Baron Klas Hansson Bjelkenstjerna (also Claës Hansson Bjelkenstjerna or Bielkenstjerna) (24 April 1615 – 30 July 1662) was a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
naval officer
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contex ...
and civil servant.
HIs father,
Hans Klasson Bjelkenstjerna, who also was a high-ranking naval officer, died when his son was only 5 years old, leaving him to be raised by relatives. Young Bjelkenstjerna soon grew up and followed in his father's footsteps, joining the
Swedish navy.
He rose in rank within the navy, being appointed
skeppsmajor in 1641. He married baroness
Barbro Åkesdotter Natt och Dag in 1643. He participated in the sea campaigns against the Danish and Dutch fleets, in particular
Battle of Colberger Heide (1644), and the escape from the
Kiel Fjord
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland pe ...
where the Danish fleet tried to trap the Swedish squadrons. Due to his achievements in battle he was rewarded with a promotion to
Admiral-Löjtnant.
Years of relative peace followed, with Bjelkenstjerna entering civil service. In 1650, he was appointed to
överhovmästare (tutor) for the crown prince
Carl Gustav. Queen
Christina I granted him the barony of
Pyhäjoki
Pyhäjoki (; literally the "Holy River") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the defunct province of Oulu, which was split in two regions; Pyhäjoki is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. It is located southwest of the city of O ...
in the
Northern Ostrobothnia
North Ostrobothnia ( fi, Pohjois-Pohjanmaa; sv, Norra Österbotten) is a region of Finland. It borders the Finnish regions of Lapland, Kainuu, North Savo, Central Finland and Central Ostrobothnia, as well as the Russian Republic of Karelia. ...
region of
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. This occurred in the year 1652. The following year Bjelkenstjerna became a member of the
Privy Council.
Trivia
* At his deathbed the Swedish king
Carl X Gustav called upon his former tutor Admiral Bjelkenstjerna and supposedly bid him farewell with the words: ''»Farväl, min hederlige Bjelkenstjerna! Tack för hvar dag vi varit tillsammans!»'' which translates to English as ''"Farewell, my honourable Bjelkenstjerna! I'm thankful for each day that we spent together!"
References
*
Nordisk familjebok, vol. 2 (1878), col
603f(in Swedish)
*
(in Swedish)
1615 births
1662 deaths
Swedish nobility
Swedish admirals
{{Sweden-royal-stub