Georg Carstensen

Quite possibly a portrait of Georg Carstensen, c. 1845

Johan Bernhard Georg Carstensen was born 31 August 1812. He spent a most of his childhood in the Near East. He travelled widely and had a career in the military Royal Guards and reached the rank of lieutenant. He attended boarding school at Herlufsholm kostskole.

In 1839 Carstensen moved to Copenhagen permanently and published the periodical publications Portefeuillen and Figaro.

Between 1843 and 1848 Carstensen was active in the development of Tivoli Gardens after which he joined the war at Schleswig. He learnt that he was no longer required in Tivoli after he returned shortly. He was thought to have abandoned the project as he didn't extend the licence of the construction.

Following the disagreement with the Tivoli Gardens management, Carstensen travelled to the Danish West Indies and joined the army there. He subsequently spent time in New York City where he designed the New York Crystal Palace – an exhibition building constructed for the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations in 1853 – in collaboration with the German architect Charles Gildemeister.

In 1855 Carstensen returned to Copenhagen and attempted to construct an establishment to rival Tivoli Gardens, the Alhambra in Frederiksberg. The only reminiscent left of this failed project is a street named Alhambravej. The establishment failed to be completed during Carstensen's lifetime. He died 4 January 1857 aged 44 and was buried in Garnison's Churchyard in Copenhagen.

Trivia

Georg's sister, Annette Adelaide Christine Carstensen, was the mother of Sir Robert Hay-Drummond-Hay, whose second wife Lady Grace Hay-Drummond-Hay (née Lethbridge) was the first woman to travel airborne from Europe to the US as well as the first woman to circumnavigate the globe in the air. Both of these were achieved aboard a Zeppelin.