Iver Qvistgaard (28 October 1767 8 October 1829) was a Danish civil servant, landowner and mayor of

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 ...

. He owned Aagaard Manor at

Holbæk Holbæk () is a town in Denmark and the seat of Holbæk municipality with a population of 29,608 (1 January 2022).Nærum Nærum () is a suburban district in Rudersdal Municipality in the north outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. Quartered by the Helsingør Motorway running north–south and Skodsborgvej running east–west, Nærum is bounded by Jægersborg Hegn on ...

. He also engaged in a number of other speculative investments on the turbulent property market during 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 ...

Early life and education

Qvistgaard was born at Gjerdrup, the son of Morten Qvistgaard and Martha Qvistgaard (née Rehling). He acquired a degree in Latin and law from the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

in 1789. He then went on a

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

through Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France and England. In 1790–1792, he continued his studies at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

. He published (Gøttingæ, 1792) prior to his departure.

Career

In 1793, after working for some time as a volunteer in the

Danske Kancelli The Danish Chancellery ( da, Danske Kancelli) was an administrative and partially governmental body in Denmark from the 12th century to 1848. Before the Reformation From the 12th century to the Reformation in 1536 its name was simply the Chancel ...

, he was employed as a chancellery secretary in Copenhagen. He unsuccessfully aspired to become a diplomat. On 7 August 1810, Qvistgaard was appointed as real ''

etatsråd was a Danish and Norwegian title, which was conferred by the king until 1909 and entailed a third-class rank in the order of precedence, and thus the right to enroll one's daughters in Gisselfeld Convent and Vemmetofte Convent. It was awarded to ...

''. On 4 September 1816, he was appointed as 2nd vice mayor of Copenhagen. On 31 March 1819, he was appointed as 2nd mayor of Holbæk Amt.

Property

On 18 December 1796, he acquired Aagaard Manor at

Holbæk Holbæk () is a town in Denmark and the seat of Holbæk municipality with a population of 29,608 (1 January 2022).Danish rigsdaler The rigsdaler was the name of several currencies used in Denmark until 1875. The similarly named Reichsthaler, riksdaler and rijksdaalder were used in Germany and Austria-Hungary, Sweden and the Netherlands, respectively. These currencies were ofte ...

. On 22 December 1801, he sold Aagaard for 165,000 rigsdaler to

Joachim Moltke Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocrypha ...

. In 1802, he purchased Wesselsminde in

Nærum Nærum () is a suburban district in Rudersdal Municipality in the north outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. Quartered by the Helsingør Motorway running north–south and Skodsborgvej running east–west, Nærum is bounded by Jægersborg Hegn on ...

from Colbjørnsen (sold in 1808). In 1810, he was part of a consortium that bought part of the Bernstorff Mansion in Copenhagen for 50,000 rigsdaler. The other members of the consortium were Peder Bech, merchant

Just Michael Aagaard Just Michael Aagaard (17 July 1757 – 7 October 1819) was a Danish merchant and '' konditori''-owner in Copenhagen. He served as chair of the Council of 32 Men (later to become the Copenhagen City Council) and was director of Kjøbenhavns ...

, court bookprinter Johan Fred. Schultz and wholesaler

Hans Wassard Hans Wassard (1756–1839) was a Denmark, Danish merchant, landowner and one of Copenhagen's 32 Men. He invested in a number of privateer ships during the Gunboat War. He owned Marienlyst Manor at Vordingborg. Early life and background Wassard wa ...

. On 20 July 1804, they also purchased

Iselingen Iselingen is a manor house and estate located close to Vordingborg on the southern part of Zealand in southeastern Denmark. It takes its name after the Swiss-born merchant Reinhard Iselin who established it in the 1770s. The current main building w ...

for 310,000 rigsdaler from county manager Hans Henrich Peter Reyersen. In 1810, Qvistgaard parted with his share of the Iselingen estate. It was subsequently divided between Aagaard (Idelingen) and Wassard (

Marienlyst Manor Marienlyst Manor is a manor house and estate located on the southernmost part of Zealand, overlooking the Færgestrøm, Vordingborg Municipality, in southeastern Denmark. Formerly a farm under Iselingen, it was incorporated as an independent man ...

Personal life

On 19 September 1796, Qvistgaard married Ellen Maria Dinesen (1777–1827), daughter of former town bailiff and councilman 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 ...

Anders Dinesen (died 1793) and Severine Dorothea Kraft. Her brother Jens Kraft Dinesen owned

Gyldenholm Manor Gyldenholm Manor is a manor house located 10 km south-east of Slagelse, between Gimlinge and Sørbymagle, Slagelse Municipality, some 70 kilometres southwest of Copenhagen, Denmark. The history of the estate dates back to 1774 but the current ...

. Qvistgaard was a member of the Royal Danish Society of National History (). He died on 8 October 1829 at Guldagergaard.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Iver Qvistgaard
Iver Qvistgaard
at geni.com Mayors of places in Denmark 19th-century Danish landowners