Maria Beata Catharina Henschen, also von Bergen (26 March 1840 – 30 May 1927) was a Swedish school director. She founded

Uppsala högre elementarläroverk för flickor Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the capital Stockholm, it is ...

('Uppsala Higher Elementary College for Girls') in 1865.

Biography

Maria Henschen was born in Uppsala in 1840 and was the daughter of jurist

Lars Vilhelm Henschen Lars Vilhelm Henschen (1 June 1805 – 27 January 1885) was a Swedish jurist and politician and involved in the free church movement. He was the father of doctor Salomon Eberhard Henschen, educator Maria Henschen (von Bergen), and publicist , a ...

and Augusta . Henschen had five siblings, Johan Henschen (1837), publicist (1842–1925), Josef Henschen (1843), Esaias Henschen (1845), and doctor

Salomon Eberhard Henschen Salomon Eberhard Henschen (28 February 1847 – 16 December 1930) was a Swedish doctor, professor and neurologist. Biography Background and education Henschen was born in Uppsala, Sweden. He was the son of Lars Wilhelm Henschen (1805–1885) ...

(1847–1930).Sofia Sjöborgs lefnad: Avskrift av Sofias handskrivna anteckningar, ingående i det Henschenska släktarkivet på Uppsala Universitetsbibliotek
. ofia Sjöborg's life: Transcript of Sofia's handwritten notes, included in the Henschen family archive at Uppsala University Library.pp. 116–117. She was educated at

Cecilia Fryxell Ulrica Cecilia Fryxell (14 August 1806 – 6 May 1883) was a Swedish educator and principal, regarded as a pioneer within the education of girls in Sweden. The girls' school in Sweden from the mid-19th century onward was influenced by her method ...

's school at Rostad, and then also taught there between 1861 and 1865, also taking several study trips abroad. She studied French, German and English, and for a time also worked as a

governess A governess is a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching; depending on terms of their employment, they may or ma ...

. In 1865 she founded a girls' school in Uppsala, called ('the Henschen Girls' School') after her. The school became a pioneering institution in Sweden. Her brother Salomon taught natural sciences early on and established a small museum. In 1870, the school was taken over by an association, relocated and renamed or ''

''. However, Henschen continued to finance the school and remained as its director until her marriage in 1878, when she was succeeded by Maria Alexandersson. That year she married vicar Carl Camillus Oldenburg, which her family was against; the marriage was unhappy from the beginning and ended in divorce in 1881. In 1887 she married wholesaler Gustaf von Bergen (1842–1904) and started using the surname von Bergen; however, she is more commonly known by her maiden name. was also the head of a company producing

malt Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as "malting". Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar, ...

for medical purposes. In Salomon's letters, von Bergen is said to have beaten Henschen and spent all her money, leaving her penniless. Together with her brother in law , she was involved in

spiritism Spiritism may refer to: Religion * Espiritismo, a Latin American and Caribbean belief that evolved and less evolved spirits can affect health, luck and other aspects of human life * Kardecist spiritism, a new religious movement established in ...

and

occultism The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mystic ...

, also helping found ('the Association for Psychic Research'). Henschen was an assistant to women's rights pioneer

Sophie Adlersparre Carin Sophie Adlersparre (née Leijonhufvud; 6 July 1823 – 27 June 1895), known by her pen-name Esselde, was a Swedish feminist, writer and publisher who was one of the pioneers of the 19th-century women's rights movement in Sweden. She wa ...

. She was one of the founders of the women's association

Nya Idun ('New Idun') is a Swedish cultural association for women founded in 1885, originally as a female counterpart to ('the Idun Society'). Its aim was to "gather educated women in the Stockholm area for informal gatherings". Activity was founded ...

in 1885. She also contributed to the Fredrika Bremer Association's feminist periodical ''Dagny'' and worked as its editorial secretary. Upon receiving a submission by the then-unknown writer

Selma Lagerlöf Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish writer. She published her first novel, ''Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she was ...

, she noted, "Here there is not only talent, here there is genius". Henschen published and the journal . Henschen often had a strained relationship with her family; she has been described as "very bizarre". She considered herself a financial expert; however, she was primarily supported by borrowing money from family, while at the same time being very critical of them and accusing them of stealing money. Her behavior while living in boarding houses, including talking aloud to spirits at night, shouting about devils, and getting in fights, led to her eviction. Several years before her death, Salomon wrote in frustration, "may she soon go away, for her wild performances everywhere make it impossible to provide her with a roof over her head." He had no contact with her for several years, while their brother Josef attempted to have her declared incompetent. Some family members took her behavior as a result of her interest in occultism. Towards the end of her life, she was supported financially through a pension from the school. She died on 30 May 1927 in Stockholm. At that time, Salomon said, "her change of mind towards the end has softened the sad memory I have of her." Her funeral was attended by her friends and Lydia and , as well as family. She is buried in

Uppsala old cemetery Uppsala Old Cemetery () is a cemetery in Uppsala, Sweden. In July 2024, about 20 grave sites at Uppsala Old Cemetery were vandalized (overturned gravestones, broken grave lanterns and destroyed flower arrangements). Notable burials * Greta A ...

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * ''

Nordisk Familjebok (, 'Nordic Family Book') is a Swedish language, Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. The public domain edit ...

'', second edition with supplement * ''

Svensk Uppslagsbok ''Svensk uppslagsbok'' is a Swedish encyclopedia published between 1929 and 1955, in two editions. First edition The first edition was started in 1929 by ''Baltiska förlaget AB'', but publishing was taken over by ''Svensk uppslagsbok AB'' in 1 ...

'', first edition (1935– ) * ''Bonniers Konversationslexikon'', second edition (1950– ) * ''

Nationalencyklopedin (; "The National Encyclopedia" in English), abbreviated NE, is a comprehensive contemporary Swedish-language encyclopedia with several hundred thousand articles. It is available both online and via a printed version. History The project was ...

'' * * *

External links

Maria Henschen, photographs ca. 1860–1886
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henschen, Maria 1840 births 1927 deaths 19th-century Swedish educators Heads of schools in Sweden Swedish governesses Burials at Uppsala old cemetery Members of Nya Idun