Johan Andreas Altenburg

Johan Andreas Altenburg (1763–1824) was a Norwegian merchant and shipowner. He belonged to the patriciate of the port town of Skien and was the maternal grandfather of Henrik Ibsen.[1]

Johan Andreas Altenburg

Johan Andreas Altenburg no. 3 from right, with wife Hedevig, daughter Marichen Altenburg and other relatives, late 1810s

Altenburg was born at Lille Ulefos, in Telemark, Norway. He was the son of sawmill manager Diderik Altenburg (1719–1766) and Marichen Johansdatter Barth (1737–1769). His parents died early. He was originally a ship's captain, but stopped sailing at a relatively young age. Altenburg owned several ships, a farm and a large brewery in the community of Bratsberg.[2]

He married Hedevig Christine Paus (1763–1848), a sister of shipowner Ole Paus and Martha Paus (married Blom). His sister, Kristine Cathrine Ploug, lived with him and his family following the death of her husband in 1799. He was the father of Marichen Altenburg (1799–1869) and thus the maternal grandfather of playwright Henrik Ibsen. Following his death and his daughter's marriage to Knud Ibsen in 1825, his considerable fortune passed to his son-in-law, who however went almost bankrupt due to failed speculations in the mid-1830s. Almost the entire family fortune was lost by 1835. The Ibsen family had lived at the stately Altenburg Manor in central Skien, until Knud Ibsen's bankruptcy force them to move. The Altenburg Manor burned to the ground in the 1886 fire which also reduced much of Skien to ruins in 1886 after which the center of town was rebuilt.[3][4]

References

1. Robert Ferguson, Henrik Ibsen; mellom evne og higen (Cappelen, 2006) ISBN 978-82-02-23875-9, s. 16–17
2. Oskar Mosfjeld, Henrik Ibsen og Skien : en biografisk og litteratur-psykologisk studie (Gyldendal, 1949)
3. Vidgis Ystad. "Henrik Ibsen". Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
4. "Skien Kommune". telelaget.com. Retrieved 30 June 2016.