Blåtårn

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Blåtårn

Blåtårn (in English: Blue Tower) was a tower in Copenhagen Castle, the Danish royal family's palace in Copenhagen, Denmark. The tower was used as a dungeon and has been known as such in history. It is not known when the tower was built, but it is known to have existed during the reign of King John I of Denmark (reign 1481-1513). It existed from at least the late 15th century until destroyed in 1731-32. [1]

Tower structure with height greater than width

A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures.

Christiansborg Palace castle in Copenhagen, seat of the Danish Parliament

Christiansborg Palace is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament, the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme Court of Denmark. Also, several parts of the palace are used by the Danish monarch, including the Royal Reception Rooms, the Palace Chapel and the Royal Stables.

Danish royal family consists of the dynastic family of the monarch

The Danish royal family is the dynastic family of the monarch. All members of the Danish royal family except Queen Margrethe II hold the title of Prince/Princess of Denmark. Dynastic children of the monarch and of the heir apparent are accorded the style of His/Her Royal Highness, while other members of the dynasty are addressed as His/Her Highness. The Queen is styled Her Majesty.

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History

Many famous people were imprisoned in Blåtårn during its history. In the 1520s, a large number of Swedish prisoners were taken there after the Swedish rebellion against Denmark and the subsequent declaration of Swedish independence, notably the renowned heroine Christina Gyllenstierna and female members of the House of Vasa, Sweden's ruling dynasty. In the chronicle of the son of Margareta Eriksdotter Vasa, Per Brahe the Elder (who was with her during the captivity) the captivity of the Swedish noblewomen in Denmark were described: "They were much deprived of food and drink [...]. Hardly given enough each day to keep their lives but they worked to be fed": [2]

Christina Gyllenstierna Noblewoman of Sweden and leader of resistance to Christian II of Denmark

Christina Nilsdotter Gyllenstierna of Fogelvik was a Swedish noble and a heroine. She was married to the Swedish regent Sten Sture the Younger, and famously led the Swedish resistance against Christian II of Denmark after the death of her spouse. In her own lifetime she was simply referred to as Fru Kristina, but she has become known in history as "Kristina Gyllenstierna" because of the house of nobility to which she belonged.

House of Vasa dynasty

The House of Vasa was an early modern royal house founded in 1523 in Sweden, ruling Sweden 1523–1654, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1587–1668, and the Tsardom of Russia 1610–1613. Its agnatic line became extinct with the death of King John II Casimir of Poland in 1672.

Margareta Eriksdotter Vasa Swedish royal

Margareta Eriksdotter Vasa, also called Margareta Vasa and Margareta of Hoya, was a Swedish noblewoman, sister of king Gustav I of Sweden. Between 1525 and 1534, she commanded Vyborg Castle on several occasions during the absence of her spouse.

King Gustav I of Sweden used their treatment in captivity in his propaganda against Christian II and claimed that the Danish monarch starved the women and children who only survived by the mercy showed them by the queen of Denmark, Isabella of Austria. [2] Whatever the truth of this, it is confirmed that many of the imprisoned women and children died, among them Margareta's mother Cecilia, sister Emerentia and cousin Magdalena, though the cause of death are given as the plague, at that point used to classify a number of different illnesses. [2]

Isabella of Austria Queen consort of Denmark, Norway and Sweden

Isabella of Austria, also known as Elizabeth, Archduchess of Austria and Infanta of Castile and Aragon, was Queen of Denmark, Sweden and Norway as the wife of King Christian II. She was the daughter of King Philip I and Queen Joanna of Castile and the sister of Emperor Charles V. She was born at Brussels. She served as regent of Denmark in 1520.

Plague (disease) contagious and frequently fatal human disease

Plague is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Symptoms include fever, weakness and headache. Usually this begins one to seven days after exposure. In the bubonic form there is also swelling of lymph nodes, while in the septicemic form tissues may turn black and die, and in the pneumonic form shortness of breath, cough and chest pain may occur.

Perhaps its best known prisoner was Leonora Christina Ulfeldt (a daughter of Christian IV of Denmark and wife of the Danish statesman-cum-traitor, Corfitz Ulfeldt), who was imprisoned here at the behest of the Queen-Mother, Sophia of Brunswick, between 1663 and 1685, during which she wrote several works, including her famous autobiography Jammers Minde .

Leonora Christina Ulfeldt Danish countess

Leonora Christina, Countess Ulfeldt, born "Countess Leonora Christina Christiansdatter" til Slesvig og Holsten, was the daughter of King Christian IV of Denmark and wife of Steward of the Realm, traitor Count Corfitz Ulfeldt. Renowned in Denmark since the 19th century for her posthumously published autobiography, Jammers Minde, written secretly during two decades of solitary confinement in a royal dungeon, her intimate version of the major events she witnessed in Europe's history, interwoven with ruminations on her woes as a political prisoner, still commands popular interest, scholarly respect, and has virtually become the stuff of legend as retold and enlivened in Danish literature and art.

Christian IV of Denmark King of Denmark and Norway

Christian IV, sometimes colloquially referred to as Christian Firtal in Denmark and Christian Kvart or Quart in Norway, was king of Denmark–Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 to 1648. His 59-year reign is the longest of Danish monarchs, and of Scandinavian monarchies.

Corfitz Ulfeldt danish statesman

Count Corfits Ulfeldt, Danish statesman, was the son of the chancellor Jacob Ulfeldt. After a careful education abroad, concluding with one year under Cesare Cremonini at Padua, he returned to Denmark in 1629 and quickly won the favor of King Christian IV. In 1634 he was made a Knight of the Order of the Elephant, in 1636 became Councillor of State, in 1637 Governor of Copenhagen, and in 1643 Steward of the Realm. He is commonly known and recognized as the most notorious traitor in Danish history.

Other prisons of the same name

After 1732, the same name was also used for a gaol in Copenhagen near Frederiksholm channel; that building was torn down in 1848.

A tower of Sønderborg Castle, where the deposed king Christian II of Denmark was imprisoned, has also been known by this name, but was demolished in 1755.

Sønderborg Castle castle

Sønderborg Castle is located in the town of Sønderborg, Denmark on the island of Als in South Jutland. It houses a museum focusing on the history and culture of the area. The castle is located in the middle of the town, in a park setting overlooking Als Fjord. The museum is open year-round.

Christian II of Denmark King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden

Christian II was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He reigned as King of Denmark and Norway from 1513 until 1523 and of Sweden from 1520 until 1521. From 1513 to 1523, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig and Holstein in joint rule with his uncle Frederick.

Famous prisoners of Blåtårn

Related Research Articles

Erik Johansson Vasa Father of King Gustav I of Sweden

Erik Johansson Vasa was the Lord of Rydboholm Castle in Roslagen. He was born around the year 1470 to Johan Kristiernsson Vasa and Birgitta Gustafsdotter Sture in a village named Örby in the province of Uppland, Sweden. He was one of four children from Johan and Birgitta; Johan was first cousin of Charles VIII of Sweden's father, Knut.

Cecilia Månsdotter Eka also called Cecilia of Eka, was a Swedish noblewoman. She was the spouse of Erik Johansson Vasa and mother of King Gustav I of Sweden.

Martha Erikdotter Leijonhufvud, known as Kung Märta, was a politically active Swedish noble. She was the sister of Queen Margaret Leijonhufvud and sister-in-law of King Gustav I of Sweden: she was also the maternal aunt of Queen Catherine Stenbock and the daughter-in-law of the regent Christina Gyllenstierna. In 1568, she financed the deposition of King Eric XIV of Sweden, which placed her nephew John III of Sweden on the throne.

Ebba Eriksdotter Vasa was a Swedish noblewoman. She was the mother of Queen Margaret Leijonhufvud and the second cousin and mother-in-law of King Gustav Vasa.

Anna Eriksdotter Bielke (1490–1525) was a Swedish noble, commander of the city and castle of Kalmar during the Swedish rebellion against Denmark.

Dina Vinhofvers Danish woman executed for conspiracy

Dina Vinhofvers was a Danish silk worker who became famous because of her involvement in an alleged conspiracy of Danish statesman Corfitz Ulfeldt (1606–1664) against King Frederick III of Denmark in 1650–51.

Hedevig Ulfeldt Danish noble

Hedwig of Schleswig-Holstein was the daughter of king Christian IV of Denmark and Kirsten Munk. She was the twin of her sister Christiane Sehested. She shared the title Countess of Schleswig-Holstein with her mother and siblings.

Sigrid Eskilsdotter (Banér), was a Swedish noble, the mother of the Swedish regent Christina Gyllenstierna and the maternal grandmother of King Gustav Vasa of Sweden.

Holckenhavn Castle Danish manor house

Holckenhavn Castle is a manor house located next to Holckenhavn Fjord, an arm of the Great Belt, just south of Nyborg on the east coast of Funen, Denmark. The current Renaissance castle was built in the late 16th and early 17th century by three consecutive owners. Previously known both as Ulfeldtsholm and Ellensborg, it received its current name in 1672 when it was acquired by Eiler Holck, who at the same time founded the Barony of Holckenhavn. The estate has been in the possession of his family ever since.

<i>Jammers Minde</i>

Jammers Minde, translated into English as Memoirs of Leonora Christina, is an autobiography completed in 1674 by Leonora Christina, daughter of Christian IV of Denmark and Kirsten Munk. The work, first published in 1869, is included in the Danish Culture Canon. It is considered to be the finest piece of prose work written in 17th-century Denmark. It relates a partly fictionalized account of Christina's time during captivity, with a detailed personal account of prison life, often drawing upon biblical references and black humour, and contrasting the comical with the macabre. Radical for its period in its personal account, it is considered an existential religious writing.

1520 in Sweden Sweden-related events during the year of 1520

Events from the year 1520 in Sweden

1536 in Sweden Sweden-related events during the year of 1536

Events from the year 1536 in Sweden

1559 in Sweden Sweden-related events during the year of 1559

Events from the year 1559 in Sweden

Margareta von Melen née Vasa (1489-1541) was a Swedish noble. She was second cousin of King Gustav Vasa and the maternal aunt of Queen Margaret Leijonhufvud.

Eriksdotter may refer to:

References

  1. "Blåtårn". Den Store Danske. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Tegenborg Falkdalen, Karin, Margareta Regina: vid Gustav Vasas sida : [en biografi över Margareta Leijonhufvud (1516-1551)], Setterblad, Stockholm, 2016
  3. "Gyldenstjerne, Knud Pedersen". Danish biographical dictionary. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  4. "Joachim Rønnow". roskildehistorie.dk. Retrieved August 1, 2018.

Coordinates: 55°40′35″N12°34′51″E / 55.6765°N 12.5807°E / 55.6765; 12.5807