Christina Piper
Christina Piper, née Törnflycht (Stockholm 1673 - Krageholm, Scania, 1752) was a Swedish countess, Companyleader, landowner and entrepreneur, married to the statesman and military count Carl Piper. Christina Piper became foremost known for her role as an entrepreneur: during the captivity of her spouse as a Russian prisoner of war, followed by her widowhood, she took the responsibility of the family estate. She became such a successful landowner that she is remembered as one of the most notable female entrepreneurs in Scandinavia of her time, and as the greatest builders in the Scanian history.
Biography
Christina Törnflycht was the daughter of councillor Olof Törne and Margareta Andersen: her father was ennobled Törnflycht, and her brothers Olof and Michael became count and baron respectively. In 1690, she married the ennobled count Carl Piper. Her spouse was also the stepbrother of her father. The couple had eight children. In 1700, her spouse left the country to participate in the Great Northern War. During her husband's absence, she took control over the family affairs. She took a great interest in the business, approved and expanded the family estates. In 1706, when Carl Piper announced that he would be returning home, she visited him in Germany and convinced him to remain in service with the army. In 1709, she was a part of the group consisting of herself, Arvid Horn, the queen dowager's priest Molin, Beata Sparre, and Märta Berendes who evicted Anna Catharina von Bärfelt from court by forming an alliance with Carl Gyllenstierna.
When Carl Piper was taken prisoner by the Russians in 1716, she managed negotiations with the government to trade her spouse for Russians prisoners in Sweden, which however did not succeed. According to contemporary unconfirmed rumours, she did in fact not wish for him to return, as she liked the independence she had in his absence.
Christina Piper are described as stingy and was rumoured to accept bribes from supplicants. In 1712, she moved from the capital to her estates in Scania because of the costs. She acquired a great deal of additional estates to the ones she already had, and became known as the most important builder in the history of Scania. She owned and managed the estates Krageholm, Björnstorp and Östra Torup. In 1725, she acquired and estate in Andrarum, which she made the biggest producer of Alum in Scania, with 900 employees. She created schools, retirement homes, a prison, a court and hospitals for her employees; she also had a coin factory made, which produced coins with the stamp of her initials, "C.P.", which were only possible to use in the shops at her estate. Upon this estate, she had the manor Christinehof built (1740). Christina Piper also had six so called "fideikomiss" founded, estates which could not be sold but could only be inherited.