Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

count Augustin Ehrensvärd (25 September 1710 – 4 October 1772) was a Swedish military officer, military architect, artist, creator of the

Suomenlinna Suomenlinna (), or Sveaborg (), is a sea fortress composed of eight islands, of which six have been fortified. Located about 4 km southeast of the city center of Helsinki, the capital of Finland, Suomenlinna is a popular destination for bot ...

(Sveaborg) fortress, Svartholm fortress and the Swedish

archipelago fleet The archipelago fleet (), officially the "fleet of the army" (), was a Navy, maritime branch of the Swedish Armed Forces which existed between 1756 and 1823. Its purpose was to protect the coasts of Sweden, which was surrounded by a natural barrie ...

. He was born in Fullerö Castle, Barkarö and died in the village of Saris, Mynämäki. In 1747, he was chosen by king

Frederick I of Sweden Frederick I (; 28 April 1676 – 5 April 1751) was List of Swedish monarchs, King of Sweden from 1720 until his death, having been prince consort of Sweden from 1718 to 1720, and was also Landgrave of Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Kassel fr ...

to design and construct a maritime

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

near

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, then a part of the

Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic country by both area ...

. Building the fortress of Sveaborg became a life's work for Ehrensvärd, who kept expanding the island fortress until his death in 1772. Ehrensvärd's design was a low-profile bastion-type fortress that would follow the natural contours of the islands and thus remain inconspicuous to enemy fleets. Many of the constructions in Sveaborg are considered to be architectural masterpieces. Augustin Ehrensvärd was also the commander of the Swedish

from 1756 to 1766, and from 1770, until his death in 1772. In addition to

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

, Ehrensvärd's interests included

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

educational psychology Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive psychology, cognitive and behavioral psychology, behavioral perspectives, allows researc ...

and

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. Upon his death in 1772, Ehrensvärd was promoted to the rank of

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

. He was also well respected by the Finnish people, who appreciated his efforts in the construction of Sveaborg, an important cultural and economic centre in the eastern part of 18th-century Sweden, which later would become modern Finland. Ehrensvärd's burial monument in Sveaborg was designed by king

Gustav III of Sweden Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what he s ...

himself. Ehrensvärd was elected a member of the member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

in 1739, the year it was founded. Image:Suomenlinna Ehrensvard grave.jpg, Augustin Ehrensvärd's tomb at the

fortress Image:Utsikt over Sveaborg av Augustin Ehrensvard.jpg, "View over Sveaborg" by Augustin Ehrensvärd

References

External links

Augustin Ehrensvärd
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrensvard, Augustin 1710 births 1772 deaths People from Västerås Municipality Field marshals of Sweden Swedish architects 18th-century Swedish nobility Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 18th-century Swedish architects Suomenlinna Age of Liberty people 18th-century Swedish military personnel

See also

References

Further reading

External links