The house is named for the wealthy Skien merchant Johan Andreas Altenburg (1763–1824), Henrik Ibsen's maternal grandfather, who was most likely its first owner.
[1] [2] He was a shipowner, timber merchant and owned a liquor distillery at Lundetangen.
Altenburggården had no garden, but the Altenburg family owned a farm outside the city, Århus.
Johan Andreas Altenburg was married to Hedevig Christine Paus (1763–1848), and after her husband's death she became the owner of the house in 1824.
Hedevig's father Cornelius Paus (civil servant) moved into the house in the late 18th century and died there in 1799.