Frederick III of Denmark

Frederick III (Frederik; 18 March 1609 – 9 February 1670) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death in 1670. He also governed under the name Frederick II as diocesan administrator (colloquially referred to as prince-bishop) of the Prince-Bishopric of Verden (1623–29 and again 1634–44), and the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (1635–45). The second-eldest son of Christian IV and Anne Catherine of Brandenburg, Frederick was only considered an heir to the throne after the death of his older brother Prince Christian in 1647. He instituted absolute monarchy in Denmark-Norway in 1660, confirmed by law in 1665 as the first in Western historiography. He also ordered the creation of the Throne Chair of Denmark. After failed and costly aggressive wars under Christian IV, most Danes did not want to go to war again. According to Cathal Nolan, when Fredrik III became king in 1648, he was excluded from the talks leading to the Peace of Westphalia and had to watch as Bremen was lost to Sweden and Stockholm was freed from paying Sound Tolls. In order to be elected king after the death of his father, Frederick conceded significant influence to the nobility. As king, he fought losing wars against Sweden. He was defeated in the Dano-Swedish War of 1657–1658, and in the Dano-Swedish War of 1658–1660. However, when it seemed like Karl X was about to suffer a catastrophic defeat in the Second Northern War, Fredrik declared war on Sweden. Unexpectedly Karl X crossed the frozen Belts to Zealand and appeared with 5,000 men near Copenhagen. Fredrik was unprepared and was forced to sign the Treaty of Roskild. Frederick disbanded the elective monarchy in favour of absolute monarchy, which lasted until 1848 in Denmark. He married Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg, with whom he fathered Christian V of Denmark. Frederick was born at Haderslev in Slesvig, the son of Christian IV and Anne Catherine of Brandenburg. In his youth and early manhood, there was no prospect of his ascending the Danish throne, as his older brother Christian was elected heir apparent in 1608.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related concepts (12)

Skåneland

Skåneland (Swedish and Danish) or Skånelandene (Danish) is a region on the southern Scandinavian peninsula. It includes the Swedish provinces of Blekinge, Halland, and Scania. The Danish island of Bornholm is traditionally also included. Skåneland has no official recognition or function and the term is not in common usage. Equivalent terms in English and Latin are "the Scanian Provinces" and "Terrae Scaniae" respectively. The term is mostly used in historical contexts and not in daily speech.

Frederick III of Denmark

Frederick VII of Denmark

Frederick VII (Frederik Carl Christian; 6 October 1808 – 15 November 1863) was King of Denmark from 1848 to 1863. He was the last Danish monarch of the older Royal branch of the House of Oldenburg and the last king of Denmark to rule as an absolute monarch. During his reign, he signed a constitution that established a Danish parliament and made the country a constitutional monarchy. Frederick's motto was Folkets Kærlighed, min Styrke (Danish for the People's Love, my Strength).