Berte Skeel (26 March 1644 – 5 July 1720) was a Danish noble, philanthropist and estate owner. She was the owner of

Selsø Selsø (''Selsø Slot'') is a historic manor house located near Skibby, on the Hornsherred peninsula, Frederikssund Municipality, some west of Copenhagen, Denmark. The estate traces its history back to the 13th century. The current main buildi ...

Manor and co-founder of the '' Roskilde Adelige Jomfrukloster'' at Roskilde Kloster.

Early life and marriage

Berte Skeel was born at

Vallø Vallø was a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in the former Roskilde County on the east coast of the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in East Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 84 km2, and had a total population of 10,337 (200 ...

in Stevns on the island of

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

, Denmark. She was the daughter of

riksråd Riksrådet (in Norwegian and Swedish), Rigsrådet (in Danish) or (English: the Council of the Realm and the Council of the State – sometimes translated as the "Privy Council") is the name of the councils of the Scandinavian countries that rule ...

Christen Skeel (d. 1659) and Birgitte Rud (d. 1653). In 1662, she married the noble Niels Rosenkrantz (1627–1676) and had four children who all died in childhood. Niels Rosenkrantz was a career military officer who in 1672 rose to the rank of Major General and commander of

Kronborg Kronborg is a castle and stronghold in the town of Helsingør, Denmark. Immortalized as Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and was inscribed on the UNES ...

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...

. He was killed in action during the Swedish seizure of Helsingborg during the

Scanian War The Scanian War ( da, Skånske Krig, , sv, Skånska kriget, german: Schonischer Krieg) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, ...

Property

Berte Skeel often resided at the

Manor in

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

which she acquired in 1683. From her father she had also inherited Holbækgård in Rougsø Herred,

Norddjurs Municipality Norddjurs is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in Region Midtjylland in Denmark. It covers an area of 723.15 km² and has a population of 37,839 (1 April 2014). On 1 January 2007 Norddjurs municipality was created as the result of ''Kom ...

. She was for a short time also the owner of Brorupgaard at

Slagelse Slagelse () is a town on Zealand, Denmark. The town is the seat of Slagelse Municipality, and is the biggest town of the municipality. It is located 15 km east of Korsør, 16 km north-east of Skælskør, 33 km south-east of Kalundborg and 14 km ...

but sold it again in 1714.

Philanthropy

As a childless widow, she became known for her charity. She accepted children from the nobility of both genders, she managed soup kitchens for the poor, paid the fees of her tenants when they were unable to, and started several charitable foundations. During 1699, she founded the ''Roskilde Adelige Jomfrukloster'' (formerly St. Catherine's Priory) at Roskilde Kloster which has been referred to as the first Protestant abbey for noblewomen in Denmark. Her companion in this enterprise was Margrethe Ulfeldt (1641-1703), daughter of nobleman Knud Ulfeldt (1609-1657) and widow of naval hero

Niels Juel Niels Juel (8 May 1629 – 8 April 1697) was a Danish admiral and a naval hero. He served as supreme command of the Dano-Norwegian Navy The history of the Danish navy began with the founding of a joint Dano-Norwegian navy on 10 August 1510, ...

(1629–1697).

References

External links

Source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skeel, Berte 1644 births 1720 deaths People from Stevns Municipality Danish nobility Danish philanthropists Danish women philanthropists 17th-century Danish women landowners 17th-century Danish landowners 18th-century Danish women landowners 18th-century Danish landowners Skeel family

Early life and marriage

Property

Philanthropy

See also

References

External links