Peter Anton Alfred Hage (31 December 1803 – 6 March 1872) was a

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 ...

merchant, politician, landowner, patron of the arts and philanthropist.

Early life and education

Hage was born in Stege on the island of Møn, the son of merchant Christopher Friedenreich Hage and Christiane Arnette Hage née Just (1778–1866). The Hage family was of Dutch origins and had counted merchants at least since the 17th century. Hage was the brother of Hother Hage and Johannes Dam Hage (1800–1837). Intended for an academic career, he stayed in the household of pastor D. P. Smith in

Horslunde Horslunde is a village on the island of Lolland in south-eastern Denmark. In January 2022 its population was 610. Horslunde is now part of Lolland Municipality and belongs to Region Zealand. Sites of interest in Horslunde include Reventlow-Mus ...

as part of the preparations for his further studies.

Career

Hage was, however, more interested in following in his father's footsteps and therefore joined his company at the age of 16. He showed a remarkable talent for the trade and already became a partner in 1828. When

Hans Puggaard Hans Puggaard (3 September 1788 - 8 April 1866) was a Danish merchant and shipowner who founded H. Puggaard & Co. in 1813. The company became a leading wholesaler of grain and was also active in the market for import of goods such as coffee and e ...

, who was married to Hage's elder sister Bolette, opened a branch in

Nakskov Nakskov is a town in south Denmark. It is situated in Lolland municipality in Region Sjælland on the western coast of the island of Lolland. The town has a population of 12,495 (1 January 2022). To the west is Nakskov Fjord, an inlet from the L ...

in 1862, he employed Hage as its manager. Under Hage's leadership, the company ended up completely dominating the export of grain from the island of Lolland. He also contributed to significantly improving the quality by personally guiding landowners and promoting the best varieties on local exhibitions. In 1841 Hage moved to

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 ...

with his family after Puggaard had invited him to become a partner in the company. Hage contributed to increasing the export of grain to England and also established a large-scale import of

colonial goods In economics, colonial goods are goods imported from European colonies, in particular coffee, tea, spices, rice, sugar, cocoa and chocolate, and tobacco. At a time when food and agriculture represented a relatively large proportion of overall eco ...

. The company owned a large fleet of merchant ships. Hage became one of the most successful merchants of his day but remained an outsider for the business community in Copenhagen.

Property

In 1859, Hage purchased Nivaagaard and several other farms at

Nivå Nivå is a town with a population of 7,997 (1 January 2022)North Zealand. He purchased

Oremandsgaard Oremandsgaard is a manor house and estate located seven kilometres south of Præstø, Vordingborg Municipality, in southeastern Denmark. The estate traces its history back to the 14th century, but the current main building is from 1933. Oremandsg ...

near

Præstø Præstø () is a town with a population of 3,857 (1 January 2022) in Vordingborg Municipality in Region Sjælland on the east coast of the island of Zealand (''Sjælland''). The islands of '' Maderne'', ''Storeholm'', and ''Lilleholm'' are part ...

in 1861. He was also the owner of several estates in Sweden. Hage lived at Kronprinsessegade 20 from 1843 to 1848. He then lived in a now demolished building at Torvegade until 1858, whereafter he moved for a few years first to

Ny Kongensgade Ny Kongensgade (literally "New King's Street) is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, connecting Frederiksholm Canal to H. C. Andersens Boulevard. In the opposite direction, The Prince's Bridge connects the street to Tøjhusgade on Slotsholme ...

6 (1859–1860) and then Bredgade 45 (1861) before taking over the

Harsdorff House The Harsdorff House (''Harsdorffs Hus'') is a historic property located on Kongens Nytorv in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built by Caspar Frederik Harsdorff in 1780 and was in the same time to serve as inspiration for the many uneducated ...

Kongens Nytorv Kongens Nytorv ( lit. "The King's New Square") is a public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was laid out by Christian V in 1670 in connection wit ...

where he lived for the rest of his life 1862–1872).

Personal life

Frederikke Vilhelmine Hage, née Faber, 1836

Hage married Frederikke Vilhelmine Faber (18 February 1810 — 23 December 1891) on 28 August 1840 in Stege Church. He was the father of Johannes Hage (1842–1923), who founded the museum of Nivaagaard, and Alfred Hage (1843–1922). Hage was interested in the arts. His homes in Copenhagen and in Stokkerup on the

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width ...

coast were frequented by writers, artists, politicians and actors. His daughters (of which Johanne and Frederikke Elisabeth were adopted from his wife's first marriage) were all married to prominent cultural figures. Composer Peter Heise married Hage's daughter

Ville ''Ville'' or "town", but its meaning in the Middle Ages was "farm" (from Gallo-Romance VILLA < Latin ''

villa rustica

'') and ...

, sculptor

Vilhelm Bissen Christian Gottlieb Vilhelm Bissen (5 August 1836 – 20 April 1913) was a Danish sculptor. He was also a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts with great influence on the next generation of Danish sculptors and for a while serv ...

married Johanne (Hanne) and poet and politician

Carl Ploug Carl Parmo Ploug (29 October 1813 – 27 October 1894) was a Danish poet, editor and politician. Ploug was born in Kolding, Denmark, to assistant professor and future head instructor Christian Frederik Ploug (1774–1837) and Parmone Caroline n� ...

married Frederikke Elisabeth. Hage commissioned

Constantin Hansen Carl Christian Constantin Hansen (Constantin Hansen) (3 November 1804 – 29 March 1880) was one of the painters associated with the Golden Age of Danish Painting. He was deeply interested in literature and mythology, and inspired by art hist ...

's painting of ''

The Danish Constituent Assembly ''The Danish Constituent Assembly'' (Danish. ''Den Grundlovsgivende Rigsforsamling'') is a monumental oil painting by Constantin Hansen depicting the Danish Constituent Assembly's first meeting on 23 October 1848 at Christiansborg Palace in Co ...

''. It hung in his home until his widow donated it to the Danish state. Hage died on 5 March. He is buried at

Holmens Cemetery Holmen Cemetery ( Danish: Holmens Kirkegård) is the oldest cemetery still in use in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was first located next to the naval Church of Holmen in the city centre but relocated to its current site on Dag Hammarskjölds Allé in t ...

in Copenhagen.

Politics

Hage's niece, Maria Puggaard, was married to

Orla Lehmann Peter Martin Orla Lehmann (15 May 1810 – 13 September 1870) was a Danish statesman, a key figure in the development of Denmark's parliamentary government. He was born in Copenhagen, son of (1775–1856), assessor, later conference councillo ...

; his brother Hother Hage introduced him to other National Liberal leaders. Hage made his homes available to political salons and hosted confidential meetings between leading politicians of the time. He ran as a candidate at a supplementary election in 1851 but was not elected. He was elected to the Danish parliament in Copenhagen from 1852 to 1866 and then 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 ...

from 1868 until his death. He was involved with the work for a constitution for both Denmark and Schlesvig-Holstein in 1855 and the November Constitution in 1864.

References

External links

Alfred Hage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hage, Alfred Danish merchants Danish businesspeople in shipping 19th-century Danish landowners 19th-century Danish businesspeople Businesspeople from Copenhagen Hage family People from Møn 1803 births 1872 deaths