Henrik Bjelke (13 January 1615 – 16 March 1683) was a Norwegian military officer who served as Admiral of the Realm of Denmark-Norway from 1662 to 1679. He was in command of the

Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy The history of the Danish navy began with the founding of a joint Dano-Norwegian navy on 10 August 1510, when King John appointed his vassal Henrik Krummedige to become "chief captain and head of all our captains, men and servants whom we now h ...

from 1657 to 1679.

Early life and education

Bjelke was born at Elingård Manor on

Onsøy Onsøy is a peninsula and a former municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre was Gressvik. History The parish of ''Onsø'' was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). A part of Onsøy ...

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side o ...

, Norway. He was the son of

Chancellor of Norway The Chancellor of Norway (modern Norwegian: ''Norges rikes kansler'', "Chancellor of Norway's Realm") was the most important aide of the King of Norway during the Middle Ages, and during the Union with Denmark. He issued laws and regulations, and ...

Jens Bjelke Jens Ågessøn Bjelke (2 February 1580 – 7 November 1659) was a Norwegian nobleman who was Chancellor of Norway from 1614 to 1648, when he was succeeded by Hannibal Sehested. He was the son of Åge Bjelke and Margrethe Thott. At the time ...

and Sophie Brockenhuus. He was the brother of Ove Bjelke (1611–1674) and

Jørgen Bjelke Jørgen Bjelke (2 June 1621 – 17 June 1696) was a Norwegian officer and nobleman. He was born at Elingaard Manor on Onsøy near Fredrikstad, in Østfold County, Norway and died in Kalundborg, Denmark. Early and personal life He was the son of ...

(1621-1696), both of whom also held prominent positions.

Career

Although while still very young, he enrolled and registered in 1633 in the

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...

in Italy. Later he became a soldier under

Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange Frederick Henry ( nl, Frederik Hendrik; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 1625 until his death in 1647. In the last ...

. He resigned from the service of Frederick Henry when he learned of the invasion of

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

under the command of Swedish Field Marshall

Lennart Torstenson Lennart Torstensson, Count of Ortala, Baron of Virestad (17 August 16037 April 1651), was a Swedish Field Marshal and military engineer. Early career He was born at Forstena manor in Västergötland. His parents were Märta Nilsdotter Posse a ...

in 1644 and went to Denmark. In March of that year King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway sent him to Norway where he served under Governor-general of Norway Hannibal Sehested. After the peace agreements of the

Second Treaty of Brömsebro (1645) The Second Treaty of Brömsebro (or the Peace of Brömsebro) was signed on 13 August 1645, and ended the Torstenson War, a local conflict that began in 1643 (and was part of the larger Thirty Years' War) between Sweden and Denmark–Norway. Neg ...

, he left to journey abroad and was for a time with

Corfitz Ulfeldt Count Corfits Ulfeldt (10 July 1606 – 20 February 1664) was a Danish statesman, and one of the most notorious traitors in Danish history. Early life Ulfeldt was the son of the chancellor Jacob Ulfeldt. He was educated abroad, concluding wi ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

but then went into the service of General

Peter Melander Graf von Holzappel Peter Melander, Count of Holzappel (8 February 1589 – 17 May 1648) was a German general who was a Protestant military leader in the Thirty Years' War until 1640 when he switched sides and even became Chief of the imperial army from 1647 unt ...

Westfalia Westfalia is the designation of various specially converted Volkswagen camper vans. It is named after Westfalia-Werke, the contractor that built the vans, which is headquartered in the town of Rheda-Wiedenbrück, located in the Westphalia region ...

. In 1648 he returned to Denmark and was made administrator of

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. In 1653 he was promoted to captain and in 1654 he was sent to Iceland against English pirates. During the

Dano-Swedish War (1658–60) Dano-Swedish War may refer to one of multiple wars which took place between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Kingdom of Denmark (from 1450 in personal union with the Kingdom of Norway) up to 1814: List of wars Legendary wars between Denmark a ...

along with

Niels Juel Niels Juel (8 May 1629 – 8 April 1697) was a Danish admiral and a naval hero. He served as supreme command of the Dano-Norwegian Navy The history of the Danish navy began with the founding of a joint Dano-Norwegian navy on 10 August 1510, ...

, he achieved a famous victory over the Swedish fleet under the command of Klas Hansson Bjelkenstjerna during the

Battle of Møn The Battle of Møn, also known as the Battle of Fehmarn, took place 31 May–1 June 1677, as part of the Scanian War. A smaller Swedish squadron under Admiral Erik Sjöblad attempted to sail from Gothenburg to join the main Swedish fleet in the ...

off the island of Møn on 12 September 1657. He earned a seat on the Danish Privy Council in 1666 and was promoted to Riksadmiral in 1662.

Property

In 1663, he purchased Næsbyholm, Bavelse, and Tersløsegård on southern

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

. In 1663, Frederick III also granted a property north of Copenhagen to Bjelke and his wife Edel Ulfeldt for life. Five years later, the king created a deed which ceded the property to Edel Ulfeldt and her descendants. It mentions the name "Edelgave" as the name of a future manor house at the site. Bjelke expanded the estate with several new tenants farms prior to its elevation to manor house in 1682. He also constructed a new half-timbered, three-winged main building. Bjelke also inherited

Elingård Elingård (''Elingaard herregård'') is a manor house and an estate located at Fredrikstad in Viken county, Norway. The manor is situated on the Onsøy peninsula outside of Fredrikstad. Elingaard manor is currently operated as a museum. History ...

in Norway. His son, Christoffer, inherited Austråt after his uncle's death in 1674.

Legacy

Henrik Bjelke married Edel Christoffersdatter Ulfeldt (15 March 1630 - 10 January 1676), a daughter of Christoffer Ulfeldt of Svenstorp (1583–1653) and Maren Urup (died c. 1651), on 20 December 1649. He was the father of Christian Frederik Bielke and Christoffer Bielke. Bjelke died on 16 March 1683 in Copenhagen. He was buried at Næsby Church in

Glumsø Glumsø is a railway town, with a population of 2,121 (1.January 2022), located on the southern part of Zealand in Denmark. Until 1.January 2007 it was the seat of Suså Municipality. Glumsø Station is located in Glumsø, serving the Sydbanen ...

. Bjelkes Allé in Copenhagen is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bjelke, Henrik 1615 births 1683 deaths People from Fredrikstad Norwegian admirals Danish admirals Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy personnel 17th-century Danish landowners 17th-century Norwegian military personnel Norwegian people of the Thirty Years' War H