Andreas Buntzen (18 September 1781 - 9 June 1830) was a Danish general trader. His home at Overgaden oven Vandet 54–56 in the

Christianshavn Christianshavn () is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of the city centre by the Inner Harbour, ...

district of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

was a meetingplace for many prominent cultural figures of his time. The author Carl Bernhard has described it in ''Et år i København''.

Early life

Buntzen was born in Copenhagen, the son of Andreas Buntzen (1733-1810) and Marie Margrethe Ache. On 17 June 1772, Andreas Buntzen Sr. had acquired citizenship as a wholesale merchant in Copenhagen. He owned a large property at the corner of Overgaden Oven Vandet and Bådsmandstræde in

. Andreas Buntzen lived in the building with his parents and sister Anne Bolette Buntzen at the time of the 1787 census. The other members of the household were the mother's mother Bolette Achem Anne Cathrine Buurmeister, an office clerk in the family's trading firm, a caretaker and two maids.

Career

Buntzen received a commercial education in his father's trading firm. In 1804, he was made a partner in the firm which from then on traded as Andreas Buntzen & Søn. He continued the operations alone following the father's death in 1810. On 19 June 1812, he acquired citizenship as a wholesale merchant (''grosserer'') in Copenhagen. He was hit hard by the

Gunboat War The Gunboat War (, , Swedish: ''Kanonbåtskriget''; 1807–1814) was a naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and Great Britain supported by Sweden during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing sm ...

and his economic difficulties worsened following the state bankruptcy in 1813. In 1820, the firm went bankrupt. In 1829, he was employed as an official (''kornskriver'') by the Port Authority.

Personal life

On 6 April 1809, Buntzen married to Camilla Cécilie Victoire Du Puy (1790-1871), daughter of the composer Edouard Du Puy (c. 1770–1822) and the actress Julie Henriette Pauline Moulineuf (aka Montroze). He was the father of journalist and editor Andreas Buntzen (1811–80). Their home was a lively meetingplace for members of the extensive Buntzen family. It was also frequented by some of the prominent cultural figures of the time, including

Jens Baggesen Jens Immanuel Baggesen (15 February 1764 – 3 October 1826) was a major Danish poet, librettist, critic, and comic writer. Life Baggesen was born at Korsør on the Danish island of Zealand on February 15, 1764. His parents were very ...

Thomasine Gyllembourg Thomasine may refer to: * Thomasine (given name), an English feminine given name * Thomasine Church, a community of Christians from Kerala, India * Thomasines, early Christian Gnostic or a mysticist sect * Thomasine Rite, used in churches descended ...

(née Buntzen, his cousin) and

Peter Andreas Heiberg Peter Andreas Heiberg (16 November 1758 – 30 April 1841) was a Danish- Norwegian author and philologist. He was born in Vordingborg, Denmark-Norway. The Heiberg ancestry can be traced back to Norway, and has produced a long line of priests, h ...

. Buntzen's sister was married to the military officer Frederik (Friederich) Julius Christian de Saint-Aubain. (1754–1819) and they lived in an apartment at the corner of Torvegade and Strandgade. Their son , who published his books under the pseudonym Carl Bernhard, has described life in the building in ''Et år i København'' ("One year in Copenhagen").

References

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External links

Andreas Buntzen
at geni.com 19th-century Danish businesspeople Businesspeople from Copenhagen 1781 births 1830 deaths Buntzen family