Holm Hansen Munthe (1 January 1848 – 23 May 1898) was a Norwegian architect. He was a leading representative of dragon style architecture (Dragestil) which originated in Norway and was widely used principally between 1880 and 1910. [1][2]
Holm Hansen Munthe (1 January 1848 – 23 May 1898) was a Norwegian architect. He was a leading representative of dragon style architecture (Dragestil) which originated in Norway and was widely used principally between 1880 and 1910. [1][2]
Holm Hansen Munthe was born at Stange in Hedmark, Norway. He was the son of Adolph Frederik Munthe (1817–1884) and Karen Emilie Hansen (1820–1884). His father was a military officer and government official. In the early 1870s, he was an apprentice in Christiania (now Oslo) and a student at the drawing school of Wilhelm von Hanno. He graduated from Hannover Polytechnikum in 1877.[3] [4]
He was assistant of architect Conrad Wilhelm Hase before returning to Norway in 1878. Between 1878 and 1885 he cooperated with Henrik Nissen. From 1889 he worked for the Holmenkol-Voxenkol, a joint-stock company with major investors including resort operator Dr. Ingebrigt Christian Holm (1844-1918), brewery owner Ellef Ringnes (1842-1929) and wholesaler Alfred Larsen (1863-1950). The company was principally involved in developments in the neighborhood of Holmenkollena in Vestre Aker. Munthe designed a number of structures in dragestil architectural style as part of this development including the well-known Frognerseteren Restaurant from 1890 and the Holmenkollen Turisthotell, which was built in 1889, but burned in 1895. [4][5]
Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, vacationing in Norway, noticed these buildings and commissioned the erection of his Rominten Hunting Lodge in East Prussia; however these buildings were largely destroyed after World War II, remnants of the Lodge are used as the seat of the administration at the Kaliningrad Central Park. [6] [7] [8]
In 1898 Munthe was appointed city architect in Oslo, but he died before actually assuming office. He was buried at Vår Frelsers gravlund in Oslo. [6]
