Conrad or Kurt Christoph von Königsmarck (24 March 1634 – 31 October 1673) was a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

- Swedish military leader. He was the son of

Hans Christoff von Königsmarck Count Hans Christoff von Königsmarck, of Tjust (12 December 1605 – 8 March 1663) was a German soldier who commanded Sweden's legendary flying column, a force which played a key role in the Swedish military strategy in the Thirty Years' War ...

and Agathe von Leesten and the brother of

Otto Wilhelm von Königsmarck Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

and

Beata Elisabet von Königsmarck Beata Elisabet von Königsmarck (1637–1723), was a Swedish countess and landowner. She was the daughter of Hans Christoff von Königsmarck and Barbara von Leist: through her brother, she was thereby the paternal aunt of Carl Johan von König ...

Career

Königsmarck received an education despite the war and later joined the Swedish army. He took part in the bloody battle near Warsaw in 1656. In 1658 under

Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...

command during the crossing over the frozen Great Belt Bridge to

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

he was caught by the Danes and was left free only after the Peace of

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

. In 1663 after the death of his father he became a vice-governor of the

Duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

Bremen-Verden Bremen-Verden, formally the Duchies of Bremen and Verden (; ), were two territories and immediate fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, which emerged and gained imperial immediacy in 1180. By their original constitution they were prince-bishoprics of th ...

and commander of

Stade Stade (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (, ) is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the Stade (district), district () which bears its name. It is located roughly to the wes ...

. He served the stadthouder

William III of Orange William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 167 ...

Bodegraven Bodegraven () is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The former municipality covers an area of of which is water. The former municipality of Bodegraven also includes the communities Me ...

during the

Rampjaar In Dutch history, the year 1672 is referred to as the (; Disaster Year). In May 1672, following the outbreak of the Franco-Dutch War and its peripheral conflict the Third Anglo-Dutch War, France, supported by Münster and Cologne, invaded a ...

. When 10,000 French troops under the command of François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg arrived over the frozen ice of the

Hollandic Water Line The Dutch Waterline (; modern spelling: ''Hollandse Waterlinie'') was a series of water-based defences conceived by Maurice of Nassau in the early 17th century, and realised by his half brother Frederick Henry. Combined with natural bodies of wat ...

from

Woerden Woerden () is a city and a municipality in central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht, and the fact that it has rail and road connections to those cities, it is a popular town for commu ...

on 27 December 1672, he retreated to

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

. There the councilman Cornelis Hop and others kept the gates closed and ordered him back to Alphen aan de Rijn in order to defend the Water Line at Gouwsluis. His retreat enabled the Duke of Luxembourg to destroy Bodegraven and

Zwammerdam Zwammerdam is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland along Oude Rijn river. It is a part of the municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn, and lies about 6 km southeast of Alphen aan de Rijn. The name derives from a dam built in the Rh ...

.Conrad Christoffel graaf van Königsmarck
in the

NNBW The ''Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek'' (''NNBW'') is a biographical reference work in the Dutch language. It was published in ten parts between 1911 and 1937 by Sijthoff, Leiden, and the editors were P. C. Molhuysen and P. J. Blok. ...

Königsmarck was killed in the Siege of Bonn by an accidental cannon shot from friendly side at the age of 39. In a year his body was reburied in Stade. He was known for his charitable gifts, as for example a rebuilding of burnt church in Stade in 1659.

Personal life

He married Countess Maria Christina von Wrangel, the daughter of Count Hermann von Wrangel. They had five children, four of whom lived to adulthood: *

Karl Johann von Königsmarck Carl Johann von Königsmarck (15 May 1659 – 28 August 1686) was a Swedish count of Brandenburgian extraction and a soldier. Königsmarck was born in Nyborg in Funen, Denmark, as the second son of Count Kurt Christoph von Königsmarck and his ...

(1659-1686) * Maria Aurora von Königsmarck (1662-1728). *

Amalia Wilhelmina von Königsmarck Amalia may refer to: People *Amalia (given name), feminine given name (includes a list of people so named) *Princess Amalia (disambiguation), several princesses with this name Films and television series * ''Amalia'' (1914 film), the first ...

(1663-1740) *

Philip Christoph von Königsmarck Count Philip Christoph von Königsmarck (4 March 1665 – 2 July 1694), also spelled Philipp, was a Swedes, Swedish count and soldier. He was allegedly the lover of Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Sophia Dorothea, Princess of Celle, the wife of Duke Ge ...

(1665-1694) * Gustaf Herman von Königsmarck (1668–1669), who died in infancy

References

1634 births 1673 deaths Swedish military personnel {{Netherlands-politician-stub