Preben von Ahnen (18 September 1606 – 15 November 1675) was a Norwegian civil servant and landowner. Preben von Ahnen was born on the island of

Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...

, off the Pomeranian coast in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. He was a son of Pomeranian nobleman Staffen von Ahnen (born ) and nephew of Claus von Ahnen ( 1560- 1628), who was a bailiff of Sem in

Tønsberg Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative ce ...

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...

and

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 ...

. He was the father of Iver von Ahnen (1659-1722), a Norwegian military officer who served as Governor of

Romsdal Romsdal is a traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal, located between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre. The district of Romsdal comprises Aukra, Fræna, Midsund, Molde, Nesset, Rauma, Sandøy, and Vestnes. It is named after the val ...

. Preben von Ahnen became a sizable landowner as a result of his two marriages. From his first marriage to Else Urne (1595-1643), he acquired ''Dønnesgodset på Helgeland'', an extensive estate located along the coast of

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...

. Through his marriage in 1657 to his second wife, Karine Iversdatter Vind (1626-1705), he became the owner of ''Kaupanger Hovedgård'' in

Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was, up to 1 January 2020, a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the cou ...

. In 1657, he established the

iron foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

Ulefos Jernværk Ulefos Jernværk is an iron foundry located at Ulefoss in the municipality Nome, Norway. It was established in 1657 by Ove Gjedde and Preben von Ahnen. The company produced pig iron until 1877. Wood-burning stove A wood-burning stove (or wood ...

Ulefoss Ulefoss is the administrative centre of Nome municipality in Telemark, Norway, located near the border of Grenland. Its population is 2,699. It occupies both sides of Ulefoss falls on the river Eidselva. Ulefoss is one of Norway's oldest industri ...

in Nome, together with

Ove Gjedde Ove Gjedde (27 December 1594 – 19 December 1660) was a Danish nobleman and Admiral of the Realm (''Rigsadmiral''). He established the Danish colony at Tharangambadi (Danish: ''Trankebar'') and constructed Fort Dansborg as the base for Da ...

. He served for 20 years as bailiff and district governor in

. He retired from public service as county governor of

Bratsberg amt Bratsberg is a name of Norwegian origin and may refer to: People * Harry Bratsberg (also Harry Bratsburg), an American actor and director also known as Harry Morgan Places * Bratsberg, Trøndelag, a village in Trondheim municipality in Trøndelag ...

where he had served from 1669 to 1675.''Ulefos Jernværk'' (Store norske leksikon)
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References

1606 births 1675 deaths German emigrants to Norway Norwegian civil servants Norwegian landowners Norwegian company founders County governors of Norway {{Norway-business-bio-stub