Studiestræde 6 - Hans Christian Ørsted
These are the premises of the new laboratories and professorial accommodations built by the University in 1824. A marble plaque above the entrance to the courtyard (Studiegården) states:
HANS CHRISTIAN ØRSTED BOEDE HER FRA OCTOBER 1824 TIL SIN DØDSDAG DEN 9DE MARTS 1851
(Hans Christian Ørsted lived here from October 1824 until the day of his death 9 March 1851).
Hans Christian Ørsted. Drawing by I.V. Gertner. Courtesy of the Niels Bohr Archive.
Ørsted discovered aluminum in 1825 in the Chemistry Laboratory of the University situated in the courtyard here. His other investigations carried out here included those on the compression of liquids using a piezometer of his own construction.
Across the courtyard is the building now called the University Annex. In 1829 these premises were made available by Ørsted to house the Polyteknisk Læreanstalt (College of Advanced Technology), which was founded by him along the lines of the École Polytechnique in Paris. This institution was moved to larger premises in 1890.
Ørsted was director of the Læreanstalt and taught physics there from 1829 until his death in 1851. The teaching in physics, chemistry, and mathematics was shared with the University, whose science faculty was founded in 1850. Introductory teaching in physics, both theoretical and experimental, for students in astronomy, mathematics, physics, and chemistry continued at the Polyteknisk Læreanstalt until 1957.