Jørgen von Ansbach

Jørgen von Ansbach (said to have been born 1510 in Germany, probably died 1591 in Skien) was a Norwegian timber merchant and burgomaster of Skien.

He immigrated to Skien, Norway around 1540 as a mining administrator, as King Christian III of Denmark tried to establish a mining industry in Bratsberg. He became a pioneer in the timber industry in the district, and became owner of several sawmills and other properties, and a major timber merchant. In 1568, he became Burgomaster of Skien. His fortune was divided between his five daughters, and their descendants dominated the timber trade in Skien in the 17th century as timber merchants, estate owners and burgomasters.

References

• Ivar Seierstad: Skiens historie. Bind I fra 1184 til ca 1814, Skien 1958, side 129–130 m.fl.
• Øystein Rian: Bratsberg på 1600-tallet. Stat og samfunn i symbiose og konflikt.Oslo 1997, side 109–110 m.fl.
• S. H. Finne-Grønn: "Jørgen v. Ansbach, Engel Jensen og slegten Klouman". In Norsk Personalhistorisk Tidsskrift Vol. 1 (1910) p. 357ff