Niels Heidenreich
Niels Heidenreich (born June 8, 1761 in Foulum , † August 7, 1844 in Copenhagen ) was a Danish watchmaker and goldsmith in Copenhagen, who stole and melted the gold horns of Gallehus in 1802.
Life
Heidenreich was born in Foulum in 1761 as the only son of the parishioner of Tjele Church Otto Nathansen and Anne Birgitte Sørensdatter.
In 1788 he was sentenced to death for counterfeiting and in 1790 pardoned to life imprisonment. As a convict he also worked for the royal art chamber in Christiansborg . In 1798 he was released. He received his citizenship in Copenhagen as a master watchmaker and goldsmith and lived in Larsbjørnsstræde. Heidenreich often came to the royal art chamber. While working there, he also made two duplicate keys for the Kunstkammer.
On May 4, 1802, he broke into the royal art chamber with the help of the two keys and stole the two famous gold horns. He melted these down in the kitchen at home and made, among other things, false East Indian gold coins.
A reward of 1,000 Reichsthalers was offered for the capture of the thief. He was arrested on April 27, 1803 and three days later confessed to the theft. On June 10, 1803 he was sentenced to long imprisonment. In the penitentiary he did all sorts of crafts and studied geometry. He spent a lot of time trying to square the circle , the impossibility of which was only proven in 1882. In 1840 he was transferred to Ladegården, then an institution for forced labor for the municipality of Copenhagen. He eventually died in Copenhagen General Hospital at the age of 83.
literature
- Erich Christian Werlauff: Erindringer om Guldhornstyveriet the 4th of May 1802 . Thiele, Copenhagen 1858 ( digitized in the Google book search).
- O. Dragsted: Niels Heidenreich . In: Svend Cedergreen Bech , Svend Dahl (eds.): Dansk biografisk leksikon . Founded by Carl Frederik Bricka , continued by Povl Engelstoft. 3. Edition. tape 6 : Harald – Høedt . Gyldendal, Copenhagen 1980, ISBN 87-01-77412-3 (Danish, biografiskleksikon.lex.dk ).
Web links
- Anita Brask Rasmussen: Hvad fik Niels Heidenreich til at stjæle guldhornene? . information.dk, August 28, 2015 (Danish)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Heidenreich, Niels |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Danish watchmaker and goldsmith, thief of the gold horns of Gallehus |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 8, 1761 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Foulum , Denmark |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 7, 1844 |
| Place of death | Copenhagen |