Jørgen Wichfeld (born Jørgen Wichmand, 1 July 1729 – 19 December 1797) was a Danish landowner, industrialist and deputy district judge from

Lolland-Falster Lolland-Falster is a common term for the two islands Lolland and Falster. The islands are only separated by the narrow strait '' Guldborgsund'', and as such have traditionally been grouped together. Both the Gedser-Rostock and Rødby-Puttgarden f ...

who was ennobled by

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

on 23 July 1777. He owned

Engestofte Engestofte is a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical manor house located 6 km (4 mi) east of Maribo, Lolland Municipality, on the island of Lolland in southeastern Denmark. History and architecture Early history The estate was firs ...

on Lolland,

Ulriksdal Ulriksdal Palace () is a royal palace situated on the banks of the Edsviken in the Royal National City Park in Solna Municipality, 6 km north of Stockholm. It was originally called ''Jakobsdal'' for its owner Jacob De la Gardie, who had i ...

, and from 1774 to 1787 also Nordfeld on

Møn Møn () is an island in south-eastern Denmark. Until 1 January 2007, it was a municipality in its own right but it is now part of the municipality of Vordingborg Municipality, Vordingborg, after merging with the former municipalities of Langeb ...

Biography

Jørgen Wichmand was born at

in the island of

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the List of islands of Denmark#List of 100 largest Danish islands, fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Kattegat, Belts and Sund area, it is part of Re ...

as the oldest of two sons of Bertel Wichmand (1677–1732) and Bodil Cathrine Wichmand née From (died 1760). His father was a wealthy merchant from

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 ...

who had acquired the estate on which his son was born in 1727. Wichmand took over Engestofte after his mother's death in 1760. He expanded his holdings by acquiring

in 1766 and also bought Nordfeld on

at auction in 1774 but sold it again in 1787. He obtained a royal license to open a starch and cosmetic powder factory at Engestofte in 1770. Wichmand and his brother Thomas Frederik Wichmand were ennobled by

with the name Wichfeld on 23 July 1777. He was a deputy district judge at Lolland-Falsters landsting in 1769–1787 and was appointed to ''

etatsråd was a Danish and Norwegian title, which was conferred by the king until 1909 and entailed a third-class rank in the order of precedence, and thus the right to enroll one's daughters in Gisselfeld Convent and Vemmetofte Convent. It was awarded to ...

'' in 1779.

Legacy

Wichfeld never married and had no children. On 8 November 1799, he left his two estates to his nephew Henning Wichfeld with an obligation to turn them into a (family foundation).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wichfeld, Jørgen 18th-century Danish nobility 18th-century Danish landowners Danish industrialists 18th-century Danish businesspeople 1729 births 1797 deaths People from Guldborgsund Municipality

Jørgen Jørgen is a Danish, Norwegian, and Faroese masculine given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and different ...