Count Hans Christoff von Königsmarck, of

Tjust Tjust () was one of the small lands of Småland, Sweden. It was divided into the hundreds of Tjust Northern Hundred and Tjust Southern Hundred. It corresponds to Västervik Municipality and the southern part of Valdemarsvik Municipality. Earl ...

(12 December 1605 – 8 March 1663) was a German soldier who commanded Sweden's legendary

flying column A flying column is a small, independent, military land unit capable of rapid mobility and usually composed of all arms. It is often an ''ad hoc'' unit, formed during the course of operations. The term is usually, though not necessarily, appl ...

, a force which played a key role in the Swedish military strategy in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

Early life

He was born in Kötzlin,

Altmark :''See German tanker Altmark for the ship named after Altmark and Stary Targ for the Polish village named Altmark in German.'' The Altmark (; English: Old MarchHansard, ''The Parliamentary Debates from the Year 1803 to the Present Time ...'', Vo ...

as the son of Konrad von Königsmarck (1570-1620) and his wife, Beata Beatrix Elisabeth von Blumenthal (1580-1621).

Biography

After serving as a page on the court of Prince Frederick Ulrich of Wolfenbüttel, he entered Imperial military service in 1620. After the dissolution of

Albrecht von Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland (; 24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein (), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–16 ...

's troops and

Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as ...

' intervention, Königsmarck offered his services to the Swedish King. By 1635 he commanded his own

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

. He was appointed Major General in 1640,

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Bremen-Verden Bremen-Verden, formally the Duchies of Bremen and Verden (; ), were two territories and immediate fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, which emerged and gained imperial immediacy in 1180. By their original constitution they were prince-bishoprics of th ...

in 1645, Privy Councilor in 1651 and

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

in 1655. He is best known for the

Siege of Prague The siege of Prague was an unsuccessful attempt by a Prussian army led by Frederick the Great to capture the Bohemian city of Prague during the Third Silesian War (Seven Years' War). It took place in May 1757 immediately after the Battle of Pr ...

between 25 June and 1 November 1648, where he managed to capture and loot the left-bank of Prague but failed to take the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

until fighting ended with news of the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...

. During the

Second Northern War The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...

, Königsmarck was captured on a sea passage to the Polish front by Danzigian ships and held prisoner at Weichselmünde until the

Treaty of Oliva The Treaty or Peace of Oliva (; ; ) was one of the peace treaties ending the Second Northern War (1655–1660).Frost (2000), p. 183 It was signed on .Evans (2008), p. 55 The Treaty of Oliva, the Treaty of Copenhagen in the same year, and the T ...

1660. In 1655 Königsmarck erected a castle in Lieth and named it after his wife Agathe von Leesten. The name of the castle, Agathenburg, also became the

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

of the village Lieth. Their children were: * Otto Wilhelm von Königsmarck * Conrad or Kurt Christoph von Königsmarck, whose children were: ** Karl Johann von Königsmarck ** Maria Aurora von Königsmarck.Kenneth Meyer Setton, ''Venice, Austria, and the Turks in the Seventeenth Century'' (1991), p. 296 note 3
Google Books
** Amalia Wilhelmina von Königsmarck **

Philip Christoph von Königsmarck Count Philip Christoph von Königsmarck (4 March 1665 – 2 July 1694), also spelled Philipp, was a Swedes, Swedish count and soldier. He was allegedly the lover of Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Sophia Dorothea, Princess of Celle, the wife of Duke Ge ...

* Beata Elisabet von Königsmarck He died, aged 57, in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

References

* :de:s:ADB:Königsmarck, Hans Christoph Graf von

Notes

External links

WorldCat page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konigsmarck, Hans Christoff 1605 births 1663 deaths People from Kyritz Field marshals of Sweden Governors-general of Sweden Members of the Privy Council of Sweden Swedish military personnel of the Thirty Years' War German emigrants to Sweden Swedish people of German descent 17th-century Swedish nobility People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg 17th-century Swedish military personnel 17th-century Swedish politicians