This photo by Erik Olsen from 1906 shows the architects Christian Christie and Nils Ryjord (the two gentlemen in the middle on the front row, uh... no, that should be 2nd row, it just looks like the front row), my great grandfather, his brother, and 78 other workers and artisans - all but one known by name - in the crew busy reconstructing parts of the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim. Look also for the three little boys by the bauta.
The photo is taken the year following the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden (7th of June 1905), and - one would suppose - somewhat before the crowning ceremony in the cathedral of Norway’s first king since the Middle Ages, Haakon VII and his queen Maud on the 22nd of June.
Since I happen to know that architect Ryjord is the guy who sits on architect Christie’s right hand and that most men didn’t wear clothes with women’s buttoning even back then. I have turned the photo the right way compared to the copies found online. The photo is also somewhat cropped.
It’s not often I stumble over new stuff for my genealogy files, so this photo was a pleasant surprise when I found it last night.