Christian Rantzau (23 January 1684 – 16 April 1771) was a Danish nobleman and civil servant. He served as Governor-general of Norway from 1731 to 1739. Christian_Rantzau_(1684-1771)

Biography

Rantzau was born at Copenhagen, Denmark as son of Otto Rantzau (1632-1719), third lensgreve of Rosenvold, and Sophie Amalie Krag af Jylland (1648-1710). He became 5th lensgreve of Rosenvold in 1726, succeeding his brother Frederik Rantzau (1677-1726). He owned besides Rosenvold, estates at Asdal, Brahesborg, Hammelmose, Krengerup and Skovgaard. In his youth he was on an educational journey in Europe. In 1702 he studied at the Knight Academy (''Det ridderlige Akademi'') in Copenhagen. In 1713 he became a commissioner in the Naval General War Commission. Rantzau was dismissed in 1721. In 1726, he received a seat on the commission to investigate the conditions of the Danish-Norwegian Royal Navy. He was appointed vice Steward of Norway, in 1731 after recently deceased Ditlev Vibe (1670–1731). During King

Christian VI Christian VI (30 November 1699 – 6 August 1746) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746. The eldest surviving son of Frederick IV and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, he is considered one of Denmark-Norway's more anonymous kings, bu ...

voyage to Norway in 1733, Rantzau played a major role; he accompanied the court of the King to

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. In 1739, his office was rescinded and remained vacant until 1750. The reason for why Rantzaus was deposed was because of his wild lifestyle, and the

pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life, including a social concern for ...

King Christian VI did not approve of his way of living and deposed him as his Steward of Norway. In 1740, he succeeded

Christian Christophersen Sehested Christian Christophersen Sehested (22 Febr. 1666 – 19 July 1740) was a Danish noble and statesman. Biography He was the son of Christoffer Clausen Sehestedt til Nislevgaard paa Fyn (d. 1699). After the death of his father, he inherited the ...

as county governor of Odense and several counties. He lived at St. Canute's Abbey (''Skt Knuds Kloster'') among the largest buildings in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

. For 20 years he governed his counties, resigning in 1760. He died during 1771 at Brahesborg in

Fyn Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as ...

Personal life

Rantzau married Charlotte Amalie Goeye (1689–1724) in 1716 and after her death married Eleonore Scheel-von Plessen (1708–1770) in 1726. Had from first marriage Otto Mandrup Rantzau (1719-1768); from second marriage Christian Rantzau (1730-1765), Friedrich Siegfried Rantzau (1744-1822) and Carl Adolf Rantzau (1742-1814). Rantzau was also a great collector of books, and he had over 3600 books in his collection. Unfortunately he became insane in his last years, and destroyed a lot of the collection, including old monastic books from the

middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

References

1684 births 1771 deaths 18th-century Danish nobility Politicians from Copenhagen Nobility from Copenhagen Governors-general of Norway

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

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