Margareta Huitfeldt (5 November 1608 – 16 November 1683) 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 the ...

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

noblewoman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

, estate owner and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. She was the prime benefactor of

Hvitfeldtska gymnasiet Hvitfeldtska Gymnasiet, the "Hvitfeldtska High School" ( gymnasium), is in central Gothenburg, Sweden. The school was founded in 1647 by Queen Kristina and is the largest in Gothenburg. It was originally called "''Göteborgs gymnasium''" and lat ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, Sweden.

Biography

Margareta Huitfeldt was born at the Skjelbred farm in the parish of

Fiskum Fiskum is a parish in the municipality Øvre Eiker in Buskerud, Norway. The parish name comes from the farm Fiskum. In the 17th century, Fiskum Manor (''Fiskum gård'') was a nobleman's estate. Among the owners were Governor-general Jens ...

in the district of

Eiker Eiker is a traditional district in the county of Buskerud, Norway. History Eiker consists of the municipalities of Nedre Eiker and Øvre Eiker. The area is located in the southern part of Buskerud county. Eiker is an agricultural area with a lo ...

Buskerud Buskerud () is a former county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardan ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. She was the only child of the

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 a ...

noble Hartvig Andersen Huitfeldt (1582-1637) and Norwegian noble Bente Jonsdotter Schack (ca.1594-1622). In 1635, she married Danish noble Thomas Iverssön Dyre (1605–1651). Of their three children, only their son Iver Dyre (1644-1663) lived past infancy. She became one of the greatest land owners in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

as the

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...

of her parents and her spouse. Most of her properties were situated in

Bohuslän Bohuslän (; da, Bohuslen; no, Båhuslen) is a Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea ...

, at that time a province of Norway. Her principal holdings included Skjelbred in

and her residence Sundsby Manor (''Sundsby säteri'') in

Sundsby Sundsby is a protected area located on the island of Mjörn at Tjörn Municipality in Bohuslän, Sweden. This is the site of Sundsby Manor (''Sundsby säteri''). Sundsby säteri Sundsby dates to the Middle Ages and was first mentioned in ...

is located on the island of Mjörn in the parish of Valla in Bohuslän. She had inherited the property in 1625 following the death of her relative, Norwegian Chancellor Anders Lauritsson Green (ca. 1550-1614). She and her husband further expanded the estate through the purchase of adjacent property and built an extensive estate complex. With time, her holdings came to include properties in Skee parish at

Fiskebäckskil Fiskebäckskil is a locality in Lysekil Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden, at the mouth of the Gullmarn fjord. It had 379 inhabitants in 2010. Once primarily a fishing community, it transformed into a shipping community in the 19th ce ...

, at Åby in Tossene parish and on

Hisingen Hisingen () is the fifth-largest island of Sweden (after Gotland, Öland, Södertörn and Orust), with an area of . It is a river island, formed by the split of the Göta Älv at Bohus, and is defined to the east and south by the main arm of tha ...

as well as sizable portions of

Tjörn Tjörn () is the sixth largest island in Sweden, located on the Swedish West coast in the province of Bohuslän. The area of the island is , and the area of the municipality is . The population, as of 2017, was 15,774 people. Geography Tjörn i ...

Legacy

Her husband Thomas Dyre died in 1651 and her surviving son Iver Dyre in 1663. Margareta Huitfeldt died in 1683 and was buried at Valla Church. Following the death of her son, she had made a notable

donation A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs such as blo ...

providing payment for the schooling of students from Bohuslän. Upon her own death, her estate was put under the protection of the

Swedish Crown The Swedish Crown ( pl, Korona Szwedzka), also known as the "Purchased Crown" (''Zakupiona Korona''), was a part of the Polish Crown Jewels. History The crown was made for King Sigismund II Augustus. After Sigismund's death, it was pawned to Gi ...

. Her will included a legacy for Valla Church. Her will provided for the larger part of her estate to be donated to Göteborgs gymnasium in

which Queen Kristina of Sweden had originally founded in 1647. The school would later be renamed

in her honor.

References

Other sources

Beata Losman Wendela Beata Losman (née Hammarskjöld, b. 27 November 1938) is a Swedish historian and archivist. Biography Beata Hammarskjöld, later Losman through marriage, was born 27 November 1938 in Malmö. She is the daughter of the physician Sven Ham ...

(1984
''Margareta Huitfeldt. En biografi''
(Göteborg: Kungl och Hvitfeldtska Stipendieinrättningen)

External links

Hvitfeldtska Gymnasiet website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huitfeldt, Margareta 1608 births 1683 deaths People from Buskerud Norwegian landowners Norwegian philanthropists Swedish people of Norwegian descent 17th-century Norwegian nobility History of Bohuslän 17th-century Norwegian businesswomen 17th-century philanthropists Huitfeldt family 17th-century women landowners 17th-century Swedish landowners

Biography

Legacy

References

Other sources

Further reading

External links