Heinrich Ernst Schirmer
Encyclopedia
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
most noted for his work in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
Schirmer worked in Norway from 1838 to 1883 and put his mark on a number of public buildings. He contributed significantly to the introduction of the so-called Swiss architectural style in Norway, based partly on Italian villa style, Gothic style and classicism
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
.
Schirmer was born in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
as the son of Johan Gottlieb Schirmer and Johanne Sophie Kühne. He was the father of architect Adolf Schirmer
Adolf Schirmer
Adolf Schirmer was a Norwegian architect.Adolf Schirmer was born in Bærum, the son of architect Heinrich Ernst Schirmer and Sophie Ottilia Major . He was married on 6 November 1878 to Hildur Koch...
. He received his architectural education at art academies in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
from 1831 to 1834, and in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
from 1834 to 1837. In Munich he was influenced by German neoclassicist architect Leo von Klenze
Leo von Klenze
Leo von Klenze was a German neoclassicist architect, painter and writer...
and his nation-building and urban design ideas.
Schirmer was construction manager for the rebuilding of the Oslo Cathedral
Oslo Cathedral
Oslo Cathedral — formerly Our Savior's Church — is the main church for the Oslo bishopric of the Church of Norway, as well as the parish church for downtown Oslo. The present building dates from 1694-1697....
between 1849 and 1850. In 1853 he entered into a partnership with the young German architect Wilhelm von Hanno
Wilhelm von Hanno
Andreas Friedrich Wilhelm von Hanno was a German-born architect, sculptor and painter most noted for his work in Norway.-Biography:...
. Their partnership lasted until 1864. Among their works were Gaustad Hospital
Gaustad Hospital
Gaustad Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located at Gaustad in Oslo, Norway. Founded in 1855, it is part of Aker University Hospital. Since 1 January 2009, Aker University Hospital has been part of Oslo University Hospital, a subsidiary of the Southern and Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority....
, Tangen
Tangen
Tangen is a village lying near the shores of Mjøsa in the municipality of Stange, Norway. Its population is 471.Former Prime Minister of Norway Odvar Nordli was born and raised in Tangen....
Church (1854), Vestre Aker
Vestre Aker
Vestre Aker is a borough of the city of Oslo, Norway.The previous municipality Aker was merged into the city of Oslo in 1948.The borough of Vestre Aker was organized as part of the 1 January 2004 reform. Previous boroughs...
Church (1853-1855) and Østre Aker Church (1857-1860). Schirmer and Hanno designed all stations on Norway's first railway line, the Hoved Line between Christiania
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
and Eidsvoll
Eidsvoll
is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sundet.-Name:...
, finished in 1854. His partnership with von Hanno ended in 1964. Among Schirmer's later works are the designs of churches in Øksendal
Øksendal
Øksendal is a former municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the northern part of the present-day municipality of Sunndal, along the Sunndalsfjord.-History:...
(1864), Fiskum (1866, burned 1902), Ulstein
Ulstein
Ulstein is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The commercial and administrative centre of Ulstein is Ulsteinvik, population 5,251 . The municipality occupies the western half of the island of Hareidlandet, as well as about 30 or more smaller...
(1877) and Vartdal
Vartdal
Vartdal is a former municipality in the current municipality of Ørsta in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The administrative centre was the village Sætre, which is also called Vartdal. The former municipality encompassed the northwestern part of present-day Ørsta, along the Vartdalsfjorden,...
(1877).
Schirmer's first large commission was the restoration of the Nidaros Cathedral
Nidaros Cathedral
Nidaros Cathedral is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It was the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nidaros from its establishment in 1152 until its abolition in 1537. Since the Reformation, it has been the cathedral of the...
, which was then in ruins. He started his preliminary investigations in 1841, finished the drawings in 1845, and the reconstruction work started in 1869. Schirmer's last major works in Norway were the creation of the hospitals Rikshospitalet
Rikshospitalet
Rikshospitalet is located in Oslo, Norway. From January 1, 2009, the hospital is part of Oslo University Hospital....
, built between 1874 and 1883, and Ullevål Hospital
Ullevål University Hospital
Ullevaal, Oslo University Hospital was opened in 1887. From January 1, 2009, the hospital is part of the Oslo University Hospital.Ullevål has more than 8,600 employees. 940 of them are doctors and 2,400 nurses. With a total of 1,200 beds Ullevål, admits some 45,000 patients per year and its...
from 1887. Schirmer was decorated Knight of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1860.