Poul Steenstrup (10 December 1772 – 9 October 1864) was a Norwegian industrialist and politician. He was the founder of the Kongsberg Arms Factory (''Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk'') and served as a representative at the

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly (in Norwegian ''Grunnlovsforsamlingen'', also known as ''Riksforsamlingen'') is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in Norway, that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised t ...

in 1814.

Biography

Poul Steenstrup was born the son of a Danish landowner at Egtved, in

Vejle Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality ('' kommune'') and the ...

, Denmark. He studied surgery and science at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

but did not take the final examination. In 1797, he came to

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 Ha ...

in Norway where he attended the Royal Norwegian Mining Academy (''kongelige norske Mining Academy'') in

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms produ ...

. From 1801 he undertook a three-year scholarship trip to German and Austrian ironworks and factories, principally in

Freiberg Freiberg is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany. It is a so-called ''Große Kreisstadt'' (large county town) and the administrative centre of Mittelsachsen district. Its historic town centre has been placed under heritage c ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Upon returning to Norway, he served as mining inspector at the Kongsberg Silver Mines. He was superintendent and manager of Kongsberg Ironworks (''Kongsberg Jernverk'') from the start of operations in 1809 until it was privatized in 1824. In 1813 he managed to win the backing of Prince Regent Christian Frederik (later Christian VIII of Denmark) to establish Norway's first factory, the Kongsberg Arms Factory (''Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk'') which opened in 1814. He was director of the Kongsberg Silver Mines from 1833 to 1840. Poul Steenstrup represented Kongsberg at the

in 1814. He was associated with the independence party (''Selvstendighetspartiet''). Steenstrup was also a member of the Norwegian Parliament during 1824-1826.

Personal life

Poul Steenstrup was married to Mathea Bernardine Collett (1779-1847), daughter of timber merchant Peter Collett. They were the parents of eight children including Peter Severin Steenstrup.

Honors

He was appointed Knight of the Swedish

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

in 1816.

Memorials

*A bust of Poul Steenstrup was unveiled during 1914. The current location of the bust is at Prestegårdsparken in Kongsberg. *Steenstrups Gate in Kongsberg was also named in his honor.''Paul Steenstrup'' (lokalhistoriewiki.no)
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References

External links

Poul Steenstrup, Kongsberg's Founding FatherKongsberg timeline