Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

count Augustin Ehrensvärd (25 September 1710 – 4 October 1772) was a Swedish military officer, military architect, artist, creator of the

Suomenlinna Suomenlinna (; until 1918 Viapori, ), or Sveaborg (), is an inhabited sea fortress the Suomenlinna district is on eight islands of which six have been fortified; it is about 4 km southeast of the city center of Helsinki, the capital of Finla ...

(Sveaborg) fortress,

Svartholm fortress The Svartholm fortress ( fi, Svartholman merilinnoitus; sv, Svartholms fästning) was built between 1749 and 1764 outside Loviisa in Southern Finland by Augustin Ehrensvärd. The fortress, which lies at the mouth of the Bay of Loviisa, along wi ...

and the Swedish

archipelago fleet The archipelago fleet ( sv, skärgårdsflottan), officially the "fleet of the army" ( sv, arméns flotta), was a branch of the armed forces of Sweden which existed between 1756 and 1823. Its purpose was to protect the coasts of Sweden, which was su ...

. He was born in Fullerö Castle, Barkarö and died in the village of Saris,

Mynämäki Mynämäki (; sv, Virmo) is a municipality of Finland located in the Southwest Finland region. Neighbouring municipalities are Aura, Eura, Laitila, Masku, Nousiainen, Pöytyä, Rusko, Taivassalo, Turku and Vehmaa. The municipality has a popul ...

. In 1747, he was chosen by king

Frederick I of Sweden Frederick I ( sv, Fredrik I; 28 April 1676 – 5 April 1751) was prince consort of Sweden from 1718 to 1720, and King of Sweden from 1720 until his death and (as ''Frederick I'') also Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1730. He ascended the throne f ...

to design and construct a maritime

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

near

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, then a part of the

Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

. Building the fortress of Sveaborg became a life's work for Ehrensvärd, who kept expanding the island fortress until his death in 1772. Ehrensvärd's design was a low-profile bastion-type fortress that would follow the natural contours of the islands and thus remain inconspicuous to enemy fleets. Many of the constructions in Sveaborg are considered to be architectural masterpieces. Augustin Ehrensvärd was also the commander of the Swedish

from 1756 to 1766, and from 1770, until his death in 1772. In addition to

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

, Ehrensvärd's interests included

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

educational psychology Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives, allows researchers to understand individual differences i ...

and

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

. Upon his death in 1772, Ehrensvärd was promoted to the rank of

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

. He was also well respected by the Finnish people, who appreciated his efforts in the construction of Sveaborg, an important cultural and economic centre in the eastern part of 18th-century Sweden, which later would become modern Finland. Ehrensvärd's burial monument in Sveaborg was designed by king

Gustav III of Sweden Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

himself. Ehrensvärd was elected a member of the member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

in 1739, the year it was founded. Image:Suomenlinna Ehrensvard grave.jpg, Augustin Ehrensvärd's tomb at the

fortress Image:Utsikt over Sveaborg av Augustin Ehrensvard.jpg, "View over Sveaborg" by Augustin Ehrensvärd

References

External links

Augustin Ehrensvärd
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrensvard, Augustin 1710 births 1772 deaths People from Västerås Municipality Field marshals of Sweden Swedish architects Swedish nobility Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 18th-century Swedish people Suomenlinna Age of Liberty people

See also

References

Further reading

External links