Jørgen Olufsen was a Danish politician. Olufsen built

Jørgen Olufsen's House Jørgen Olufsen's House ( da, Jørgen Olufsen's Gård) is located in Aalborg, Denmark. Built in 1616 on the Østerå, a wide-mouth stream which became the city's harbour. Its current address is Østerågade 25. The three-storey house is Denmark' ...

, Denmark's best preserved merchant's mansion in the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

style. The son of the

Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 61,074 (1 January 2022) and the municipality's population is 94,443 (), making it the 8th largest city in D ...

merchant, Hans Felthuus, and his wife, Sidsel Jørgensdatter, he was named after his grandfather, Jørgen Olufsen, who was mayor of Horsens. He moved to

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of ...

where he married Maren Pops, the daughter of Mayor Povl Pops. Olufsen younger half-brother, the merchant

Jens Bang Jens Bang (c. 1575 - 20 February 1644) was a wealthy Danish merchant. Biography Born in Horsens, he was the son of merchant Oluf Bang. His older half-brother was the mayor, Jørgen Olufsen. Bang arrived in Aalborg at the age of 22 where he was a ...

, built his own mansion,

Jens Bang's House Jens Bang's House ( da, Jens Bangs Stenhus; translated, "Jens Bang's Stone House") is a landmark in Aalborg, Denmark. Situated on Østerågade in Nytorv square, it was built in 1624 by Jens Bang in Dutch Renaissance style. Noted for its gables ...

. Olufsen served as

town councillor A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural council ...

in 1598 and became mayor of Aalborg in 1618. Olufsen's term as mayor was set with difficulties. In 1624, he was confronted with a peasants' revolt as a result of hard times and the risk of starvation. When the leader of the revolt escaped from prison, Olufsen was dismissed by order of the king in 1625. In 1627, during the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

, German troops occupied Aalborg, inciting Olufsen to flee to Norway with his family until he could return two years later.

References

Politicians from Aalborg {{Denmark-politician-stub