Harboe Galthen Meulengracht (10 February 1767 – 27 May 1853) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

merchant and shipowner in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

who was appointed to the Danish

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

and was purveyor to the royal household.

Biography

Meulengracht was born in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

to Lars Christian Meulengracht and Marie Madsdatter Brøchner Galthen. He had two brothers, Mads Galthen Meulengracht and NN Meulengracht. He grew up in the Aarhus Mill, located at Vester Allé where

Mølleparken Mølleparken (Lit. The Mill Park) is a park in the city of Aarhus located in Midtbyen. Mølleparken was constructed in 1926 where the, by then obsolete, mills of the city had been situated by the river since 1289. Today the park lies by the Aarhus ...

is placed nowadays, which was owned by his parents. In 1769, when Harboe was 2 years old, his father committed suicide by drowning himself in the mill pond due to economic problems. Haboe worked as a trader in the

ironmongery Ironmongery originally referred, first, to the manufacture of iron goods and, second, to the place of sale of such items for domestic rather than industrial use. In both contexts, the term has expanded to include items made of steel, aluminium ...

business, partnering with skipper Peder Larsen. In 1792, he married Maren Jensdatter Schmidt, a daughter of a local merchant, and in 1794 Peder Larsen married the sister to Meulengracht's wife, Dorothea Sophie Schmidt (1776-1850). That same year, at the age of 27, Harboe obtained

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

to Aarhus and the two brother-in-laws ended their business partnership as well. Det Hvide Palæ

Meulengracht branched into international shipping, including Brazil and the Greenland

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

industry, and in 1809, he financed the construction of the Badstuegade 1H warehouse.

Whale oil Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. Whale oil from the bowhead whale was sometimes known as train oil, which comes from the Dutch word ''traan'' ("tears, tear" or "drop"). Sperm oil, a special kind of oil obtained from the ...

was used for street lighting in those days and it could be a most profitable business. 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 ...

in Europe, and Denmark, put a damper on the economies and trading and in 1816 Meulengracht lost a ship in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

. Overall, however, his business went so well that in the same year he sold his shop and house in

Vestergade Vestergade ( lit. "West Street") is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, linking Gammeltorv in the northeast with the City Hall Square in the southwest. The street defines the southern boundary of Copenhagen's Latin Quarter. Most of the build ...

and moved into a brand new, most expensive and impressive mansion. This mansion was the now listed Det Meulengrachtske Palæ (The Meulengracht Mansion), also known as Det Hvide Palæ (The White Mansion), at the central square of at

Lille Torv Lille Torv ( lit. Little Square) is a cobbled public square located in the Indre By neighborhood in Aarhus, Denmark. It is situated between the squares of Store Torv and Immervad in the historic Latin Quarter neighborhood and it is one of the old ...

. Originally, however, the mansion was yellow and with only three floor counts, and a roof, not the four of today. The mansion was expanded in 1840, 1860 and 1907, and now presents itself in the architectural

Empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 durin ...

. Soon after the Meulengracht family moved into their new mansion at Lille Torv 2, it became a place to visit for the bourgeoisie and well-to-do socialites, including Danish royalty. Especially

King Christian VIII Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814. Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick, a younger son of King Frederic ...

, King Frederik II, Prince Ferdinand, Princess Caroline and

Countess Danner Louise Christine Rasmussen, also known as ''Countess Danner'' (21 April 1815 – 6 March 1874), was a Danish ballet dancer and stage actor. She was the mistress and later the morganatic spouse of King Frederick VII of Denmark. She was not a queen ...

frequently stayed there. Meulengracht's business became one of the largest in Aarhus and Harboe co-founded ''Kronprindsen's Klub'' (The Crown Prince's Club), a literary debate club for royalty and local members of the upper class, of which Meulengracht became an honorary member. Harboe Meulengracht initiated a lineage of prominent businessmen, politicians and land owners in Aarhus which lasted into the early 20th century. Harboe fathered 10 children, including Lars Christian Meulengracht (1793-1836) who later came to take over his father's business and Dorothea Sophie Schmidt (1797-1881) who married Johannes Friis (1797-1877).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meulengracht, Harboe 1767 births 1853 deaths 18th-century Danish businesspeople 19th-century Danish businesspeople Danish merchants Danish businesspeople in shipping Burials in Aarhus City Hall Park People from Aarhus