Gödik Gustafsson Fincke (c. 1546–1617) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

-born member of the

Swedish nobility The Swedish nobility ( sv, Adeln eller Ridderskapet och Adeln) has historically been a legally and/or socially privileged class in Sweden, and part of the so-called ''frälse'' (a derivation from Old Swedish meaning ''free neck''). The archaic term ...

and military officer who served as the stadtholder of

Olavinlinna Castle Olavinlinna (also known as St. Olaf's Castle; sv, Olofsborg; german: Olafsburg; literally ''Olof's Castle'') is a 15th-century three-tower castle located in Savonlinna, Finland. It is built on an island in the Kyrönsalmi strait that connects the ...

Life

During the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) was the Russian invasion of Old Livonia, and the prolonged series of military conflicts that followed, in which Tsar Ivan the Terrible of Russia (Muscovy) unsuccessfully fought for control of the region (pre ...

he served in the Swedish military and was severely wounded 1573 in a battle by the Koluvere Castle in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. Fincke was then transferred to administrative duties. In 1582 he was named as the stadtholder of the Olavinlinna Castle in Savonia. In 1596–1597 Fincke took part in suppressing the revolting Finnish peasants in the

Cudgel War The Cudgel War (also Club War, fi, Nuijasota, links=no, sv, Klubbekriget, links=no) was a 1596–1597 peasant uprising in Finland, which was then part of the Kingdom of Sweden. The name of the uprising derives from the fact that the peasants ar ...

. In the 1598–1599

War against Sigismund The war against Sigismund ( sv, Kriget mot Sigismund) was a war between Duke Charles, later known as King Charles IX of Sweden, and Sigismund, who was at the time the King of both Sweden and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (that is, the K ...

, Olavinlinna became the last stronghold of Sigismund's supporters as his brother

Sten Fincke The STEN (or Sten gun) is a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm which were used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. They had a simple design and very low production cos ...

fled to the castle. Olavinlinna soon surrendered to the troops of Charles IX without any resistance, Sten was executed in the

Åbo bloodbath The Åbo Bloodbath ( sv, Åbo blodbad; fi, Turun verilöyly) of 10 November 1599 was a public execution in the Finland, Finnish town of Turku (Åbo), then part of the Kingdom of Sweden, in the context of the War against Sigismund and the Club War. ...

and Gödik expelled of his post. Fincke spent his last years in

Ulvila Ulvila (; sv, Ulvsby) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is one of the six medieval cities of Finland, as well as the third oldest city in the country. Ulvila was granted charter as a town by King Albert of Sweden on 7 February 1365. How ...

Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish and Swedish, ) is a region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia and Ostrobothnia. The capital city of the region is ...

, where he died in 1617. Fincke and his spouse Elisabeth Boije are buried to the St. Olaf's Church in Ulvila.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fincke, Godik 1546 births 1617 deaths People from Kanta-Häme Swedish-speaking Finns 16th-century Finnish nobility 16th-century Swedish nobility 17th-century Finnish nobility Swedish military personnel People of the Livonian War People of the War against Sigismund