The rationalism of the 1700s had, through the introduction of new scientific methods separating spirit and matter, sought to remove god from science and separate sense from sensibility. Ørsted, however, perceived the discovery of the role of reason in nature to be the supreme task of science, a philosophy which came to have great bearing on the Golden Age.

Ørsted was one of the forces behind the founding of The Polytechnic Institute, a landmark of progress in the field of technological development. Ørsted was appointed principal of the institute upon its opening in 1829.

Due to the falling corn prices which followed the declaration of peace in 1814, agriculture experienced one of the worst crises in Danish history. It was not until 1830 that this downward spiral was reversed.

From Peatbog to Glass

Since the double monarchy's glassworks had been located in Norway, after the loss of Norway in 1814 Denmark had to develop a glass industry of its own. Due to the lack of glassware a number of small glassworks saw the light of day. They were, however, all short-lived, and it was not until the construction of the Holmegaard Glassworks in 1825 that the foundation stone for a flourishing industry was laid.

It was Countess Henriette Danneskiold-Samsøe who realised her late husband's dream of utilising the 1,000 acres of peatbog near Holmegaard Manor: the peat could be used instead of importing expensive imported fuel.  The count, who had been one of the advocates for agricultural reforms, also saw the possibility of providing his smallholders, who were suffering under the agricultural crisis of the time, with work as peat cutters.

Initially green glass, bottles and glass containers were the focus of production, but from 1832 the glassworks started to produce clear drinking glasses. The labour force was originally Norwegian,  but the highly skilled Bohemian glassblowers later left their mark on the glass produced.

Since the workers were paid partly in kind, a farm was established alongside the glassworks. A school for the children was built in 1832, and together with the workers' tenements made the glassworks into a small society.  A glass industry was thus established in Denmark, and Holmegaard Glassworks provided a widely copied model within the new industry it pioneered.

Ursin – The Polytechnic Proclaimer

The astronomer Georg Frederik Ursin (1797-1849) founded the first polytechnical publication in Denmark. Ursin was the astronomical observer at the Round Tower, and from 1827 also professor of mathematics at the Art Academy. In 1826 he published the first edition of A Journal for Artists and Craftsmen. Excluding a two-year break, the publication ran for 16 years.

In 1827, under the auspices of the Association for the Dissemination of Natural Philosophy, Ursin wrote to Frederik VI and suggested the establishment of a technical university. O.J. Rawert and H.C. Ørsted had worked on similar ideas earlier, but it wasn't until 1829 that, with Ørsted's intervention, that the Technical University became a reality.

At the Technical University Ursin taught mechanical engineering for a couple of years. Whilst Ørsted focussed on science, Ursin was dedicated to the more technical aspects of training, seeking to provide artisans with a thorough basic education. This conflict of interests was something the two men never resolved.

The journal was Ursin's greatest achievement. It had accounts of technological advances overseas in relation to specific crafts, or it described and analysed a particular machine. Since new technology has apparently always been dependent on its news-value, Ursin chose to write the journal in the style of reportage, thus providing a precedent for many later journals.

Mapping the Underground

When the chemist Johan Georg Forchhammer (1794-1865) arrived in Copenhagen in 1818 he was immediately employed as an assistant in H.C. Ørsted's laboratory. Forchhammer was born in Schleswig, and mineralogy had been among the subjects he studied at Kiel University. It was these studies which qualified him to accompany Ørsted on a series of fieldtrips to Bornholm, the aim of which was to investigate the possibility of coal and iron mining on the island.

In 1821 Forchhammer visited the Faeroe Islands on the recommendation of H.C. Ørsted, who had hinted to the authorities who funded the expedition that a geological investigation of the islands could have 'major consequences for the utilisation of the natural treasures of the Danish Kingdom'. This was not however the case, although a lot of attention was initially devoted to the coal deposits on the island of Suduroy.

Upon his return Forchhammer began a systematic study of Denmark's geology. He was appointed as professor of chemistry and mineralogy at the university, and later played a major role in these fields at Denmark's Technical University.

Upon his appointment as professor in 1831 he became the director of the Mineralogical Museum at the university. It was, incidentally, this museum which inherited Christian VIII's mineral collection upon his death in 1848. In 1835 Forchhammer published the first comprehensive work on the geology of Denmark, and it was Forchhammer, more than anyone else, who strengthened and developed the study of Denmark's underground.

The Royal Collector

As a small child Crown Prince Christian Frederik, later Christian VIII (1786-1848), already exhibited a definite collector's instinct and lively interest in numismatics and science. He started collecting coins, and went on to include minerals, plants, insects and shells in his wide range of collections. He acquired his first microscope at the age of thirteen.

It was entirely in the spirit of the times to have collections of rare and interesting objects, but the prince's interest was more than a whim. He undertook serious studies based on the collections he continued to develop throughout his lifetime.

Between 1819 and 1822, he and his wife Princess Caroline Amalie went on a grand tour of European museums and collections. In Naples the prince made an excursion to Vesuvius, where he studied volcanic minerals. It was here that the royal interest in Greek and Southern Italian vases began, and here that he bought the first vases for what was to become an exceptional collection.

 Prince Christian Frederik also had a shell collection which attained such huge proportions that he had to employ a young zoologist to take care of it. As well as working on his own collections, the prince was also president of the Art Academy, thus playing an equally active role in the art world of the time, also as a collector.

Eckersberg in Holmen

When the painter Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (1783-1853) was granted access to Holmen by the Admiralty he was able to indulge his great passion for ships, which from 1820 onwards expressed itself in a major series of naval paintings.

Holmen was a large military area in the heart of Copenhagen. In 1818 Eckersberg was made professor at the Art Academy, and upon his appointment he was granted a residence in Charlottenborg Palace with a view of Holmen. He had worked for a number of years with the Naval Construction Office, which he furnished with designs for figureheads, sterns and other decorations for the navy's ships.

In Holmen Eckersberg mingled with everyone involved in shipbuilding, from the leading officers to the young construction officers and craftsmen. The comprehensive picture of ship architecture he was thus able to form influenced his development as a naval painter. Eckersberg's left nothing to chance in his paintings: he registered and noted what he saw with almost military precision.

Eckersberg was born in Schleswig, which he left in 1803 to come to Copenhagen. He has been credited as the founder of Golden Age painting. As a professor he was the first painter to foster a serious school, and a number of his students, like Christen Købke, Martinus Rørbye, Wilhelm Bendz og Constantin

Among the Nordic Gods

The wars at the beginning of the 1800s strengthened nationalist tendencies. This led to a shift of focus from classical to Nordic mythology.  Both Adam Oehlenschläger and N.F.S. Grundtvig were absorbed by the Old Nordic myths, an absorption which inspired an entire era of artists.

The sculptor Hermann Ernst Freund (1786-1840) was born in Germany, but in 1803 he was sent to Copenhagen as an apprentice to his uncle, who was a smith. After his appren-

ticeship he was educated as a sculptor at the Art Academy, and in 1817 he could head for Rome having received the academy's highest accolade – its gold medal.

Before departing for Rome Freund was presented with the opportunity of decorating the interior of C.F. Hansen's new Church of Our Lady upon his return. To Freund's great regret Thorvaldsen was granted the commission, so Freund, prompted by Ionas Collin, turned to the Nordic Pantheon instead.

Freund worked in conscious opposition to the classical artistic idioms which had formed the basis of his education. Paradoxically, his ten years in Rome were dedicated to Nordic mythology, and it was not until he returned to Denmark that Freund started to work with the impressions he had gathered in Italy, impressions expressed in a passionate interest in the Pompeian style.

Ørsted the Man

Hans Christian Ørsted (1777-1851) is most famous for his discoveries in the fields
of physics and chemistry, discoveries represent-ing some of the absolute landmarks of Danish scientific research. But Ørsted was also a responsible and socially committed individual, influencing many of the major figures of the Golden Age.

When the Ørsted brothers arrived in Copen-hagen, Adam Oehlenschläger was one of the first people they met. They became lifelong

friends. A.S. Ørsted later married the poet's beautiful sister Sophie. H.C. Andersen was also one of H.C Ørsted's closest friends. They met when Andersen approached them for help and advice shortly after arriving in the capital.

Ørsted had a gift for poetry. He wrote both verse and prose, and his interest in language also revealed itself in his active contribution to the modernisation of the Danish language. He had an incredible ear for language, and formed more than 2,000 new words.

Ørsted founded a number of societies and associations. In 1824 he founded The Associ-ation for the Dissemination of Natural Philosophy, and in 1827 he was the co-founder of  The Association for the Dissemination of Danish Literature,  which published The Monthly Journal of Literature to which Ørsted  himself was a regular contributor. In 1835 he became a member of The Society for the Correct Use of the Freedom of the Press.

Ørsted the Scientist

In 1797 Ørsted qualified as a pharmacist, and two years later he was awarded his doctorate. When the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745-1827) invented the galvanic battery  - the voltaic pile - in 1800,  Ørsted immediately started experimenting with the relationship between electricity and chemistry - the focus of his lifelong career.

Ørsted's discovery of electromagnetism mirrored the romantic view of nature – if there was a divine force flowing throughout the universe, there had to be a connection between individual natural phenomena. In his work Ørsted united the romantic perception of nature with experimental research.

During the Golden Age the boundaries between science and culture were much more permeable than they are today, and Ørsted was involved in a wide range of projects spanning both fields. He was a physicist and chemist, but also a philosopher, inspired by the theories of Kant and Fitche.

Shortly before his death Ørsted published a series of summarised articles entitled The Soul in Nature (1849-1850), which as a whole embody the essence of his philosophy.

Ørsted built a bridge between science and art in his quest for a beauty expressing the laws of nature.