Margareta Huitfeldt

Margareta Huitfeldt was one of the greatest Scandinavian landowners. She was the only child of the Danish noble Hartvig Huitfeldt and the Norwegian noble Bente Jonsdotter Schack. Margareta inherited their lands and, later, also the lands of her late husband the Danish nobleman Thomas Dyre.

Margareta spent most of her early life on the farm Skjelbred near Kongsberg, Norway. She got married in 1635 and went to live in Bohuslän, were most of her properties were situated. Her husband died in September 1651, and Margareta continued to manage their estates. She became a local power holder, with influential connections to the authorities.

Magareta had three children but all died young. Her third child, Ivar Dyre, went to studies in France, but became ill and died in Montpellier on 14 August 1663. In the next year she made a donation that enabled schooling for 30 students a year in Gothenburg.