Ditmar Koel, also ''Dithmar Koel'', ''Ditmar Kohl'' or ''Dietmar Koehl'' (born around 1500, died 22 September 1563 in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

), was a Captain, successful pirate hunter and

Mayor of Hamburg The government of Hamburg is divided into executive, legislative and judicial branches. Hamburg is a city-state and municipality, and thus its governance deals with several details of both state and local community politics. It takes place in two ...

Biography

In 1525 Koel was commander of one of four ships of the fleet of Admiral Simon Parseval. 7 October he came into sea battle with the fleet of the pirate Claus Kniphoff. After 8 hours he managed to take the ship ''Gallion''. He brought the pirates and the loot to Hamburg, and was 1527 elected to ''Ratsherr'' ( councilman). Koel promoted the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

and initiated the reformation of the Hansatown. In 1536, as Admiral for a defence fleet, he stopped a raid from Count Palatine Friedrich von Hadeln. From 1542 until 1548 Koel was Amtmann of Bergedorf.,Harald Richert: ''Schloßhauptleute und Amtmänner in Bergedorf''; in '' Lichtwark-Heft'' Nr. 59. Verlag HB-Werbung, Hamburg-Bergedorf, 1994, In 1548 Koel was elected mayor of Hamburg.Franklin Kopitzsch, Dirk Brietzke (Herausgeber): Hamburgisches Biografie-Personenlexikon, Band 2, Seite 225, Wallstein Verlag, 2003, In 1559 he was in command of the defence of Hamburg-Moorburg against an attack from duke

Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Harburg Otto, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (24 August 1495 – 11 August 1549) was the Prince of Lüneburg from 1520 to 1527 and Baron of Harburg from 1527 to 1549. Life Otto was born on 24 August 1495 as the eldest son of Henry the Middle and his wif ...

. In 1562 he traveled with two colleagues in a diplomatic journey to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, in order to settle a conflict with the Danish king. Successfully, he returned to Hamburg, where he died on 22 September 1563.

Namesakes of Ditmar Koel

Streets * ''Ditmar-Koel-Straße'' in ''Portugiesenviertel'' in southern Neustadt is named after him, as well as another Ditmar-Koel-Straße in

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...

. Ships * 1935 a

pilot boat A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship ...

was named Ditmar Koel. * 1955 a steamboat owned by the Emil Offen & Co had his name. * 1958 a

made by

Meyer-Werft Meyer Werft is one of the major German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. Founded in 1795 and starting with small wooden vessels, today Meyer Werft is a builder of luxury passenger ships. 700 ships of different types have be ...

Papenburg Papenburg (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Papenbörg'') is a city in the district of Emsland, Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems. It is known for its large shipyard, the Meyer-Werft, which specializes in building cruise liners. Geog ...

was named after Koel.

Literature

* Bardo Metzger: ''Ditmar Koel und die Einführung der Reformation in Bergedorf.'' In: Olaf Matthes (Hrsg.): ''Kirche zwischen Dorf und Stadt. St. Petri und Pauli zu Hamburg-Bergedorf in der Geschichte.'' Convent Verlag, Hamburg 2002, . * Friedrich Georg Buek: ''Die hamburgischen Oberalten, ihre bürgerliche Wirksamkeit und ihre Familien'', Page 70, Perthes & Besser 1857
Digital version

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koel, Ditmar 1500s births 1563 deaths Mayors of Hamburg Military personnel from Hamburg