Lambert van Haven was a Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 architect, master builder and painter. He was born in Bergen

Bergen

Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....

, the son of the artist Solomon van Haven who had already succeeded in winning the favour of the Danish monarchy.

Starting in 1653, he spent some 16 years travelling in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 where he studied Baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 painting and architecture.
Under Christian V

Christian V of Denmark

Christian V , was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 to 1699, the son of Frederick III of Denmark and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg...

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

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

.

Church of Our Saviour

Van Haven is remembered above all for his architecture, especially for the enormous Church of Our Saviour, Copenhagen built in the Dutch Baroque style in the form of a Greek cross with Tuscan

Tuscan order

Among canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a "Tuscan order", "the solidest and least ornate", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di...

 pilaster

Pilaster

A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....

s rising to the top of the facade.

Nørreport

Commissioned by Christian V

Christian V of Denmark

Christian V , was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 to 1699, the son of Frederick III of Denmark and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg...

, 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 Bernini

Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and also a prominent architect...

's, he designed the interiors of Frederiksborg Palace

Frederiksborg Palace

Frederiksborg castle is a castle in Hillerød, Denmark. It was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV, and is now known as The Museum of National History. The current building replaced a previous castle erected by Frederick II, and is the largest Renaissance palace in Scandinavia...

 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

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 of Fine Arts since its foundation in 1754...

 and in that of Niels Juel's Mansion on Kongens Nytorv

Kongens Nytorv

Kongens Nytorv is a public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the pedestrian street Strøget. The finest and largest square of the city, it was laid out by Christian V in 1670 in connection with a major extension of the fortified city, and has an equestrian statue of...

, now the French Embassy

Embassy of France in Copenhagen

The French Embassy in Copenhagen is the main diplomatic mission of France to Denmark. It is located in the Thott Palace at Kongens Nytorv 4 in central Copenhagen, Denmark...

. He was also involved in designing a residential palace on Slotsholmen

Slotsholmen

Slotsholmen is an island in the harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, and part of Copenhagen Inner City. Bishop Absalon constructed the city's first castle on the island in 1166-67 at the site where Christiansborg Palace, the seat of the Danish Parliament lies today...

but this was never realised.