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History
Theodor Frobenius was born in a small town Weikersheim in Bavaria Germany in 1885. His father was a wine keeper - wine cellar manager. When Theodor was thirteen years old he became an apprentice at August Laukhuff organbuilder. The Laukhuff organbuilder factory was located just across the street from his home. The apprenticeship was four years, and after a further year Theodor left  Weikhersheim to travel around and work in other workshops. Back then it was common for young journeymen to travel around in Europe work in different places in order to acquire a comprehensive knowledge and skills. For Theodor it was for three and a half years in various German workshops. Along the way he met a Danish organ builder companion A.C. Zachariassen, who later take over an organ builder workshop in Aarhus (Denmark) and Theodor traveled to Denmark to work with him. The plan was that he stays for a year or two, but it went quite different. During the renovation of the organ in Viborg Cathedral, he met his future wife, and the plan to travel back to Germany has vanished.
Opus list:

Opuslist





Aalunds Mølle - København Nørrebrogade 148.
Theodor Frobenius in Aarhus 1908

Establishing of the company
In 1909 Theodor Frobenius took the management of a new organbuilder workshop as the Copenhagen piano manufacturer Chr. Winther expanded his business. The organ building shop was housed in an old dismantled mill in Nørrebro, Copenhagen. The first task was the building of a six-voice organ for Harboøre Kirke. This work had been started by an accredited organ builder but never finished, so in fact, it was a whole new instrument. Winther and Frobenius continued to work on two smaller organs, and then they got a contract for the construction of two larger organs (17 and 22 voices) in Godthaabskirken and Gustafskyrken (the Swedish church in Copenhagen). This way, a door was opened for new and larger tasks, including organs to Aalborg Vor Frue Kirke and Budolfi Kirke (Aalborg Cathedral). The organs were all personal victories for Theodor and within a few years, the name Frobenius was associated with high quality. In 1914, Theodor was taken up as a partner in the firm, which now was named Chr. Winther & Th. Frobenius Church Organ Factory. The old mill become too small, and the growing company therefore moved to larger workshops in Classensgade, Copenhagen. Already in 1917, it was clear that it was natural to separate the organ production from the piano company. The administrative cooperation was terminated, and Theodor Frobenius became the sole owner. In 1926 the company was moved to Kgs. Lyngby, where it resided for the next 92 years, and made more than 900 new organs. Since 2018, Frobenius Orgelbyggeri has resided in our new, modern workshop in Birkerød outside Copenhagen.




Mahikari Grand Shrine, Takayama Japan
Mahikari Grand Shrine, Takayama Japan- Original Concept Art
The Frobenius Family
Theodore Frobenius was happy that all three of his children chose to spend their working lives as organ builders. Under the leadership of Walther and Erik, the company was converted into a public limited company and was named Th. Frobenius & Sønner (Frobenius & Sons) A/S. Erik was responsible for the voicing and the tonal quality of the instruments while Rita, over a lifetime, worked with the financial details of production and services. The generational change in the company did not mean that Theodor left his profession; even in his very old age he stood faithfully every day, and often late into the evening, in the workshop where he prepared pipes for their final voicing. With extreme care he made the pipes ready for the final tonal adjustment which would take place in the church.

Theodor Frobenius died in 1972. Rita Schepeler died in 2001, Erik Frobenius passed away in 2002, and
Walther Frobenius followed him in 2007.




Theodor Frobenius - 1953
Erik Frobenius - 1952 Rita Schepeler -1953




in June of 1952
Erik Frobenius (left) - 1939 Walter Frobenius on the right, with two co-workers  -1952

Frobenius Foundation / Leadership
Where succession after Theodor had been straightforward, there was no immediate possibility for a third Frobenius generation to take over the company and family tradition. Rita and Erik therefore created a foundation 'Frobeniusfonden', which took over the shares and ownership of the company. Organ builder Henning Jensen (former founder and owner of Fyns Orgelbyggeri) became the CEO of Frobenius. Since 2017, organ builder Eskild Momme has led the company as CEO.






Opus 1000. -1998
the Kirk of the Canongate, Edinburgh's Old Town, in Scotland

World Famous Frobenius organ in Queen's College
Chapel Oxford - England
Oude Tonge, Hervormde Kerk
Holland, 1966



Jensen & Thomsen
In 1996 Frobenius took over the organ builders Jensen & Thomsen, a company founded by two former employees of Frobenius, Knud Jensen and Richard Thomsen. The idea was to complete the work that this organ building had on order, but it turned out that even after the acquisition there were many clients who loved and wanted Jensen & Thomsen organs. So the production continued, and in the next 12 years the company built a number of new instruments. In 2007 the brand was completely discontinued.

Organ Builder Carsten Lund
Frobenius took over this company in 2010. As in the case of Jensen & Thomsen, there was still demand for organs from Carsten Lund, so the production continued. In the following 7 years, 6 new Carsten Lund instruments were delivered in Denmark and Norway. The last Carsten Lund organ was delivered to Jevnaker in Norway in 2017.


on the first floor of the workshop in Kongens Lyngby where the company was from 1926 until 2018

Moving of the Company
After 92 years the company moved the production and headquarters from Kongens Lyngby. The new place is not far away, just 14 km (8.7 miles) more to the north, in the industrial area of the city of Birkerød. The production and maintenance of the organs continues according to our traditions, as our high-quality standards require.


Part of the wood processing floor in Birkerød


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Contact:
Tel.: +45 45870755            
E-mail: th@frobenius.nu


Birkerød:
Th. Frobenius & Sønner Orgelbyggeri
Hammerbakken 20.
3460 Birkeroed
Denmark

CVR.Nr: 11845118

Horsens:
Th. Frobenius & Sønner Orgelbyggeri
Grønlandsvej 9J
8700 Horsens
Denmark
CVR.Nr: 11845118
All trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners © Copyright 1909-2024 Th. Frobenius & Sønner Orgelbyggeri A/S.,  All rights reserved.