Brechtgien "Birgitta" Durell, née ''von Crakow'' or ''von Cracauw'' (1619 in Hoorn, the Netherlands – 1683 in Sweden) was a Swedish (originally Dutch) industrialist. She was the daughter of Carel van Cracauw, the Dutch envoy to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, a rich heiress and related to rich bankers. In 1647, she married the rich Swedish merchant Magnus Durell, who had been ennobled not long before their wedding. She followed her spouse to Sweden and settled on his recently acquired country estate, Vallen Castle near

Laholm Laholm () is a town and the seat of Laholm Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 6,527 inhabitants in 2015. Laholm is, despite its small population, for historical reasons often still referred to as a ''city''. The town is located at the ...

. The family of her spouse had, two years before her wedding, been given a contract from the crown to provide the Swedish army with knitted socks, which had not yet been fulfilled. The contract formally belonged to her spouse, but as he was often absent and busy with his position as country governor and president of Göta Court, Birgitta Durell was given the responsibility to organize and manage this business. Birgitta Durell was described as initiative and thrifty. She organized the entire enterprise around the Vallen Castle. She held lessons for her staff, and then had them in turn give lessons to the surrounding peasantry, in the art of knitting known as ''binge'', which was therefore introduced by her. Next, she imported and bought wool, which was distributed to the peasantry of

Halland Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömseb ...

, who were then employed to knit socks for the army on her commission. The Vallen Castle or Laholm industry was hugely successful, and the contract with the crown belonged to the same family for decades: after the death of Birgitta Durell, it was managed by her daughter Magna Birgitta Durell (1653–1709), then by the widow of her grandson, Clara Sabina Lilliehöök (1686–1758), thereafter by her great granddaughter

Magdalena Eleonora Meck Magdalena may refer to: * Magdalena (given name), a given name derived from Mary Magdalene (including a list of people with the name) Entertainment * Magdalena (comics), an American comic book superheroine * ''Magdalena'' (film), a 1920 Czechos ...

(1717–1766), until the family lost the contract and it was taken over by Charlotta Richardy over a hundred years later.Du Rietz, Anita, Kvinnors entreprenörskap: under 400 år, 1. uppl., Dialogos, Stockholm, 2013

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* Du Rietz, Anita, Kvinnors entreprenörskap: under 400 år, 1. uppl., Dialogos, Stockholm, 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Durell, Birgitta 1619 births 1683 deaths 17th-century Swedish businesswomen People from Hoorn Dutch expatriates in Sweden People of the Swedish Empire Swedish industrialists