Jan Henrik Nitter Hansen (1801–1879) was a Norwegian businessman and politician. He was born at Døsen in the parish of Luster 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 ...

, Norway. He later relocated to the village of

Lærdalsøyri Lærdalsøyri is the administrative centre of Lærdal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located along the Lærdalselvi river where it empties into the Lærdalsfjorden, a branch off of the main Sognefjorden. The village is l ...

, and became the most significant merchant and landowner there.Jan Henrik Nitter Hansen
at the Sogn og Fjordane County Encyclopedia ( Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) Much of his real estate was bought at an

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

in 1828. He also bought a number of ships, which were kept in traffic between

Lofoten Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolv� ...

and 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 ...

. In 1858, he founded the transport company Nordre Bergenhus Amts Dampskibe (later known as ''Fylkesbaatane i Sogn og Fjordane'') together with mayor Harald Ulrik Sverdrup and jurist Michael Aubert. He was also director of the local

savings bank A savings bank is a financial institution whose primary purpose is accepting savings deposits and paying interest on those deposits. They originated in Europe during the 18th century with the aim of providing access to savings products to al ...

. Jan Henrik Nitter Hansen was also involved in politics. He served as mayor of

Lærdal Lærdal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the south side of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Lærdalsøyri. The old Filefjell Kon ...

municipality from 1844 to 1845 and 1848 to 1857, and served as a deputy representative to the

Norwegian Parliament The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

in 1851 and 1854. His son Tøger Ravn Jan Henrikson Hansen (b. 1850, Tøger Ravn for short), inherited his business interests, and served as mayor from 1880 to 1881, 1889 to 1901 og 1905 to 1907.

References

1801 births 1879 deaths Deputy members of the Storting Mayors of places in Sogn og Fjordane Norwegian company founders 19th-century Norwegian people People from Lærdal People from Luster, Norway {{Norway-politician-1800s-stub