Christian Albert (,

Gottorp Gottorf Castle (german: Schloss Gottorf, da, Gottorp Slot, Low German: ''Gottorp'') is a castle and estate in the city of Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is one of the most important secular buildings in Schleswig-Holstein, and ha ...

– , Gottorp) was a duke of

Holstein-Gottorp Holstein-Gottorp or Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp () is the historiographical name, as well as contemporary shorthand name, for the parts of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, also known as Ducal Holstein, that were ruled by the dukes of Schl ...

and bishop of Lübeck.

Biography

Christian Albert was a son of

Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp (22 December 1597 – 10 August 1659) was a Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. He was the elder son of Duke Johann Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp and Princess Augusta of Denmark. His mother was a daughter of King Frede ...

, and his wife Princess

Marie Elisabeth of Saxony Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony (22 November 1610 – 24 October 1684) was duchess consort of Holstein-Gottorp as the spouse of Duke Friedrich III of Holstein-Gottorp. As a widow, she became known as a patron of culture. Biography She w ...

. He became duke when his father died in the Castle

Tönning Tönning (German; Low German ''Tünn'', ''Tönn'' or ''Tönnen''; Danish: ''Tønning''; North Frisian: ''Taning'') is a town in the district of Nordfriesland in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. History Tönning was destroyed in the ...

, besieged by the King

Christian V of Denmark Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decr ...

. He was forced to flee at that point, and the remainder of his life was characterized by his fight with

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. Later, he was to marry the daughter of King

Frederick III of Denmark Frederick III ( da, Frederik; 18 March 1609 – 9 February 1670) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death in 1670. He also governed under the name Frederick II as diocesan administrator (colloquially referred to as prince-b ...

, a marital alliance arranged in the hope for peace, but it changed nothing. Holsteingottorp frederica amalia and christian albrecht

During Christian Albert's reign, the connection with

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

, initiated by his father, was strengthened, which provided some protection. However, this also led to the duchy being pulled into all of Sweden's conflicts, including the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swe ...

and several wars with Denmark. From 1675 to 1689, Christian Albert lived in exile in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

. However, with the aid of the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

and the European allies, he managed to force the Danish king to sign the so-called ''Altonaer Vergleich'', which allowed him to regain his former position. Christian Albert made some contribution to culture, education and the arts. On 5 October 1665, he founded the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

. In 1678, he took part in the founding of the Hamburg

Oper am Gänsemarkt The Oper am Gänsemarkt was a theatre in Hamburg, Germany, built in 1678 after plans of Girolamo Sartorio at the Gänsemarkt square. It was the first public opera house to be established in Germany: not a court opera, as in many other towns. E ...

. Both he and his father, Frederick III, extended patronage to the painter

Jürgen Ovens Jürgen Ovens (1623 – 9 December 1678), also known as Georg, or Jurriaen Ovens whilst in the Netherlands, was a portrait painter and art-dealer from North Frisia and, according to Arnold Houbraken, a pupil of Rembrandt. He is best known for hi ...

, who worked for more than thirty years with them.

Family and children

Christian Albert married, on 24 October 1667,

Princess Frederica Amalia of Denmark Princess Frederica Amalia of Denmark and Norway (11 April 1649 – 30 October 1704) was the second daughter of King Frederick III of Denmark and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp from 1667 to 1695 as the co ...

, daughter of King

and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. They had the following children: # Sophie Amalie (19 January 1670 – 27 February 1710), married on 7 July 1695 to Prince

Augustus William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Augustus William (german: August Wilhelm; 8 March 1662 – 23 March 1731), a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruling Prince of Wolfenbüttel from 1714 until his death. Life Augustus William was the third, but e ...

. # Duke Frederick IV of Holstein-Gottorp (18 October 1671 – 19 July 1702), patrilineal ancestor of all Russian emperors after Catherine II. # Duke Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp (11 January 1673 – 24 April 1726), whose eldest-surviving son established a new dynasty in Sweden-Finland. # Marie Elisabeth (21 March 1678 – 17 July 1755), Abbess of

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became a center of in ...

. Agnatic progeny of his elder son ended up on the throne of Russia, and agnatic progeny of the younger son – on the thrones of Sweden and Oldenburg.

Ancestors

{{Authority control Lutheran Prince-Bishops of Lübeck Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp University of Kiel 1641 births 1695 deaths

Biography

Family and children

See also

Ancestors