Niels Jacobsen (14 September 1865 - 31 January 1935) was a Danish architect and politician who worked primarily in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

Biography

Born in

Aabenraa Aabenraa (; , ; South Jutlandic: ''Affenråe'', also known as Åbenrå) is a town in Southern Denmark, at the head of the Aabenraa Fjord, an arm of the Little Belt, north of the Denmark–Germany border and north of German town of Flensburg. It ...

, Jacobsen was the son of shipbuilder Niels Jacobsen and Marie Kjaer. Jacobsen initially trained as a bricklayer. In September 1884, he began his studies at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts () 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 Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture, and Architecture in Cope ...

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 ...

, where he studied under

Hans Jørgen Holm Hans Jørgen Holm (9 May 1835 – 22 July 1916) was a Danish architect. A pupil of Johan Daniel Herholdt, he became a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and a leading Danish proponent of the National Romantic style. Biograp ...

. Graduating in 1890, he was subsequently employed by

Johan Daniel Herholdt Johan Daniel Herholdt (13 August 1818 – 11 April 1902) was a Danish architect, professor and royal building inspector. He worked in the Historicist style and had a significant influence on Danish architecture during the second half of the 19th ...

Ferdinand Meldahl Ferdinand Meldahl (16 March 1827 – 3 February 1908) was a Danish architect best known for the reconstruction of Frederiksborg Castle after the fire in 1859. Meldahl was one of the leading proponents of historicism in Denmark. Biography He was t ...

, and

Martin Nyrop Martin Nyrop (11 November 1849 18 May 1921) was a Danish architect. Early life and education Nyrop was born on 11 November 1849 at Holmsland Municipality, Holmsland, Ringkøbing, the son of parish priest Christopher Nyrop (1805–1879) and Helen ...

. He opened his own design studio in Odense in 1893. From 1894 to 1908, he taught at Odense Technical College, served on the Board of Directors 1909-25, and participated in architectural competitions as a judge. Jacobsen was a member of the Odense City Council 1909-25, and chairman from 1911. He was honored as a Knight of the Dannebrog. Jacobsen was in Italy in 1891. He exhibited at

Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition The Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition (''Charlottenborg Forårsudstilling'') is an annual art exhibition in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. The event is held at the Charlottenborg Exhibition Building (''Kunsthal Charlottenborg''). Kunsthal Cha ...

in 1898, the World Exhibition in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1900, the City Hall exhibition in Copenhagen in 1901, as well as the

Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin __NOTOC__ The Kunstgewerbemuseum, or Museum of Decorative Arts, is an internationally important museum of the decorative arts in Berlin, Germany, part of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Berlin State Museums). The collection is split between th ...

in 1910. On August 11, 1893, he married Christiane Sophie Magdalene Bertram Petersen Møller (born 1872,

Gråsten Gråsten (; ) is a town with a population of 4,298 (1 January 2025) on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in south Denmark by the Nybøl Nor at an inlet of the Flensburg Fjord. It belongs to the Sønderborg municipality in Region of Souther ...

). He died in 1935 and is buried in Odense.

Selected works

Odense

* Grand Hotel, Jernbanegade 18 (1896–97, extended 1911 by Jacobsen) * Telephone exchange, Jernbanegade 16 (1897) * Extension of Funen Art Museum, Jernbanegade 13 (1897–98) * Odense Technical College, Hunderupvej 15 (1898, 1921) * Fyens Forsamlinghus, Kongensgade 64-68 (1900, 1910) * Handelsbanken, Vestergade 12-14 (1900, partially preserved) * Ansgars Church (1902) * Restoration of Sankt Hans Rectory, Odense (1906) * ''Fyns Tidenes'' building, Fisketorvet (1907) * Electricity Power Station, Klosterbakken (the original part 1908) * University Society Building, Slotsvæget (1909) * Gråbrødreplads 6-7 (1910–11) * Odense Vinkompagni, Klostervej 5-13 (1911–12, 1917) * Odense Theatre, Jernbanegade 21 (1913–14) * PC Rasmussen's Department Store, Vestergade 16 (1914) * Bispegården, Klaregade 17 (1916) * Det Borgerlige Byggeselskab, tradesman field (1917) * Foundation Eilschous Boliger, Lahnsgade (1919–20) * Odense Courthouse, Albanigade 28 (1919–21) * Expansion of the Odense County and City Hospotal (1926–28); * Hans Christian Andersen Museum (1929–30)

Elsewhere

* Ommel Church, Æro (1892–94) * Chapel in Glorup Park (limestone, 1898) * St. George Church near Aabenraa (1903–04) * Nordslesvigske Folkebank, Aabenraa (1911–12) * Tower of Marstal Church (1920)

References

External links

*
Niels Jacobsen
at Kunstindeks Danmark/Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobsen, Niels 1865 births 1935 deaths People from Aabenraa People from Odense Danish architects