Christen Nielsen Holberg (a.k.a. Christian Holberg, 1625 – 1686) was an officer in the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army ( no, Hæren) is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway ...

. He was also the father of

Ludvig Holberg Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian dual monarchy. He was influenced by Humanism, ...

. In 1653 he was hired as a lieutenant to serve with Bergenhusiske Regiment both in

Bergenhus len Bergenhus len was an administrative division of the Kingdom of Norway that existed from 1503 to 1662, with the Bergenhus Fortress in Bergen as its administrative center Norwegian administrative division. The ''len'' was changed to an ''amt'' (distr ...

and on

Bergenhus Fortress Bergenhus fortress ( no, Bergenhus festning) is a fortress located in Bergen, Norway. Located at the entrance of Bergen harbour, the castle is one of the oldest and best preserved stone fortifications in Norway. History The fortress contains ...

In 1659 he was appointed commander of Sundfjordske Kompani of Bergenhusiske Regiment with the rank of captain. During the Bjelke War he and his company participated in the defence of

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish muni ...

against the

Swedes Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...

. On August 2, 1665 he participated in the

Battle of Vågen The Battle of Vågen was a naval battle between a Netherlands, Dutch merchant and treasure fleet; and an England, English flotilla of warships in August 1665 as part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The battle took place in Vågen, Bergen, Vågen ...

as a Major. In 1672 he was a lieutenant colonel in the Sundfjordske Kompani. In 1675 he was a member of the regimental staff and the commander of Sognske Kompani. During the

Gyldenløve War The Scanian War ( da, Skånske Krig, , sv, Skånska kriget, german: Schonischer Krieg) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, ...

he was given the responsibility of raising two new companies for the regiment before joining it in Sweden in 1676 where he participated in the siege of

Bohus Fortress Bohus Fortress (also known as ''Baahus'' or ''Båhus'', originally: ''Bágahús'') lies along the old Norwegian–Swedish border in Kungälv, Bohuslän, Sweden, north east from Hisingen where the Göta river splits into two branches ( north of ...

. Upon returning to Norway later that year he was sent back to Bergen to be temporary commander of Bergenhus Fortress in the place of

Johan Caspar von Cicignon Johan Caspar von Cicignon (c. 1625 - 12 December 1696) was a Luxembourg-born soldier and military engineer who spent most of his career in the service of Denmark–Norway. He is most associated with the reconstruction of Trondheim, Norway after th ...

. In 1679 he left the service of Bergenhusiske Regiment. He died in 1686.

References

*Bragstad, Jakob; Fjordane Infanteriregiment nr 10, I gamal og ny tid; 1996; Elanders Forlag; Oslo ()
Per Gjendem
A private page on Ludvig Holberg's anscestry {{DEFAULTSORT:Holberg, Christen Nielsen 1625 births 1686 deaths Norwegian Army personnel People of the Scanian War Military personnel of the Anglo-Dutch Wars