Baron Klas Kristersson Horn (1517 – September 9, 1566) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

born, Swedish nobleman and Naval Admiral who fought for Sweden in the

Northern Seven Years' War The Northern Seven Years' War (also known as the ''Nordic Seven Years' War'', the ''First Northern War'' or the ''Seven Years War in Scandinavia'') was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden (1523–1611), Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denm ...

of 1563–1570.

Biography

Horn was born at Åminne Manor in

Halikko Halikko () is a former municipality of Finland that existed until December 31, 2008. On January 1, 2009, the municipality was merged with the larger neighboring Salo. Before the merge Halikko had become a rapidly urbanizing rural area. It was l ...

, Finland. He was the son of Krister Klasson Horn and Ingeborg Siggesdtr Sparre. He received his early education in the court of Philip I, Duke of Pomerania. In 1550, King

Gustav I of Sweden Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksför ...

made him the head of the district of southern Finland at

Raseborg Raseborg ( fi, Raasepori) is a town (administrative area) and municipality of Finland. It was created on January 1, 2009, when the municipalities of Ekenäs, Karis and Pohja were consolidated into a single town. Of these, Ekenäs now serves as ...

. He participated in the expeditions of

Jakob Bagge Jakob Tordsson Bagge (1 May 1502 – 14 January 1577) was a Norwegian born, Swedish admiral and nobleman. Biography Bagge was born the son of Norwegian nobleman Thord Olofsson Bagge and his wife Ingeborg Jakobsdotter. Both he and his father ...

during the fall of 1555. In 1556, he was sent to Viborg Castle and the following year was made commander. In 1559, he won a number of battles against Danish naval forces under

Herluf Trolle Herluf Trolle (14 January 1516 – 25 June 1565) was a Danish naval hero, Admiral of the Fleet and co-founder of Herlufsholm School (''Herlufsholm Skole og Gods''), a private boarding school at Næstved on the island of Zealand in Denmark. ...

and the Free City of Lübeck. Horn was sent to Reval (now

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

) by King

Eric XIV of Sweden Eric XIV ( sv, Erik XIV; 13 December 153326 February 1577) was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1569. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I (1496–1560) and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–1535). He was also ruler of Est ...

in March 1561. By June,

Toompea Castle Toompea castle ( et, Toompea loss) is a medieval castle on Toompea hill in the central part of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. In modern times, it houses the Parliament of Estonia. History The Toompea castle's predecessor, an ancient Estonia ...

was conquered by his troops and Reval became a dominion of Sweden. Klas Horn was raised to

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

(''Horn af Åminne'') and made a Baron in June 1561. After Jakob Bagge was captured, Klas was promoted to Admiral in the Royal Swedish Navy in the fall of 1564. In January 1565, forces under his command sacked the Danish provinces of

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

and

Halland Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömseb ...

. He won a decisive victories over the Danish navy at Bornholm on July 7, 1565 and on July 26, 1566 in the third battle of the northern part of Öland. He died shortly after being called to command Swedish land forces.

Personal life

In 1551, he married Kerstin Krumme (1532–1611). He died at Stora Åby parish in Östergötland, Sweden and was buried at

Uppsala Cathedral Uppsala Cathedral ( sv, Uppsala domkyrka) is a cathedral located between the University Hall of Uppsala University and the Fyris river in the centre of Uppsala, Sweden. A church of the Church of Sweden, the national church, in the Lutheran t ...

Legacy

Baron Klas Kristersson Horn has been recognized as a naval hero with both the Royal Swedish Navy and Finnish Navy naming vessels in his honor; ''HSwMS Klas Horn'' (1929) and '' Klas Horn'' (1892).Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980) ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946'' (Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press)

Biography

Personal life

Legacy

See also

References

Related reading