Magdalene Charlotte Hedevig Schimmelmann (10 August 1757 – 2 December 1816) was a Danish noble woman and

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

ist.

Biography

Magdalene Charlotte Schubart was born at Fossum in

Skien, Norway Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsj ...

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Carl Rudolph Schubart (1714–59) and Inger Løvenskiold (1732–1808). On 25 May 1782, she married the statesman Count

Ernst Heinrich von Schimmelmann Ernst Heinrich von Schimmelmann (4 December 1747 – 9 February 1831) was a German-born Danish politician, businessman, nobleman, planter and philanthropist. Early life and career Ernst von Schimmelmann was born in Dresden to Baron Heinrich Car ...

(1747–1831). After the coup d'état against

Ove Høegh-Guldberg Ove Høegh-Guldberg (born ''Guldberg''; 1 September 1731 – 7 February 1808) was a Danish statesman, historian, and ''de facto'' prime minister of Denmark during the reign of the mentally unstable King Christian VII. Biography Guldberg ...

in 1784, he became Minister of Finance until 1813 and later Prime Minister. Her salon was organized according to the French pattern and was renowned abroad. The latest developments in

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

politic Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

s and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

were discussed. She considered it a profession to be a salonist. Her salon gathered

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

s and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

s, and played a part in the country's political scene. It was inspired by a form of "aristocratic

humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

", and by the ideas of the

French revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

in 1789. Her husband opened

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

s, which she protected, and argued for the abolition of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, even though they owned

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s in the Danish

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. The Schimmelmann family became the richest family in Denmark in the 18th century largely due to the sugar trade with the West Indies. Until 1807, her political circle of ministers earned money by trading with countries involved in the

Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, which made her salon considered to be a center of political

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

, which made it unfashionable.

References

External links

Blandt digtere og skydebrødre
article in Danish {{DEFAULTSORT:Schimmelmann, Charlotte 1757 births Danish salon-holders Danish nobility 1816 deaths 18th-century Danish people 19th-century Danish people Danish socialites People from Skien

Biography

See also

References

External links