Christopher Heerfordt (1609 – 29 June 1679) was a Danish pharmacist and botanist of Hungarian origin. He established the pharmacy Svane Apiotek in

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 ...

in 1660.

Biography

Heerfordt was born in Schlossdorff in present day

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. He is first mentioned in Denmark in 1634 when he is granted a property in

Nykøbing Falster Nykøbing Falster (; originally named Nykøbing) is a city on the island of Falster in southern Denmark. It has a population of 16,682 (1 January 2025). Including the satellite town Sundby (Lolland), Sundby on the Lolland side, with a populatio ...

, but was probably by then already court pharmacist for Prince Christian, a position he held until the dissolution of the court in 1652. In 1656 he was granted a royal license to open a pharmacy in Nykøbing Falster (Løbe Apotek). The following year he also opened a pharmacy in

Nakskov Nakskov is a market town on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. The town has a population of 12,200 (1 January 2025) and is the largest town on the island of Lolland. It is located in Lolland municipality in Region Sjælland. Nakskov is situ ...

. In 1660 he obtained a royal license to open Svane Apotek in Copenhagen and ceded his pharmacies in Nykøbing and Nakskov to two sons-in-law. Svaneapotek was then located in the no longer existing street Højbrostræde. He passed Svane Apotek on to a son by the same name in 1873. He died in Nykøbing Falster on 29 June 1679.

Legacy

Heerfordt created a

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...

with 343 sheets which is now kept in the Danish Museum of Natural History. ''Herbarium Danicum sempervivum'', a collection of painted illustrations of 140 plants created at Heerfordt's initiative by two foreign artists, is now kept by the Royal Danish Library. Both works, as well as a third one with plants from Brazil, were gifts from him to Frederick III in c. 1656. Herbarium was also involved in the collection of material for Peder Lauridsen Kylling's ''Viridarium Danicum'' from 1670. He also sponsored the posthumous publication of Anders Arrebo's left

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...

s, ''Torcular Christi''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heerfordt, Christopher 17th-century Danish pharmacists 17th-century Danish botanists Emigrants from the Kingdom of Hungary (pre-1805) Immigrants to Denmark–Norway 1609 births 1679 deaths