Willem Coucheron (also recorded as ''Willum'' or ''Wyllem Coucheron'') was a Dutch-born Danish-Norwegian quartermaster general.

Biography

Willem Coucheron was born in the Netherlands and came to Norway in June 1657. Coucheron came to Norway as an engineer and quartermaster general for the region south of the

Dovrefjell Dovrefjell is a mountain range in Central Norway that forms a natural barrier between Eastern Norway and Trøndelag. The mountain range is located in Innlandet, Møre og Romsdal, and Trøndelag counties in Norway. As a result of its central loca ...

mountain range in central Norway in June 1657. He served as captain of the Oplandske National Infantry Regiment in 1658 and captain of the

Valdres Valdres () is a traditional district in central, southern Norway, situated between the districts of Gudbrandsdalen and Hallingdal. The region of Valdres consists of the six municipalities of Nord-Aurdal, Sør-Aurdal, Øystre Slidre, Vestre Slidre ...

company Under the command of

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 ...

he led his company in combat at

Bohuslän Bohuslän (; da, Bohuslen; no, Båhuslen) is a Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea ...

in 1659, and in the defense of Halden from 14 January to 23 February 1660. In 1660, hw was sent to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

to present plans for a new defensive work for

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish muni ...

, Norway. These plans were approved by the king on 28 July 1660. He began the construction of the fortifications of

Fredrikstad Fortress Fredrikstad fortress (''Fredrikstad festning'') was a fortification in Fredrikstad, Norway. It was the base of the Østfold Regiment, with defence related responsibilities for the east side of Oslofjord. History Fredrikstad Fortress was construct ...

at Halden in 1663. Together with his son Anthony Coucheron, he worked on the fortification which became known as

Fredriksten fortress Fredriksten is a fortress in the city of Halden in Norway. History This Fortresses was constructed by Denmark-Norway in the 17th century as a replacement for the border fortress at Bohus, which had been lost when the province of Bohuslän wa ...

. The defensive walls, built to the Dutch design of the period, were so effective a deterrent that the town, although placed under siege, was never taken. He became colonel of the Coucheron regiment in 1676; During the

Gyldenløve War The Scanian War ( da, Skånske Krig, , sv, Skånska kriget, german: Schonischer Krieg) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, ...

the regiment participated in combat at

and performed well in the conquest of Carlsten fortress (Swedish: ''Karlstens fästning'') at

Marstrand Marstrand () is a seaside locality situated in Kungälv Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,320 inhabitants in 2010. The town got its name from its location on the island of Marstrand. Despite its small population, for histori ...

in 1677. He became commandant of

1677–79 and commandant at

Bergenhus fortress Bergenhus fortress ( no, Bergenhus festning) is a fortress located in Bergen, Norway. Located at the entrance of Bergen harbour, the castle is one of the oldest and best preserved stone fortifications in Norway. History The fortress contains ...

from 1680. Coucheron died at

Bergenhus Bergenhus is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. This borough encompasses the city centre and is the most urbanized area of the whole city. The borough has a population (2014) of 40,606. This gives Bergenhus a popula ...

20 June 1689.

References

Other soueces

*V.E. Tychsen: ''Fortifikations-Etaterne og Ingeniørkorpset'', 1884 *Chr. Elling: ''Holmens Bygningshistorie'', 1932 *''Norske Minnesmerker, Fredrikstad'', 1934 *J. Klindt Jensen: ''Barokken i Rønne Fæstning'', 1952 *H. Langberg: ''Danmarks Bygningskultur I'', 1955 *V. Steen Møller: ''Frederiksvern'', 1973 *H.E. Nørregård-Nielsen i: ''Magtens Bolig'' (Danm. Ark.), 1980 *''Norsk Kunstnerleksikon'', Oslo 1981 *Kjeld Magnussen: ''Foren. til norske Fortidsminners Bevaring'', Årsbok 1985 *P. Bolten Jagd: ''Danske Forsvarsanlæg I'', 1986 *''Huse i Fr.havn'', 1986 1600s births 1689 deaths Danish generals Norwegian Army generals Dutch military engineers Danish military engineers Norwegian military engineers 17th-century Danish military personnel 17th-century Dutch military personnel {{denmark-mil-bio-stub