''Eugen'' Peter Alexander Hemberg (9 November 1845 – 14 March 1946) was a Swedish

forester A forester is a person who practises forest management and forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including ecological restoration and management of protected areas. Fores ...

, author, and hunter.

Education and career

Hemberg graduated with a degree in

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

from the Swedish Forestry Institute ("Skogsinstitutet") in 1869. After graduation, he began making long trips to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and the Krkonose mountains, where he explored and documented the local forestry and hunting. Upon Hemberg's return to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in 1874, he began working in forestry management for the Swedish government in

Kalix Kalix (; Kalix dialect: ''Kôlis'' , phonemically ; ; ) is a locality and the seat of the Kalix Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. The name Kalix is believed to originate from the Sami word ''Gáláseatnu'', or "Kalasätno", meaning " ...

and Arljeplog, until 1878. Towards the end of the 19th century, he returned to

to continue documenting its hunting and forestry practices (1898-1899). In 1899, he was promoted to "The State's Forest Engineer" in

Ystad Ystad () is a town and the seat of Ystad Municipality, in Scania County, Sweden. Ystad had 18,350 inhabitants in 2010. The settlement dates from the 11th century and has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre, and tourist attracti ...

and finally to 'head forester' in Kronoberg's county, a role he held for over 15 years, 1904-1920. Hemberg published several important books from his travels, including: ''Jakt- och turistskildringar från ,tsarernas land'' (1896–97) ('Hunt and tourist depictions of the land of the Tzars'), ''Jaktbara däggdjurs gångarter och spår'' (1897–1915) ('Huntable mammals' gaits and tracks'), ''Från Kola och Ural'' (1908) ('From Kola and Ural'). Furthermore, he wrote the following historical fiction: ''Stenåldershorden'' (1923) ('The Stone-Age Hoard'), and ''Varjagerna'' (1924) ('The Wolf Hunters'). Hemberg also published articles in the Russian crown's yearly forestry publication, Forets d'Oural. Hemberg was a passionate hunter, and at age 36 he was made a member of the Swedish Royal Hunting Club after a meeting with Oscar I, who spontaneously decided to surpass the voting procedures normally required for membership. He was also a guest in the Russian Empire's Hunting Club. In 1896,

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...

visited Ystad, and through Dr Anders Eliasson, Hemberg and Strindberg met and developed a friendship over their mutual interest in nature.

Family

Eugen Hemberg was born on 9 November 1845 in

, and died on 14 March 1946 in Växsjö, four months after his 100th birthday. He was the son of the estate owner Fritz Eugen Hemberg and Clara Wilhelmina Åkerblom, and the grandson of

Jöns Peter Hemberg Jöns Peter Hemberg (1763–1834) was a Swedish people, Swedish banker and member of parliament. He founded Skånes Enskilda Bank ("Skåne's Private Bank") in 1830, together with Gustav Berghman, and Gustaf Hagerman, which later merged with Skandin ...

. Upon his father's death he inherited

Smedstorp Castle Smedstorp Castle () is a castle in Tomelilla Municipality, Scania, in southern Sweden. History Smedstorp is one of the older estates in Scania. It was for a long time the seat of the noble Swedish family Bing, between the years 1313–1589. A ...

. Hemberg married Agnes Mathilda Lundgren (1856–1902), who was the daughter of the

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

John Robert Lundgren. Together they had three sons, Robert, Jan, and Arnulf. Upon the death of Agnes Mathilda, Hemberg remarried, Elma, and had a daughter, Edit.

Bibliography

* ''Jakt- och Turistskildringar från Tsarernas land,'' Stockholm, 1896 * ''På obanade stigar : jaktskizzer, sagor och noveller från Lappland,'' Bonnier, Stockholm, 1896 * ''Skandinaviska däggdjurs trampaulor. Monografisk studie,'' Stockholm, 1897 * ''Från Kola och Ural. Vildmarksbilder,'' Stockholm, 1902 * ''Stenåldershorden : De första människorna på Sveriges jord. av Eug nHemberg,'' C. E. Fritze, Stockholm, 1923 * ''Varjagerna : en skildring från hedenhös,'' C. E. Fritze, Stockholm, 1924 * ''En nittioårings minnen : vandringar i kulturens och naturens tempelhallar,'' Scania, Malmö, 1936

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemberg, Eugen 1845 births 1946 deaths Swedish writers Swedish men centenarians People from Ystad