Christian Heinrich Grosch

Who was Christian Heinrich Grosch?

Christian Heinrich Grosch was a Norwegian architect.

He was born in Halden and educated by his father, Heinrich August Grosch and in Germany and Copenhagen.

Grosch was Oslo's first "city conductor", which is to say he acted as the city's chief architect, planning engineer, and building inspector. He also accepted private architectural assignments and was responsible for many of the city's landmarks, including the oldest part of Oslo Stock Exchange, Kirkeristen, the first campus at the University of Oslo, the original building for Norges Bank, Oslo Østbanestasjon, the factory building of Prinds Christian Augusts Minde and others.

From 1833 to his death in 1865 he was appointed state consultant for the royal buildings around Christiania. He was succeeded by Georg Andreas Bull. The position is considered as the predecessor of the government agency Statsbygg.

The Grosch medal was established on the 200th anniversary of his birth as an architecture award in Norway.