Silver wreath from Gerhard Armauer Hansen’s coffin

This silver wreath was laid on Armauer Hansen’s coffin during his memorial service in the auditorium at Bergens Museum on 17 February 1912. It was common for one half of such wreaths to be made of oak leaves with acorns and the other half of laurels, symbolising endurance, victory and honour. 

The wreath was presented on behalf of Bergens Museum by the chair of the board, principal B. E. Bendixen. In the middle, you can see Bergen’s coat of arms and an owl, the emblem of Bergens Museum and later the University of Bergen, against a background of blue enamel. Eighteen years earlier, on behalf of the museum and in the same place, Hansen had laid a similar silver wreath on Danielssen’s coffin.

Gerhard Armauer Hansen died in Florø on 12 February 1912, while on one of his inspection rounds in the districts of Western Norway. He was 70 years old, and was found lying peacefully in bed inn the morning. The coffin was brought to Bergen on the aft deck of the Hurtigruten ship Richard With. For several days, the newspapers were full of articles about Hansen’s death, about his life and about his scientific achievements and international fame. 

It was decided that Hansen’s funeral would be paid for by the state, and it was quickly established that ‘the museum had taken over all the funeral arrangements’. For a man of science and an atheist, hymns were not the natural choice, but the theatre’s orchestra played ‘Spring’ by Edvard Grieg, and the theatre orchestra and a military marching band played funeral marches.  

As when Danielssen died 18 years earlier, the memorial service took place in the room that is now the entrance to the Natural History Museum. The newspapers described ‘the beautiful flower-adorned coffin’ in a room decorated in black cloth, palm trees, garlands of spruce, banners, multi-armed candelabra and a gentle gaslight. Around 25 wreaths were laid accompanied by short eulogies, with a wreath from the king already placed on the coffin. 

Only about 200 people were allowed to attend, but after the service inside the museum, the coffin was brought out to the museum square, which was cordoned off for the thousands of onlookers who had turned up. Many of them followed the procession from the museum to the chapel at Møllendal, where Hansen was to be cremated, and it was described how a ‘long undulating procession of citizens followed Dr G. Armauer Hansen on his final journey‘.