# Christopher de Paus

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Norwegian landowner and socialite

Christopher Paus Count of Paus Christopher Paus (painting, Herresta) in the court dress of a papal chamberlain, in Spanish Renaissance style Coat of arms Born (1862-09-10)10 September 1862 Christiania, Norway Died 10 September 1943(1943-09-10) (aged 81) Skodsborg, Denmark Buried Vår Frelsers gravlund Father Major Johan Altenborg Paus Mother Agnes Tostrup

[Count](/source/Count) **Christopher de Paus** (10 September 1862 – 10 September 1943)[a] was a [Norwegian](/source/Norway)-born aristocrat, papal [courtier](/source/Courtier) and philanthropist.

A member of the [Paus family](/source/Paus_family)—the name means [pope](/source/Pope)—he was heir to the Norwegian timber firm [Tostrup & Mathiesen](/source/Tostrup_%26_Mathiesen) and inherited a fortune from his grandfather, timber magnate [Christopher Tostrup](/source/Christopher_Henrik_Holfeldt_Tostrup). From the 1870s, he spent much of his life in [Rome](/source/Rome), where he converted to Catholicism. He was appointed as a [papal chamberlain](/source/Papal_chamberlain) by [Pope Benedict XV](/source/Pope_Benedict_XV) in 1921 and conferred the title of count by [Pope Pius XI](/source/Pope_Pius_XI) in 1923. He was a prominent benefactor of museums and the Catholic Church. He donated the [Paus collection](/source/Paus_collection) of classical sculpture that now forms part of the [National Museum of Norway](/source/National_Museum_of_Norway). Paus was considered "the founder of the National Gallery's antiquities collection" by [Harry Fett](/source/Harry_Fett).[1]

Christopher Paus, a close relative of playwright [Henrik Ibsen](/source/Henrik_Ibsen), was the only member of Ibsen’s family who visited him during his decades-long exile. In 1923 he bought the estate [Herresta](/source/Herresta) in Sweden which is still owned by descendants of his cousin [Herman Paus](/source/Herman_Paus), who was married to a granddaughter of [Leo Tolstoy](/source/Leo_Tolstoy).

## Biography

A [silhouette](/source/Silhouette) of Christopher Paus' grandfather, Henrik Johan Paus (no 2 from left), with [Henrik Ibsen](/source/Henrik_Ibsen)'s mother Marichen Altenburg (right) and her parents Johan Altenburg and Hedevig née Paus, probably from the late 1810s

Born in [Christiania](/source/Oslo), he belonged to the [Skien](/source/Skien_(town)) branch of the [Paus family](/source/Paus_family). The family name derives from a [Middle Low German](/source/Middle_Low_German) word for [pope](/source/Pope), perhaps originally applied in medieval Oslo as a pious or satirical nickname. He was the son of Major and War Commissioner in [Molde](/source/Molde_(town)) [Johan Altenborg Paus](/source/Johan_Altenborg_Paus) (1833–1894) and Agnes Tostrup (1839–1863). His father was a son of lawyer and judge [Henrik Johan Paus](/source/Henrik_Johan_Paus) (1799–1893), who owned the estate Østerhaug in [Elverum](/source/Elverum_(town)), while his mother was a daughter of timber magnate [Christopher Henrik Holfeldt Tostrup](/source/Christopher_Henrik_Holfeldt_Tostrup) (1804–1881), one of the two main owners of [Tostrup & Mathiesen](/source/Tostrup_%26_Mathiesen), one of Norway's largest timber companies. Christopher Paus's father was also a first cousin of playwright [Henrik Ibsen](/source/Henrik_Ibsen).[2] As a young man, Christopher Paus would visit the then-famous Henrik Ibsen in Rome, where he lived. His great-grandfather Christian Lintrup was one of the pioneers of the medical profession in Norway.[3]

Personal seal of Christopher Paus

[Trystorp](/source/Trystorp) château

Christopher Paus ca. 1890

Christopher Tostrup Paus' grandfather, timber magnate [Christopher Henrik Holfeldt Tostrup](/source/Christopher_Henrik_Holfeldt_Tostrup)

[Magleås](/source/Magle%C3%A5s) outside [Copenhagen](/source/Copenhagen), Denmark

Christopher Paus became a millionaire as a young man when he inherited a fortune from his maternal grandfather and his two childless uncles Oscar and Thorvald Tostrup, who were all co-owners of Tostrup & Mathiesen. His family sold their shares of Tostrup & Mathiesen to their business partners, the [Mathiesen family](/source/Mathiesen_family), in the 1890s, and the company was since renamed [Mathiesen Eidsvold Værk](/source/Mathiesen_Eidsvold_V%C3%A6rk) and continued under that name and as [Moelven Industrier](/source/Moelven_Industrier). His maternal grandfather had also owned the estate [Kjellestad](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kjellestad&action=edit&redlink=1) in [Stathelle](/source/Stathelle).

A convert from [Lutheranism](/source/Lutheranism) to [Roman Catholicism](/source/Roman_Catholicism), he was appointed a [Privy Chamberlain of the Sword and Cape](/source/Papal_chamberlain) (*Cameriere Segreto di Spada e Cappa*) by [Pope Benedict XV](/source/Pope_Benedict_XV) on 22 February 1921[4] and re-appointed by [Pope Pius XI](/source/Pope_Pius_XI) on 8 February 1922[5] and by [Pope Pius XII](/source/Pope_Pius_XII) on 7 March 1939.[6] By tradition, a Norwegian Catholic would hold this position, and he succeeded [Wilhelm Wedel-Jarlsberg](/source/Wilhelm_Wedel-Jarlsberg) who held the post some years earlier.[7] He was conferred the title and rank of [Count](/source/Count#Holy_See) by [Pope Pius XI](/source/Pope_Pius_XI) on 25 May 1923.[8] He bought the [estate](/source/Estate_(land)) Narverød near [Tønsberg](/source/T%C3%B8nsberg) (Norway) in 1892, the estate [Trystorp](/source/Trystorp) with château in [Lekeberg](/source/Lekeberg_Municipality) (Sweden) in 1914, and the estate [Herresta](/source/Herresta) outside [Mariefred](/source/Mariefred) (Sweden) in 1923. In 1942, he bought the mansion [Magleås](/source/Magle%C3%A5s) outside [Copenhagen](/source/Copenhagen) in Denmark. He divided his time between his various properties in Scandinavia and [Rome](/source/Rome).

Christopher Paus is known for the [Paus collection](/source/Paus_collection) of classical sculpture that forms part of the [National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design](/source/National_Museum_of_Art%2C_Architecture_and_Design) in Norway. Previously the largest private collection of classical sculpture in the Nordic countries, he donated it to the [National Gallery](/source/National_Gallery_(Norway)) between 1918 and 1929 as the intended foundation of a Norwegian museum or department of classical sculpture.[9] He also made donations to museums throughout the [Nordic countries](/source/Nordic_countries) and in [Rome](/source/Rome).

He died in [Skodsborg](/source/Skodsborg) in Denmark without children in 1943, and bequeathed much of his estate to select members of the Paus family. In 1938, [Herresta](/source/Herresta) was sold to his second cousin Herman Paus, who had married Countess Tatyana [Tolstoy](/source/Tolstoy_(family)), a granddaughter of [Leo Tolstoy](/source/Leo_Tolstoy); their descendants still own Herresta and other Swedish estates. Magleås was inherited by Thorleif Paus, who sold it to the Catholic Church some years later. It was held a mass for him, as a member of the [Papal Court](/source/Papal_Court), in the Pope's private chapel on 14 September 1943 with [Pope Pius XII](/source/Pope_Pius_XII) in attendance.[10] He is buried at [Vår Frelsers gravlund](/source/V%C3%A5r_Frelsers_gravlund) in Oslo, in the same grave as his mother, maternal grandfather and other members of the Tostrup family.

## Titles and honours

He was conferred the title of [Count](/source/Count) by [Pope Pius XI](/source/Pope_Pius_XI) on 25 May 1923. He was [styled](/source/Style_(manner_of_address)) as "[His Excellency](/source/His_Excellency)" in accordance with custom.

He was usually known as Christopher Tostrup Paus or just Christopher Paus in Norway, but like some other family members he used the name *de Paus* abroad as an international form of the name, and he was ennobled under the name de Paus by the Holy See. In the *[Acta Apostolicae Sedis](/source/Acta_Apostolicae_Sedis)* and the *[Annuario Pontificio](/source/Annuario_Pontificio)*, his name is partially translated into Italian as *conte Cristoforo de Paus.*[5][11] He used the translation von Paus in German contexts.[12]

### Honours

**Papal and Catholic honours**

- Knight of the [Order of Pius IX](/source/Order_of_Pius_IX)

- Knight Grand Cross of the [Order of St. Gregory the Great](/source/Order_of_St._Gregory_the_Great)

- Knight Commander with star of the [Order of the Holy Sepulchre](/source/Order_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre_(Catholic))

- Knight of the Magistral Grace *in gremio religionis* of the [Sovereign Military Order of Malta](/source/Sovereign_Military_Order_of_Malta) (1924)

- Knight Grand Cross of the [Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George](/source/Sacred_Military_Constantinian_Order_of_Saint_George) (1923)

- Gentleman of the Chamber

**Scandinavian orders of knighthood**

- Commander with Star (*Stórriddarakross með stjörnu*) of the [Order of the Falcon](/source/Order_of_the_Falcon) (1937) (Commander, 1924)

- Commander of the [Order of St. Olav](/source/Order_of_St._Olav) (1938) (Knight First Class, 1919)

- Commander of the [Order of the Dannebrog](/source/Order_of_the_Dannebrog) (1922)

- Commander of the [Order of Vasa](/source/Order_of_Vasa)

- Knight First Class of the [Order of the White Rose of Finland](/source/Order_of_the_White_Rose_of_Finland)

A list of honours as of 1934 is found in the book *Den Kongelige Norske St. Olavs Orden*.[13]

## Ancestry

Ancestors of Christopher de Paus Ole Paus (1776–1855), ship-owner and landowner Henrik Johan Paus (1799–1893), jurist Johanne Plesner (1770–1847), (in her first marriage married to Henrich Ibsen 1765–1797) Johan Altenborg Paus (1833–1894), Major and War Commissioner Christian Lintrup (1768–1844), county physician (amtsfysikus) Sophie Lintrup (1806–) Johanne Hoelfeldt (1774–) Christopher Paus Nicolay Tostrup (1768–1858), Captain Christopher Henrik Holfeldt Tostrup (1804–1881), landowner and co-owner of Tostrup & Mathiesen Thale Margrethe Resen Holfeldt (1779–1860) Agnes Tostrup (–1863) Andreas Schaft (1760–1826), civil servant Julie Camilla Schaft Petronelle Nicoline Green (1771–1857)

## Footnotes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** His full name in Norwegian was Christopher Tostrup Paus, though he often omitted his middle name, Tostrup. Internationally, he was commonly known as Christopher de Paus, and as Cristoforo de Paus in Vatican contexts.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Fett_2-0)** [Fett, Harry](/source/Harry_Fett) (1934). [*Romere i marmor*](http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2015072108167). Gyldendal Norsk Forlag.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Høgvoll, Arvid; Bærland, Ruth (1996). *Henrik Ibsen: herregårder, kammerherrer, godseiere og proprietærer : brokker av en slektshistorie*. p. 83.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Hans Petter Schjønsby, "[Amtsfysikus Christian Lintrups virke i Hedemarkens amt i årene 1800 - 31](http://tidsskriftet.no/article/2055087)", Tidsskr Nor Legeforen 2010; 130:2484-7

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** *[Acta Apostolicae Sedis: Commentarium Officiale](/source/Acta_Apostolicae_Sedis)*, XIII, MCMXXI (1921), p. 183

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-acta1922_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-acta1922_6-1) *[Acta Apostolicae Sedis: Commentarium Officiale](/source/Acta_Apostolicae_Sedis)*, XIV, MCMXXII (1922), p. 173

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** *[Acta Apostolicae Sedis: Commentarium Officiale](/source/Acta_Apostolicae_Sedis)*, Annus XXXI, Series II, Vol. VI, M DCCCC XXXIX (1939), p. 241

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** *[Aftenposten](/source/Aftenposten)* 1943.09.13

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Gerber_9-0)** Gerber, Tage von (1924). "de Paus". *Sveriges ointroducerade adels kalender 1925* (in Swedish). Malmö: Sveriges Ointroducerade Adels Förening. p. 94.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** "Hva Nasjonalgalleriet skylder kammerherre Paus", [Aftenposten](/source/Aftenposten), 13 September 1943, p. 3

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** *Aftenposten*, 15 September 1943, no. 425, p. 3

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** *[Annuario Pontificio](/source/Annuario_Pontificio)*, p. 859, 1928

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** *[Cur-Liste von Teplitz-Schönau](https://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?aid=clt&datum=19070715&seite=2)*, 15 July 1907

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** S. Blom (red.): *Den Kongelige Norske St. Olavs Orden*, A. M. Hanches Forlag, 1934, p. 114

Italian nobility New title The Count of Paus 1923—1943 Extinct

v t e Paus family Early members Sir Hans Olufsson (ca. 1500), cleric Sir Hans Povelsson Paus the Elder (1587), cleric Sir Peder Povelsson Paus (1590), cleric Sir Povel Hansson Paus (1620), cleric Sir Povel Pedersson Paus (1625), cleric Sir Hans Povelsson Paus (1656), cleric Cornelius Povelsson Paus (1662), judge Peder Hansson Paus (1691), judge Hans Pedersson Paus (1721), judge Skien branch Cornelius Paus (1726), civil servant Hedevig Paus (1763) Ole Paus (1766), shipowner Henrik Johan Paus (1799), lawyer Christian Cornelius Paus (1800), governor Christopher Blom Paus (1810), shipowner Henrik Ibsen (1828), playwright Johan Altenborg Paus (1834), war commissioner Ole Paus (1846), industrialist Karl L. Paus (1856), industrialist Christopher Lintrup Paus CBE (1881), British diplomat Thorleif (von) Paus (1881), diplomat George Wegner Paus (1882), lawyer Hans Wangensten Paus (1891), engineer Robert Paus Platt OBE (1905), British diplomat Helvig (von) Paus (1909) Ole (von) Paus (1910), general Per Paus (1910), industrialist Thorleif Lintrup Paus (1912), diplomat Cecilie Paus (1943), shipping magnate Peder Paus (1945), businessman Ole Paus (1947), singer Pontine Paus (1973), shipping heir Olympia Paus (1976), shipping heir Marcus Paus (1979), composer of Herresta Count Christopher (de) Paus (1862), philanthropist Herman Paus (1897), skier, estate owner Countess Tatiana Tolstoy-Paus (1914) Henrik Ibsen Knud Ibsen Marichen Altenburg Sigurd Ibsen Altenburggården The Ibsen Family Paus family in fiction Peer Gynt Rosmersholm The Wild Duck Ghosts An Enemy of the People Hedda Gabler Drammen branch Bernhard Cathrinus Pauss (1839), theologian Henriette Pauss (1841), teacher Olav Pauss (1863), shipowner Nikolai Nissen Paus (1877), surgeon/humanitarian Augustin Paus (1881), industrialist Bernhard Paus (1910), surgeon/humanitarian Vilhelm Paus (1915), diplomat Brita Collett Paus (1917), humanitarian Nikolai Paus (1944), businessman Other Pauspur Paus collection (Paus Trajan) Herresta Kvesarum Castle Villa Paus Esviken Paus & Paus Ole Paus Company Wilh. Wilhelmsen

v t e Henrik Ibsen's family Ancestors and birth relatives Grandparents Henrich Ibsen, Johanne Plesner, Johan Andreas Altenburg, Hedevig Paus, Ole Paus (step grandfather), parents Knud Ibsen and Marichen Altenburg, sister Hedvig Ibsen, uncles Christian Cornelius Paus, Henrik Johan Paus, Christopher Blom Paus, great-aunt Kristine Cathrine Ploug (née Altenburg), first cousin Ole Paus, nephew Carl Stousland, first cousin once removed Christopher de Paus, great-grandfather Cornelius Paus Wife, family-in-law and issue Wife Suzannah Ibsen (née Thoresen), step mother-in-law Magdalene Thoresen, son Sigurd Ibsen, daughter-in-law Bergliot Ibsen (née Bjørnson), grandson Tancred Ibsen, granddaughter Irene Ibsen Bille (née Ibsen), grandson's wife Lillebil Ibsen (née Krohn), great-grandsons Tancred Ibsen Jr. and Joen Bille, great-great-granddaughters Nora Ibsen and Beate Bille See also: Ibsen family – Paus family

Authority control databases VIAF

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Christopher de Paus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_de_Paus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_de_Paus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.