Early life and career Christian Hansen was born in
Copenhagen. He attended the
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in
Copenhagen from 1816, just 13 years old, where he studied under
Christian Frederik Hansen, the leading Danish architect of the time, and
Gustav Friedrich Hetsch. Christian Frederik Hansen taught him a rational approach to architecture and Hetsch introduced him to
Karl Friedrich Schinkel whose influence he had brought to Denmark. Hansen also designed private houses and churches. 's Arsenal and Dockyards at
Trieste, c. 1900 Hansen's work in Athens also involved archeological excavations and investigations. Together with the German architect Eduard Schaubert he excavated and reconstructed the
Temple of Athena Nike at the
Acropolis and he contributed to the compilation of material for Joseph Hoffer's account of horizontal curvature and optical corrections in Greek temples. Hansen's reputation reached outside Greece and in 1850 the shipping company
Österreichischer Lloyd commissioned him to build a marine arsenal and dockyards at
Trieste. The extensive building complex designed in the
Rundbogenstil with details inspired by
Byzantine architecture was constructed from 1852 to 1856.{{cite web|url= https://www.kulturarv.dk/kid/VisWeilbach.do?kunstnerId=5726&wsektion=biografi
Homecoming and work in Denmark , 1861 After the revolt in September 1843 in Athens, a nationalist wave made it hard for foreigners to work in Greece. In 1851, Hansen returned to Denmark after almost 20 years abroad. He was appointed Royal Building Inspector for
Funen and the surrounding islands but had to let someone else, C. A. Møller, temporarily take care of his obligations due to his engagements with Lloyds in Trieste. In 1867, he became a member of the Academy in Copenhagen and Royal Building Inspector for
Zealand,
Lolland and
Falster. That same year he also took over the professorial chair in architecture at the Academy which had become vacant with
Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll's death the year before. As a practicing architect, Hansen never got the prominent role in Denmark upon his return which could have been expected after his achievements abroad. In Copenhagen he built the
Municipal Hospital in the
Rundbogenstil which he had also applied in Trieste. His
Østervold Observatory was built on the former fortifications of the city to replace the
astronomical observatory at the
Round Tower. For the University of Copenhagen he also designed a Zoological Museum in Krystalgade in
Renaissance Revival style. The building is today used by the university's administration but the lavishly decorated Grand Hall, where the large, stuffed animals used to be on display, is frequently used for exhibitions. Christian Hansen died in 1883 and is interred at
Assistens Cemetery. His great-great granddaughter,
Dinah Jane Hansen, is in the girl group
Fifth Harmony. She has shown support to him on her visit to Denmark on October 22, 2016. ==Selected buildings==