Frederick IV of Denmark

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"Frederik IV" redirects here. For the prince of Salm-Kyrburg, see
Frederik IV, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg
.
Frederick IV
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Born(1671-10-11)11 October 1671
Copenhagen Castle, Copenhagen, Denmark
Died12 October 1730(1730-10-12) (aged 59)
Odense Palace, Odense, Denmark
Burial
Roskilde Cathedral
Spouses
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(m. 1695; died 1721)​
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(m. 1703; died 1704)​
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(m. 1721)​
Issue
Lutheran
SignatureFrederick IV's signature

Frederick IV (

Denmark-Norway and his wife Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel
. [1]

Early life

Crown-prince Frederick (IV), with his father in centre and his brothers Christian and Charles
Crown Prince by Hyacinthe Rigaud
, 1693

Frederick was born on 11 October 1671 at

royal baptismal font, which has been used for the baptism of the royal children in Denmark ever since, was used for the first time at his christening.[3]

At the age of 18, he was given a seat on the Council of State as the heir apparent to the throne.

As Crown Prince, Frederick broadened his education by travelling in Europe, led by his chamberlain Ditlev Wibe. He was particularly impressed by the architecture in Italy and, on his return to Denmark, asked his father for permission to build a summer palace on Solbjerg, as the hill in Valby was then known, the future site of Frederiksberg Palace.[4] The one-storey building, probably designed by Ernst Brandenburger, was completed in 1703.

Frederick was allowed to choose his future wife from a number of Protestant royal daughters in northern Germany. In 1695, he visited the court of Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow in Güstrow. But his visit there was cut short by a message telling of his brother Prince Christian's serious illness (he had, in fact, already died in Ulm). Frederick later returned to Güstrow, where he was forced to choose the eldest of the unmarried princesses. On 5 December 1695 at Copenhagen Castle, he married Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, herself a great-great-granddaughter of Frederick II of Denmark.

At the death of Christian V on 25 August 1699, the couple became King and Queen of Denmark-Norway. They were crowned on 15 April 1700 in the chapel of

Frederiksborg Palace.[5]

Frederiksborg Palace by Bendix Grodtschilling the Youngest
.

Reign

Frederick as king.

Domestic rule

Frederick's most important

adscription (stavnsbånd), a law that forced peasants to remain in their home regions, by which the peasantry were subjected to both the local nobility and the army.[6]

After the Great Northern War, trade and culture flowered. The first Danish theatre, Lille Grønnegade Theatre, was created and the great dramatist Ludvig Holberg (1684–1754) began his career. He established the College of Missions which funded the missionary Hans Egede (1686–1758) in taking forward the colonisation of Greenland. Politically this period was marked by the King's connection to the Reventlows, the Holsteiner relatives of his second queen, and by his growing suspicion of the old nobility.[7] [8]

During Frederick's rule

medieval capital. The King had been persuaded by astronomer Ole Rømer (1644–1710) to introduce the Gregorian calendar in Denmark-Norway in 1700, but the astronomer's observations and calculations were among the treasures lost to the fire.[9]

Frederik IV, having twice visited Italy, had two pleasure palaces built in the Italian baroque style: Frederiksberg Palace was extended during his reign, when it was converted into a three-storey H-shaped building, completed in 1709 by Johan Conrad Ernst, giving the palace a true Italian baroque appearance[10] and Fredensborg Palace, both considered monuments to the conclusion of the Great Northern War.

Venetian journey

Frederick IV holds a memorable place in the social history of the city of

Medicis.[11]

Regatta on the Grand Canal in honor of Frederick IV, King of Denmark by Luca Carlevarijs
.

Foreign affairs

Augustus II of Poland, Frederick I of Prussia
and Frederick IV of Denmark

On his return from he led political negotiations with the Elector Augustus of Saxony and Frederick I of Prussia about the impending plans of war against Sweden. For much of Frederick IV's reign Denmark-Norway was engaged in the Great Northern War (1700–1721) against Sweden. In spite of the conclusion of the

Duchy of Holstein-Gottorp, which re-established Denmark's domination in Schleswig-Holstein. Between 1703 and 1711, Frederick sent military units to Hungary and supported Austria in the Rákóczi's War of Independence. The Danish regiments fought against the Kuruc army and French auxiliaries (Battle of Zsibó
).

Much of the King's life was spent in strife with kinsmen. Two of his first cousins, Charles XII of Sweden and Frederick IV, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (the three men were the grandsons of Frederick III of Denmark), had waged war upon his father jointly. Initially defeated by the Swedes and forced to recognise the independence of Holstein-Gottorp, Frederick finally drove the next duke of Holstein-Gottorp, Duke Charles Frederick (who was Frederick IV's first cousin once removed) out of Schleswig in 1713, and avoided the revenge contemplated by Charles Frederick's mother-in-law, Catherine I of Russia.[12]

Personal life

Frederick was deemed a man of responsibility and industry — often regarded as the most intelligent of Denmark-Norway's

absolute monarchs. He seems to have mastered the art of remaining independent of his ministers. Lacking all interest in academic knowledge, he was nevertheless a patron of culture, especially art and architecture. His main weaknesses were probably pleasure-seeking and womanising, which sometimes distracted him. He was the penultimate Danish king to make a morganatic marriage (the last was Frederick VII with Louise Rasmussen aka "Countess Danner"
).

Tranquebar
, India

Without divorcing Queen Louise, in 1703 he married

Christian VI and Princess Charlotte-Amalia, both from the first marriage. All the other children died in infancy.[14]

The Reventlows took advantage of their kinship to the King. Anna's sister, the salonist Countess

Sophia Hedwig (1677–1735) and Prince Charles (1680–1729), who withdrew from Copenhagen to their own rival court at the handsomely re-modelled Vemmetofte Cloister (later a haven for dowerless damsels of the nobility).[16]

Frederik IV's sarcophagus at Roskilde Cathedral

Later life

During the King's last years he had

Gottorp but had to return, and died in Odense, on the day after his 59th birthday. He was buried in Roskilde Cathedral, the site of the mausoleum of Danish royalty.[17]

Issue

With his first queen, Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow:

  • Prince Christian (28 June 1697 - 1 October 1698)
  • King Christian VI of Denmark (10 December 1699 - 6 August 1746)
  • Prince Frederik Charles (23 October 1701 - 7 January 1702)
  • Prince George (6 January 1703 – 12 March 1704)
  • Princess Charlotte Amalie (6 October 1706 – 28 October 1782)

With his second wife Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg:

  • Frederik Gyldenløve (1704–1705)

With his third wife and second queen, Countess Anne Sophie von Reventlow:

  • Princess Christiana Amalia (23 October 1723 - 7 January 1724)
  • Prince Frederik Christian (1 June 1726 - 15 May 1727)
  • Prince Charles (16 February 1728 - 10 December 1729)

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ "Frederik IV, 1671-1730, Konge". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  2. ^ "Kongelig fødsel og dåb - om kirkebøgerne - fra Dansk Historisk Fællesråd" (in Danish). historie-online.dk. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2014-09-25.
  3. ISBN 978-87-7070-014-6
    .
  4. ^ Frederiksberg Slots historie Archived 2011-08-26 at the Wayback Machine. In Danish. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  5. ISBN 978-87-88802-29-0
    .
  6. ^ "Stavnsbånd 1733-1800". danmarkshistorien.dk. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  7. ^ "Hans Poulsen Egede". Salmonsens konversationsleksikon. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  8. ^ "Ludvig Holberg". denstoredanske.dk. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  9. ^ "Rømer, Ole Christensen, 1644-1710". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  10. ^ Anne Lise Thygesen: Frederiksberg Slot en Store Danske, Gyldendal. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  11. ^ Ole Feldbæk: "Den nødvendige politik" Gyldendals og Politikens Danmarkshistorie
  12. ISBN 2-901138-07-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  13. ISBN 2-901138-07-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  14. ^ "Frederik IV, Konge i Danmark og Norge (1699—1730)". Salmonsens konversationsleksikon. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  15. ISBN 2-901138-07-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  16. ^ "Historien om Vemmetofte Kloster og klostrets tradition". Vemmetofte Kloster. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  17. ^ "Frederik 4. Konge af Danmark-Norge. 1699-1730". danskekonger.dk. Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved December 1, 2019.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frederick IV of Denmark.
Frederick IV
Born: 11 October 1671 Died: 12 October 1730
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Christian V
Count of Oldenburg

1699–1730 		Succeeded by
Christian VI
Preceded by
Christian V
and
Frederick IV
 Duke of Schleswig
1699–1730
with Frederick IV (1699–1702)
Charles Frederick (1702–1713)
Duke of Holstein
1699–1730
with Frederick IV (1699–1702)
Charles Frederick (1702–1730) 		Succeeded by
Christian VI and
Charles Frederick
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