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Jacob Fortling (23 December 1711 – 16 July 1761) was aGerman-Danish sculptor, architect and industrialist, described as one of the most industrious people in the Denmark of his day. He came to Denmark at age 18 and embarked on a successful career, first as a sculptor and later also as an architect. He was also engaged in the production of building materials, owning several quarries in Norway. Just outsideCopenhagen, onAmager's east coast, he foundedKastrup Værk, a large industrial facility combining a lime plant, a brickyard and a pottery.
Kastrupgård, his former home, has been turned into anart museum.
Fortling was born on 23 December 1711 inBayreuth in present day Germany. He trained as a mason and stone carver and came to Denmark to work on the many large Royal building projects under KingChristian VI, collaborating with sculptors such asJacques Saly andSimon Carl Stanley.[1] He executed the Queen's Staircase atChristiansborg Palace.
In 1738 he received Danish citizenship and was in 1740 appointed Stone Carver to the Danish Court. In the 1740s he worked onChristiansborg Palace where his contributions included the Queen's Staircase. He also created the main staircases forLedreborg Palace and theHolstein Mansion in Copenhagen (1756).[2] At the naval base atHolmen, he created the King's Gate.
Fortling collaborated closely with bothLauritz de Thurah andNicolai Eigtved, the two leading Danish architects of the time, and finally completed his training as an architect. He assimilated Eigtved's refined Rococo style and, after Eigtved's death in 1754, became de Thurah's right-hand man.
In 1756, he was appointed Royal Building Inspector for Copenhagen,Zealand andFalster and, after de Thurah's death, he became Royal Building Master in 1760 but died the following year.
Fortling also engaged in the production of building materials. In search of good quality stone, he made two journeys toNorway which was ruled by the Danish King and supplied many of the minerals used in the building industry in Denmark at that time. In 1744 he acquired royal privileges for two quarries, one atAkershus and one atLier, extracting marble and from 1849 alsotalc. In 1759 he also established a quarry atTrondheim.
In Denmark, Fortling established a limestone quarry onSaltholm, an island inØresund off the coast ofAmager, and opened a lime plant atKastrup Værk, with its own harbour on an artificial peninsula in 1749. He soon diversified with a brickyard (1752) and a pottery specializing infaience (1755) at the same site.
From 1749 to 1753, he also builtKastrupgåtf in the same area, a large country house and agricultural estate where he took up residence when it was completed. His business enterprises also included a distillery and a brewery.
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