Johan Garmann
Johan Garmann (formerly Gaarmann), called "the Elder", (1583 – 7 February 1651) was a Danish-born merchant, alderman, royal factor, and early prominent settler in Norway during the seventeenth century.
After a temporary stay in Malmö, he received royal permission to travel to Christiania (now Oslo), then part of the Danish-Norwegian realm, where he established himself as a leading figure in trade, provisioning, and administration associated with the emergent Kongsberg Silver Mines.
On 10 January 1628, he secured a royal “leidebrev” (safe passage) from King Christian IV permitting him — accompanied by his wife, children, and brother-in-law, along with a ship and goods— to move to Christiania (Oslo) or elsewhere in Norway.
[7] Nevertheless, he chose to reside and develop his enterprises at Bragernes, an area across the Drammenselva river from Strømsø, and a growing commercial district positioned advantageously for trade and resource acquisition.
[13] By the early 1630s, Garmann had entered the networks of merchants (among them Niels Toller[14]) and suppliers granted contracts with state authorities, military fortifications, and other public projects.
They reportedly had seven children:[1] A recurring, though unsubstantiated, tradition holds that Johan Garmann was the illegitimate son of Frederick II, King of Denmark-Norway, and thus a half-brother of Chrisitan IV.
[17][18] One of the earliest identified references to this account can be traced to a genealogical compilation published by Anna Juliane Hopstock in 1876, which included the Garmann family among a number of other interconnected lineages.
[19] Central to this tradition is the tale of Magdalene (or Margrethe) "med Hanken", a reputedly beautiful woman depicted in a portrait once owned by David Brunchorst Garmann at the Mjelde estate, south of Bergen.
According to family lore, Magdalene was morganatically wed (Danish: til venstre hånd) to one of the Frederick Danish-Norwegian kings, receiving considerable estates, such as Sandviken and Damsgård, and bearing a son who became the progenitor of the Garmann lineage.
[19] With reference to Norwegian clergyman Hans Strøm, historian B. E. Bendixen [no] has identified the woman in the portrait as Margrethe Rasmusdatter Stoud [no], a wealthy landowner whose descendants married into the Garmann family.
