Chresten Berg

Chresten Berg (1829-1891) born 18.12.1829 in Fjaltring near Lemvig, became a teacher at the Ranum Seminarium. In 1852 he was employed as a teacher at the Kolding Civic School. He became very popular with the children and their parents, bacause he made great efforts to reform the city's school life and, in doing so, gained the support from the city's Citizens, often in opposition to the authorities. In 1858, he created a private school for girls, in the newly built city school, now Nicolai-History, and he was employed as a teacher by private contributions. In 1861, the School became a part of the public school life. He established a library for the youth of Kolding, which in 1879 was part of Kolding Folk Library. It also became an evening school for certified craftsmen and a free evening school, with general education and creativity. This school evolved into Kolding Technical School, now called Hansenberg. Chresten Berg also founded a private evening school, for trade teachers, with teaching in calculation, language, bookkeeping, and more. In the battle between the conservative and the democratic forces in Kolding, Berg met with, Consul Grau and Grocerer Gross, and gained a leadership position by virtue for his hard work on the educational area and his written skills. Chresten Berg is buried at The Old Cemetery on Tøndervej. In 1906, a statue of him was erected at Banegardspladsen, created by sculptor Rasmus M. Andersen.