Maria Sofia De la Gardie

Maria Sofia De la Gardie (1627 – 22 August 1694) was a Swedish noble, countess, courtier, banker and industrialist entrepreneur.

With some exceptions, such as Ebba Sparre, lady Jane Ruthven and Louise van der Nooth, Christina did not show any interest in her female courtiers, and generally mentions them only to express contempt over their femininity and portray herself as more masculine than them.

After the abdication of Christina in 1654, Maria Sofia left court to devote her life to her industrial interests, for which she has become known in history.

Maria Sofia De la Gardie resided in Tyresö Palace, from where she managed her estates around the Baltic Sea.

[4] Maria Sofia De la Gardie took part in the pacification of Skåne by acquiring several estates there after it had been incorporated into Sweden in 1658.

During the famous Katarina witch trials in 1676, the main witness Lisbeth Carlsdotter, inspired by the Gävle-Boy, tried to implicate her and her sister-in-law Maria Eufrosyne for witchcraft.

This accusation was not taken seriously and never brought to trial, but rather, it damaged the credibility of the witness to such a point which eventually led to the end of the whole witch hunt.

At the Great Reduction of King Charles XI of Sweden in the 1680s, most of her and her brothers' property was confiscated by the crown, something which affected her deeply.