Jørgen Olufsen was a Danish politician. Olufsen built
Jørgen Olufsen's House, Denmark's best preserved merchant's mansion in the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
style. The son of the
Horsens
Horsens () is a city on the east coast of the Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 64,418 (1 January 2025) and the municipality's population is 97,921 (), making it the List of cities and ...
merchant, Hans Felthuus, and his wife, Sidsel Jørgensdatter, he was named after his grandfather, Jørgen Olufsen, who was mayor of Horsens. He moved to
Aalborg
Aalborg or Ålborg ( , , ) is Denmark's List of cities and towns in Denmark, fourth largest urban settlement (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban populati ...
where he married Maren Pops, the daughter of Mayor Povl Pops.
Olufsen younger half-brother, the merchant
Jens Bang, built his own mansion,
Jens Bang's House.
Olufsen served as
town councillor in 1598 and became mayor of Aalborg in 1618. Olufsen's term as mayor was set with difficulties. In 1624, he was confronted with a peasants' revolt as a result of hard times and the risk of starvation. When the leader of the revolt escaped from prison, Olufsen was dismissed by order of the king in 1625. In 1627, during the
Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...
, German troops occupied Aalborg, inciting Olufsen to flee to Norway with his family until he could return two years later.
References
Politicians from Aalborg
{{Denmark-politician-stub