Jens Olsen

Who was Jens Olsen?

Jens Olsen was a clockmaker, locksmith and astromechanic who built the famous world clock located in the city hall of Copenhagen, the Rådhus. He was born in Ribe, Denmark. Ever since he was a small child, Olsen was interested in clocks and other mechanical devices. After hearing of the broken clock in Carsten Hauch's "A Polish Family", he dreamed of fixing that clock. Later, he envisioned a clock that would show every conceivable type of time, from sidereal time to the rotation of the planets.

Olsen's father was a weaver but apprenticed Olsen to a locksmith. However, he remained interested in clocks and read as much as he could about them and later astronomy. Even after ending his apprenticeship and becoming a locksmith Olsen continued to pursue these interests.

In 1897, Olsen became a journeyman and eventually ended up in Strasbourg where he saw the famous clock built by Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué in the cathedral. He would hide in a corner near the clock, so that he could see and examine it past the viewing hours.

After Strasbourg, Olsen moved to Switzerland where he switched to clockmaking entirely.