Märta Helena Reenstierna

Marta Helena Reenstierna ( born September 16, 1753 Håkantorp, Hov Foer, Älvsborgs County, † January 12, 1841 in Årsta, Brännkyrka ) married Schnell was a Swedish lady of the house, under the name Årstafrun ( mistress of Årsta ) as author was known of diaries that were printed posthumously in 1946. These historical documents are now of great cultural and historical interest, because they give a lifelike and realistic portrait of the former everyday life in Sweden again.

Life

In September 1772, the 19 -year-old Reenstierna came from Småland to Stockholm and shortly thereafter became known to the twice as old captain Christian Henrik von Schnell. A year later they married and moved Reenstierna one on the estate Årsta, which was located in what is now southern Stockholm District Årsta. From born in the course of time, four daughters and four sons, only their son Hans Abraham reached adulthood. Christian von Quick died in 1811 and her remaining son came in 1812, only 32 years old in an accident by drunk to. After these tragic events, she was forced to run the farm until her death in 1841 alone.

1793 Marta Helena began to lead her diary. From 1793 to 1839 she wrote almost daily about life on the farm in Årsta. She reported on feast days and daily life, the course of the year, through joy and sorrow. There are notes about meetings with his friend Carl Michael Bellman and comments about the French Revolution. In the last years of her vision deteriorated and eventually she was almost blind so that she was forced in 1839 to stop writing.

The Årsta diaries comprise several volumes (ca. 5000 pages) and in 1946 passed by her family the Nordic Museum. Copies of the diaries are available in the archive and the library to the public. The diaries were first published in 1946 by Sigurd Erixon Emanuel. They were the basis and inspiration for several historical novels of the writer Lars Widding, including På Årstafruns tid ( German: At the moment the mistress of Årsta ) of 1969.

Diary

• Arstadagboken; journaler från Aren 1793-1839 ( Sigurd Erixon Emanuel (ed.) ), Stockholm, Generalstabens litografiska förlag Institution, 1946-53