Karoline Bjørnson (née Reimers, 1 December 1835 – 27 June 1934) was a Norwegian actress. She is best known as the wife and supporter of poet, playwright, popular speaker and
Nobel laureate Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguishe ...
.
Biography
Karoline Johanne Elisabeth Reimers was born at Etne in
Hordaland
Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...
and grew up in
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...
, Norway. She was the daughter of Rasmus Helt Reimers (1801–1884) and Marie Jahn (1806–1841). The Reimers and Jahn families had originally immigrated from
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. She became a student at the
Kristiania norske Theater from 1854. In 1858 she was given a role in a play at
Det Norske Theater in Bergen, and then joined the theater on a tour to
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
.
She was married to Bjørnstären Bjørnson from 1858 and to his death in 1910. She was the model for several of Bjørnson's literary women figures, and helping out with articles and other literary works. The figures "Klara Sang" and "Tora Parsberg" are modelled after her. Several of Bjørnson's poems are dedicated to his wife Karoline.
She was the mother of six children, five of whom lived to adulthood:
*
Bjørn Bjørnson
Bjørn Bjørnson (15 November 1859 – 14 May 1942) was a Norwegian stage actor and theatre director.
Biography
He was born in Christiania, the son of author Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and his wife Karoline Bjørnson. In 1876, he was admitte ...
(1859–1942)
* Einar Bjørnson (1864–1942)
*
Erling Bjørnson (1868–1959)
*
Bergliot Ibsen
Bergliot Ibsen (née Bjørnson; 10 June 1869 – 2 February 1953) was a Norwegian mezzo-soprano singer.
Biography
She was born Bergliot Bjørnson in Christiania (now Oslo, Norway) as the daughter of writer and Nobel laureate Bjørnstjerne Bj ...
(1869–1953)
* Dagny Bjørnson (1871–1872)
* Dagny Bjørnson (1876–1974)
She died at
Aulestad
Aulestad is a farm and writer's house museum in Follebu in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located along County Road Fv255 (''Bjørnsonvegen'') between Vinstra and Hovemoen.
The farm is best known as the former residence of Karoline and Bjørn ...
the family estate in
Follebu
Follebu is a village in Gausdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located along the river Gausa, about to the southeast of the village of Segalstad bru. The town of Lillehammer lies about to the southeast of Follebu.
F ...
,
Oppland
Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The c ...
at 98 years old.
The painting of Bjørnstjerne and Karoline Bjørnson by
Eyolf Soot
Eyolf Soot (24 April 1859 – 30 August 1928) was a Norwegian painter.
Biography
Eyolf Soot was born in Aremark in Østfold, Norway. He was the grandson of engineer and canal builder, Engebret Soot. Large parts of childhood were spent ...
(1859–1928) from 1897 is located in the
National Gallery of Norway
The National Gallery ( no, Nasjonalgalleriet) is a gallery in Oslo, Norway. Since 2003 it is administratively a part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design.
, the admission cost is 100 Norwegian kroner.
History
It was establish ...
.
She was portrayed by
Bernhard Folkestad (1879–1933) in 1912, and by
Olaf Gulbransson
Olaf Leonhard Gulbransson (26 May 1873 in Oslo18 September 1958 in Tegernsee, West Germany) was a Norwegian people, Norwegian artist, Painting, painter and designer. He is probably best known for his caricatures and illustrations.
Biography
From ...
(1873–1958) in 1923.
She was the subject of a biography by author
Øyvind Anker
Øyvind Anker (13 July 1904 – 30 December 1989) was a Norwegian librarian.
Personal life
He was born in Frankfurt am Main as a son of engineer Nils Botvid Anker (1878–1943) and artist and pianist Gudrun Nilssen (1875–1958). He grew up in V ...
(1904–1989) in his book ''Boken om Karoline'' (Oslo: Aschehoug, 1982).
References
External links
Aulestad website
1835 births
1934 deaths
Actors from Bergen
Norwegian stage actresses
19th-century Norwegian actresses
Norwegian people of German descent
{{Norway-actor-stub