![Altenburg2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Altenburg2.png)
Johan Andreas Altenburg (1763–1824) was a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
merchant
A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...
and
shipowner
A ship-owner is the owner of a merchant vessel (commercial ship) and is involved in the shipping industry. In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and exploits a ship, usually for delivering cargo at a certain frei ...
. He belonged to the
patriciate of the port town of
Skien 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 ...
and was the maternal grandfather of playwright and theatre director
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...
.
Biography
Altenburg was born at
Lille Ulefos, in
Telemark
Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...
, Norway. He was the son of sawmill manager
Diderik Altenburg (1719–1766) and
Marichen Johansdatter Barth (1737–1769). His parents died early. After the death of his father, his mother was married in 1767 to Engebreth Christopher Blom Bertelsen Bomhoff (1737–1800). After his mother's subsequent death, he and his siblings lived with their stepfather.
Johan Altenburg was originally a
ship's captain
A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...
, but stopped sailing at a relatively young age. Altenburg ran a lumber trade, owned several ships, a farm and a large
brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...
in the community of
Bratsberg. He owned Altenburggården, a large manor in the center of Skien, where he lived with his family, and also owned one of Århusgårdene outside Skien, which the family used as a country house.
He married
Hedevig Christine Paus (1763–1848), a sister of shipowner
Ole Paus
Ole Paus (born 9 February 1947; full name ''Ole Christian Paus'') is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, poet and author, who is widely regarded as the foremost troubadour of the contemporary Norwegian ballad tradition ( no, visebølgen). During th ...
and
Martha Paus (married
Blom). His sister,
Kristine Cathrine Ploug Kristine Cathrine Ploug (née Altenburg) (1760–1837), known as Aunt Ploug (''Faster Ploug'' in Norwegian), was a relative of playwright Henrik Ibsen, cited as the influence of some of the characters in his plays, such as The Rat-Wife in ''Little ...
, lived with him and his family following the death of her husband in 1799. He was the father of
Marichen Altenburg
Marichen Cornelia Martine Altenburg (24 April 1799 – 3 June 1869) was the mother of the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen and is known as the model for several characters in some of Ibsen's most famous plays, including Åse in ''Peer Gynt''.Rober ...
(1799–1869) and thus the maternal grandfather of playwright
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...
. Following his death and his daughter's marriage to
Knud Ibsen
Knud Plesner Ibsen (3 October 1797, in Skien – 24 October 1877, in Skien) was a Norwegian merchant from the city of Skien and the father of the playwright Henrik Ibsen. He is widely considered the model for many central characters in his ...
in 1825, his considerable fortune passed to his
son-in-law
Son-in-Law (22 April 1911 – 15 May 1941) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and an influential sire, especially for sport horses.
The National Horseracing Museum says Son-in-Law is "probably the best and most distinguished stayer this count ...
, who however went almost
bankrupt
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...
due to failed speculations in the mid-1830s. Almost the entire family fortune was lost by 1835. The
Ibsen family
Ibsen is a Norwegian family of Danish extraction. Its most famous members are playwright Henrik Ibsen, his son, statesman Sigurd Ibsen, and grandson, pioneer film director Tancred Ibsen. Several other family members have been noted artists.
His ...
had lived at the stately Altenburggården manor in central Skien, until Knud Ibsen's bankruptcy force them to move.
Altenburggården manor burned to the ground in the 1886 citywide fire which also reduced much of Skien to ruins after which the center of town was rebuilt.
[ ]
References
1763 births
1824 deaths
Norwegian businesspeople in shipping
Norwegian merchants
People from Telemark
Ibsen family
19th-century Norwegian businesspeople
18th-century Norwegian businesspeople
{{Norway-business-bio-stub