Urdi House

Last updated April 08, 2019

Coordinates: 60°22′48″N5°19′17″E / 60.3801°N 5.3213°E / 60.3801; 5.3213

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

The Urdi House (Norwegian : Urdihuset or simply Urdi) is a manor house in the Gyldenpris neighborhood just outside downtown Bergen, Norway.^[1] It is located at Michael Krohn Street (Michael Krohns gate) no. 62.^[2] The house is a prime example of late Empire style architecture. The architect that designed the house is uncertain, but it has been attributed to the town surveyor Ole Peter Riis Høegh, who was active in the town between 1834 and 1848.^[3] The Urdi House received protected status in 1927.

Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is the official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional varieties, and some Norwegian and Swedish dialects, in particular, are very close. These Scandinavian languages, together with Faroese and Icelandic as well as some extinct languages, constitute the North Germanic languages. Faroese and Icelandic are hardly mutually intelligible with Norwegian in their spoken form because continental Scandinavian has diverged from them. While the two Germanic languages with the greatest numbers of speakers, English and German, have close similarities with Norwegian, neither is mutually intelligible with it. Norwegian is a descendant of Old Norse, the common language of the Germanic peoples living in Scandinavia during the Viking Era.

Manor house country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor

A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals with manorial tenants and great banquets. The term is today loosely applied to various country houses, frequently dating from the late medieval era, which formerly housed the gentry.

Gyldenpris is a neighborhood in Bergen, Norway in the borough of Årstad.

Building

The Urdi House measures 250 square meters (2,700 sq ft)^[4] and consists of a single story covered by a double hip roof. The front side, which faces to the northeast, features a portico with a triangular pediment supported by four columns with Doric capitals.^[4]^[5] The part of the wall below this projecting roof is set back relative to the rest of the northeast wall, forming a large area under the gable offering a place to sit that is partially protected from the weather with views of the city and the eastern mountains around Bergen. The recessed wall also creates a shaded area that contrasts with the columns.^[4]

Pediment element in classical, neoclassical and baroque architecture

A pediment is an architectural element found particularly in classical, neoclassical and baroque architecture, and its derivatives, consisting of a gable, usually of a triangular shape, placed above the horizontal structure of the entablature, typically supported by columns. The tympanum, the triangular area within the pediment, is often decorated with relief sculpture.

The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of columns. Originating in the western Dorian region of Greece, it is the earliest and in its essence the simplest of the orders, though still with complex details in the entablature above.

Along the recessed wall beneath the gable is a door leading into the "garden room" (havestue). This name comes from the area in front of the house, which is considered the house's yard or garden, and so the door leading to it is also known as the "garden door" (havedør), and not the main entrance door (hovedinngangsdør). An additional room flanks each side of the garden room, and these three rooms comprise the front of the Urdi House and about half of its area.^[4]

The back half of the building contains a hallway (with the main entrance door in the middle of the house at the rear) and foyer in addition to the kitchen and bedrooms. The bedrooms are very small compared to the front rooms, which corresponds to the house's intended main function as a place to display prestige.^[4]

History

The house received its name in 1895, when it was purchased by the artists Olav Rusti and his German-born^[6] wife Frida Hoeck Rusti.^[7] The property was called Uren at that time,^[8] but Olav, who was active in the Westerners' Association (Vestmannalaget),^[9] Norway's oldest language association, changed the name to Urdi.^[8] Olav died in 1920^[9] and Frida moved out during the Second World War because of the property's proximity to the Norwegian naval base.^[7] In 1956, Frida Rusti sold the building for a nominal fee to the Artists' Association (Kunstnersamfundet) and Visual Artists Union (Bildende Kunstneres Forening) in Bergen. In 1991 the building was purchased by the Bergen Parapsychological Union.

While it was owned by the Rustis, the house was used as a meeting place by the town's musicians and artists. In 1896, the building was the venue of the first Norwegian national folk music and dance competition (Landskappleiken) featuring Hardanger fiddle, which was attended by Edvard Grieg.

In modern times, the distinctive location of the Urdi House has significantly diminished: the area was originally rural and isolated, but is now dominated by the road built just in front of the building in 1915, and the area has also been built up with newer residential construction much taller than the one-story Urdi House. In addition, the development of small industries below Michael Krohn Street, along Pudde Fjord, has changed the area's character.

The house's current owner, Janne Gullaksen,^[10] has restored the Urdi House's connection to art, using it as a studio and gallery.^[5] She also offers training in painting at the house and sells art materials. In addition, a small cafe has been set up in the building.^[11]

Related Research Articles

Olav Aukrust was a Norwegian poet and teacher. He popularized the use of Nynorsk as a literary language and is most commonly associated with his poem Himmelvarden (1916).

Johan Ludwig Mowinckel (22 October 1870 – 30 September 1943) was a Norwegian statesman, shipping magnate and philanthropist. He served as the Prime Minister of Norway during three separate terms.

Leif Høegh Norwegian ship-owner and businessman

Leif Høegh was a Norwegian shipowner. He founded the international shipping company, Leif Höegh & Co in 1927.

Alvøen or Alvøy is a manor house located on a historic industrial site in the Laksevåg borough of the city of Bergen, Norway. Alvøen Manor was once one of the grander private homes in Bergen.

Kronstad Hovedgård is a manor house in the city of Bergen, Norway. It is situated in the borough of Årstad about 2 km south of the Bergenhus on the south shore of the bay of Store Lungegårdsvannet.

Munkeliv Abbey was a Benedictine abbey located at Nordnes in Bergen, Norway. It was one of the oldest monasteries in Norway, and also one of the wealthiest and best-documented. There are no visible remains today.

Olav Paulssøn (1822–1896) was a Norwegian bailiff, writer and politician.

Johanne Dybwad was a Norwegian stage actress and stage producer. She was the leading actress in Norwegian theatre for half a century.

Lars Kristian Holst was a Norwegian journalist, newspaper editor and politician.

Christinegård is a manor house located in the neighborhood of Sandviken in Bergen, Norway. The villa has a dominant position in the hillside overlooking Byfjorden.

John Grieg was a Norwegian printer, publisher and bookseller.

Bjørn Trumpy was a Norwegian physicist. He was born in Bergen. His research areas covered spectral physics, earth magnetism, cosmic radiation and nuclear physics. Trumpy was the first rector at the University of Bergen, from its establishment in 1948. He was decorated Commander of the Order of St. Olav in 1951.

Agnes Steineger was a Norwegian painter.

Arnoldus Marius Hille was a Norwegian Lutheran Bishop.

Ole Peter Riis Høegh was one of Norway's first trained civilian architects and was Bergen's first town surveyor.

The Helland House is a historic house in Bergen, Norway.

Rasmus Meyer was a Norwegian industrialist, mill owner and art collector. He is most commonly associated with the Rasmus Meyer art collection in Bergen.

The following is a list of notable events and releases of the year 1958 in Norwegian music.

Magnar Mangersnes is a Norwegian organist and choral conductor.

References

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Årbok 1972. Foreningen til norske fortidsminnesmerkers bevaring. 1974. Oslo: Grøndahl, p. 13.

[2] Gule sider: Urdi Eiendom AS.

[3] Norsk biografisk leksikon: Peter Høegh.

[Bjerknes-4] 1 2 3 4 5 Bjerknes, Kristian. 1961. Gamle borgerhus i Bergen. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, pp. 89–90.

[Haug-5] 1 2 Haug, Trude. 2004. Setter Urdi på fargekartet. Bergens Tidene (August 25).

[6] Norsk kunstnerleksikon: Frida Hoeck Rusti.

[Roysum-7] 1 2 Røysum, Kjell. Frida Hoeck Rusti (1861–1963).

[SNL_Urdi-8] 1 2 Store norske leksikon: Urdi.

[NBL_Rusti-9] 1 2 Norsk biografisk leksikon: Olav Rusti.

[10] Mortensen, Karen. 2013. Komponerer på kjøkkenet. Bergenavisen (September 30).

[11] Urdi House Restaurant