Lovisa von Plat
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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.
Life
Lovisa von Plat was the professional name used by 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 as a procurer by the prostitute Helena Bohman, who had been arrested for prostitution and had at one point been employed in her brothel. von Plat, however, went free despite evidence being presented that she owned a brothel.
During the reign of Gustav III of Sweden, she owned and operated the perhaps most successful and famous brothel in Sweden, with clients among the authorities: the most noted rival 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 learned 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).
See also
References
- Kellgren: Hans utveckling fram till segern med Gustaf Wasa 1786. Sverker Ek, Johan Henrik Kellgren, Ingrid Sverker. Natur och kultur, 1965
- Mina kärleksäventyr: En dagbok från sjuttonhundratalet. Gustaf Hallenstierna, Gardar Sahlberg - 1972 - Strängvy
- Frihetstidens kultur. Ewert Wrangel, Arvid Gierow, Bror Hjalmar Olsson. Tidskriftsförlaget Allhem a.-b.
- Samlade skrifter: Av Johan Henrik Kellgren. Utg. av Sverker Ek, Allan Sjöding, Otto Sylwan, Volym 7, Utgåva 1–5 . Johan Henrik Kellgren, Sverker R. Ek, Allan Edvard Sjöding, Otto Sylwan. A. Bonnier, 1936
- Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis: Stockholm studies in history of literature, Volym 12. Alf Kjellén Almqvist & Wiksell, 1971 - 215 sidor
- Arbetarbladet.se Den stora horinvasionen, 2009
- Kb.se anita ankarcrona: Stockholm. Bellmans stad – och vår
- Fryxell: Archive.org Berättelser ur Svenska historien. Fyrtiondefemte delen. Adolf Frederiks regering. Sjunde häftet