1646 – 25 August 1699) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the de ...

, he was appointed Denmark-Norway's first official General Building Master in 1671 with overall responsibility for executing the king's architectural wishes. He died in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Principal works

Church of Our Saviour

Vor Frelsers Kirke Copenhagen interior portrait

Van Haven is remembered above all for his architecture, especially for the enormous

Church of Our Saviour, Copenhagen The Church of Our Saviour (; ) is a baroque architecture, baroque church (building), church in Copenhagen, Denmark, most famous for the external spiral winding staircase that can be climbed to the top, offering extensive views over central Copenha ...

built in the

Dutch Baroque Dutch Baroque architecture is a variety of Baroque architecture that flourished in the Dutch Republic and its colonies during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century. (Dutch painting during the period is covered by Dutch Golden Age painting). ...

style in the form of a

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

with Tuscan

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s rising to the top of the facade.

Nørreport

Commissioned by

, van Haven also designed the imposing new Nørreport city gate (1671) after the original gate had fallen into disrepair. Until it was dismantled in 1857, it was considered to be the tallest and finest of Copenhagen's city gates with fine sandstone ornamentation.

Frederiksborg interiors

Inspired by the Italian and French Baroque style, especially

Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor ...

's, he designed the interiors of

Frederiksborg Palace Frederiksborg Castle () is a palatial complex in Hillerød, Denmark. It was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway in the early 17th century, replacing an older castle acquired by Frederick II and becoming the lar ...

which had been damaged by fire. The Audience Chamber, glorifying Christian V, is considered a masterpiece.

Other contributions

He probably also participated in the design of

Charlottenborg Palace Charlottenborg Palace () is a large town mansion located on the corner of Kongens Nytorv and Nyhavn in Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally built as a residence for Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve, it has served as the base of the Royal Danish Academy ...

and in that of Niels Juel's Mansion on

Kongens Nytorv Kongens Nytorv (literal translation, lit. "The King's New Square") is a town square, public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the Pedestrian zone, pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was l ...

, now the French Embassy.Thotts Palæ. København. Kulturhistoriek opslagsbog med turforslag by Jens Fleischer
In Danish. Retrieved 18 December 2009. He was also involved in designing a residential palace on

Slotsholmen Slotsholmen (English language, English: The Castle Islet) is an island in the harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, and part of Copenhagen Indre By, Inner City. The name is taken from the successive castles and palaces located on the island since Absal ...

but this was never realised.

References