Lovisa von Plat

Lovisa von Plat (died 1785), also known under the names Platskan (The Plat woman) and Moster von Platen (Aunt von Platen) was a Swedish brothel owner and procurer, active in Stockholm from the 1740s until her death. She belonged to the most successful of her trade and became a known figure of her time, mentioned in memoirs, diaries and literature.

Lovisa von Plat was the professional name for Helena Fahlberg. She married a grenadier sergeant Cretsmer in 1757. Lovisa von Plat was apparently well established as a procurer already in the 1740s. In 1747, she was pointed out by the prostitute Helena Bohman, at one point employed in her brothel, but von Plat went free despite evidence being presented that she owned a brothel. During the reign of Gustav III of Sweden, she owned one the perhaps most successful brothels in Sweden, with clients among the authorities: the other one being the Ahlströms jungfrubur (The Ahlström Maiden cage) owned by former sea captain Magnus Ahlström. Her brothel was referred to as Platskans jungfrubur (The Plat Woman's Maiden Cage).

The poet Johan Henrik Kellgren claimed in a libelous poem from 1778 that Carl Michael Bellman had learn to make love in the Plat Woman's Maiden Cage. She is portrayed several times in the songs of Bellman, as were many other members of the contemporary criminal world of Stockholm. After her death, Bellman wrote a poem over her death; "Platskans överfart på Styx i Oktober 1785" (The passing of The River Styx by the Plat Woman in October 1785).

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