Jens Hermansson Juel or Jens Juel (born 8 January 1580 at Refstrup,Denmark died 26 March 1634 at Bøvling, Denmark) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

nobleman who served as Governor-general of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

from 1618 to 1629.

Early years

Juel attended the

Sorø Academy Sorø Academy ( Danish, ''Sorø Akademi'') is a boarding school and gymnasium located in the small town of Sorø, Denmark. It traces its history back to the 12th century when Bishop Absalon founded a monastery at the site, which was confiscated b ...

from 1590 to 1596, and then had a seven-year educational trip with studies abroad, ending in 1603 when he became employed at the Danish chancery. He advanced quickly, being given major tasks: Danish Treasury (responsible for accounting, payment and collection of customs duties and taxes, as well as management of state property, including forests, roads and buildings) beginning in 1609, member of the Danish national council from 1616 and assignment to serve on several diplomatic missions.

Governor-general of Norway

In 1618, he was named Governor-general of Norway which included the traditional role as

feudal lord An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The tenant thenceforth owed to the overlord one of a variety of services, usually military service or se ...

to Akershus in Norway. Juel proved to be an energetic and active governor, both on the Crown’s and on his own behalf. King

Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian monar ...

was occupied with the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

which left Juel with substantial latitude to apply his own judgment. He enacted a garrison tax in 1627, which financed the manning of fortresses at Akershus, Båhus,

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

and

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 ...

, and served as the foundation of an independent Norwegian defense organization, based on a strengthened peasant militia. A similar attempt at developing Norwegian naval strength was, however, rejected by the king. As feudal lord of Akershus, Juel established the "new city" of Christiania when Oslo burnt in 1624 (the old city was moved closer to

Akershus Castle Akershus Fortress ( no, Akershus Festning, ) or Akershus Castle ( no, Akershus slott ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress ...

and renamed Christiania). The "new city" became a relatively Danish-dominated city, serving as refuge for a network of immigrant merchants, especially from

Haderslev Haderslev (; german: Hadersleben ) is a Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark with a population of 22,011 (1 January 2022).Kongsberg Silver Mines Kongsberg Silver works () was a mining operation at Kongsberg in Viken county in Norway. The town of Kongsberg is the site of the Norwegian Mining Museum (). History Operating from over 80 different sites, Kongsberg silver mines constituted th ...

. The Silver Works was originally a 100% state-owned enterprise, but financial difficulties resulting from the Danish-Norwegian intervention in the Thirty Years' War, resulted in sale of shares to a private company in 1628, with the state as one of the part-owners. Juel was head of the private partnership that bought a share of the silver mine. Juel was also active in husbanding his private wealth through lending while he served in Oslo, gaining ownership of a number of Norwegian estates, and also acquiring lands in Denmark.

Family

His father was Herman Juel (1548–1607) and Maren Juel. On 13 May 1610 in Viborg, Denmark, he married Ide Lange (1584–1649), the daughter of Hans Lange (1542–1609) of Brejning and Johanne Skram (?-1620). Juel and Ide Hansdatter Lange had a daughter, Christence Juel, who was born on 12 August 1637. She married

Jørgen Rosenkrantz Jørgen is a Danish, Norwegian, and Faroese masculine given name cognate to George People with the given name Jørgen * Jørgen Aall (1771–1833), Norwegian ship-owner and politician * Jørgen Andersen (1886–1973), Norwegian gymnast * Jørg ...

(born 1607).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Juel, Jens Danish nobility Juel family Governors-general of Norway 1580 births 1634 deaths