Axel Urup (13 September 1601 – 15 March 1671) 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 ance ...

military engineer and commander, '' Rigsmarsk'' and

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

justice.

Biography

In 1621 he travelled abroad and served in the Dutch defence of Bergen op Zoom. Later he continued to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

before returning home where he served as an ensign under Enevold Kruse in the Danish branch of the Thirty Years' War in 1625 and 1626. He was taken as a prisoner of war by Tilly at Battle of Lutter on 27 August 1626 but was part of an exchange of prisoners on 10 December. In 1627 he was engaged as a military engineer but returned to the Netherlands in 1629 where he from 1 October participated in the

Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch The siege of 's-Hertogenbosch also known as the ''siege of Bois-Le-Duc''Markham pp. 435-38 was an action in 1629, during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War in which a Dutch and English army captured the city of 's-Hertogenbosch. ...

and was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in Holger Parsberg's Danish regiment. In 1630 he was charged with the fortification of various strategic localities in

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 ...

. In 1631 he founded the fortress of Christianspris just north of

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, 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 J ...

and was in 1635 granted it as a fief with title of Governor and Engineer of the Realm. On 7 April 1638 he was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

and ordered to establish a regiment of German soldiers. In December 1643, at the outbreak of the

Torstenson War The Torstenson war, Hannibal controversy or Hannibal War ( no, Hannibalsfeiden) was a short period of conflict between Sweden and Denmark–Norway from 1643 to 1645 towards the end of the Thirty Years' War. The names refer to Swedish general L ...

, he was taken prisoner when General

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 ...

suddenly burst into Jutland but later set frii at Lübeck. From 1645 and until the fortress was abandoned in 1648, he served once again as governor of Christianspris. In 1647 he was in Copenhagen where he worked on the fortifications and completed the rebuilding of Christian IV's Arsenal. On 25 November 1648 he was created Knight of the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...

and granted

Christianopel Kristianopel () is a village in Karlskrona Municipality in the southeastern Swedish region of Blekinge. In 2015 it had a population of 88. History of the town Flint finds have been made at the site, which indicates that there have been Stone Age ...

as a fief and in 1651 also the Fief of Copenhagen. 1653 he became commander of an infantry regiment on Zealand. During the plague of 1654 he remained in Copenhagen and governed the city in the absence of

Joachim Gersdorff Joachim Gersdorff (12 November 1611 - 19 April 1661) was a Denmark, Danish politician, from 1650 to 1660 Danish Steward of the Realm, Steward of the Danish Realm. It was Gersdorff who negotiated the Treaty of Roskilde on Denmark's part during the ...

. On 3 August 1655 he became a member of the Privy Council and that same year received large fiefs in return for the Fief of Copenhagen. He accompanied Crown Prince

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

to Hyldingen in

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 t ...

. On 22 January 1657 he became commander of the Danish army in

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...

during the

Scanian 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, ...

(. On 12 April 1657 he was granted the Fief of Malmø, 25 maj

Generalissimus ''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus m ...

of the Danish troops in Scania. In 1658 he succeeded

Anders Bille Anders Bille (19 March 1600 – 10 November 1657) was the Danish Rigsmarsk, the officer leading the entire armed forces of Denmark, from 1642.

as Rigsmarsk. On 13 January he became a member of the new War Council and participated in the defence of the Copenhagen during the siege and was at the king's side during the Assault on Copenhagen on 11 February 1659. The following year he took part in the negotiations which led to the Treaty of Copenhagen. From 1661 to 1670 he was a justice in the new

. In 1659 and 1550 respectively, he was granted Dalum Abbey (until 1662) and St. Canute's Abbey, both on the island of

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urup, Axel Danish generals Danish engineers 17th-century Danish people 1601 births 1671 deaths

Biography

See also

References