Bjarne Kroepelien

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bjarne Kroepelien (born May 3, 1890 in Bergen , † April 28, 1966 in Oslo ) was a Norwegian wine merchant and author, but mainly known for his extensive collection of literature on the Polynesian Islands. Thor Heyerdahl's studies of Polynesia began with access to Kroepelien's library.

Life

Bjarne was the eldest of four children of the married couple Jakob and Dagny Kroepelien. His father was a grocer and wine dealer, which also determined the development of the son, who initially wanted to prove himself overseas: In 1908 he went to Chicago, where he was employed for a year in a railroad company. Returned to Bergen in 1909, he worked in a trading office.

In 1917, however, the adventurous young man traveled to Tahiti , where he fell in love with the beautiful Tuimata and married her according to local custom. Later both were adopted by the most powerful chief on the island, Teriieroo, chief of Papenoo .

When the Spanish flu reached Tahiti in 1918, it killed a third of the population, including Tuimata. Together with Tuimata and in the end alone, Kroepelien took care of the care of the sick and the funeral of the deceased, which earned him a French Order of Merit.

In 1919 Kroepelien returned to Norway and settled in Oslo. Although he never traveled to Polynesia again, he lived in constant memory of his dead love and never remarried. He wrote one of his books about Tuimata and also built what is probably the largest private library on the South Seas, which last comprised at least 4,500 works. The collection was bought by the University Library of Oslo University from Kroepelien's estate and is currently in the Kon-Tiki Museum , which also contributed to the cost.

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kroepelien, Bjarne
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian wine merchant, author and book collector
DATE OF BIRTH May 3, 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH Mountains
DATE OF DEATH April 28, 1966
Place of death Oslo