Frederick II of Denmark

Frederick II (July 1, 1534 - April 4, 1588), King of Denmark and Norway from 1559 until his death. He was the son of King Christian III of Denmark and Norway and Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg. 1572 he was married to Sophia of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. They had five children.

Related Topics:
July 1 - 1534 - April 4 - 1588 - Denmark - Norway - 1559 - Christian III of Denmark - Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg - 1572 - Sophia of Mecklenburg-Güstrow

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First of all Frederick II stands as the typical renaissance ruler of Denmark. Unlike his father he was strongly affected by military ideals and already as a young man he made friendship with German war princes. Shortly after his succession he won his first victory by the conquest of the Ditmarshes in the summer of 1559.

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The dominating conflict of his rule was the Northern Seven Years? War 1563-1570 in which he in vain tried to conquer Sweden which was ruled by his cousin, the mad King Eric XIV. It developed into an extremely expensive war of attrition in which the areas of Scania were ravaged by the Swedes and Norway was near by being lost. During this war the king in personal led his army on the battlefield but without much result and the conflict damaged his relationship to his noble councillors. However, internal unrest in Sweden and the taking over of Danish administration by the able Steward of the Realm Peder Oxe stabilised the situation. The war ended by a status quo peace that let Denmark save face but also showed the limits of Danish military power.

Related Topics:
Northern Seven Years? War - 1563 - 1570 - Eric XIV - War of attrition - Peder Oxe

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After the war Frederick kept the peace without giving up his attempt of trying to expand his prestige as a naval ruler. His foreign politics were marked by a moral support of the Protestant powers ? in his time as a bachelor he wooed Queen Elizabeth of England - but at the same time by a strict neutrality. Councillors of experience like Peder Oxe, Niels Kaas and Christoffer Valkendorff took care of the domestic administration.

Related Topics:
Elizabeth - Niels Kaas - Christoffer Valkendorff

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As a person Frederick was described as hot-headed, vain, courageous and ambitious. He was a friend of wine and feasts and at his death it was a common opinion that he had drunk himself to death.

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He rebuilt Kronborg castle in Elsinore between 1574 and 1585. In 1576 he founded Fredrikstad in Norway. This was a period of affluence and growth in Danish history. Frederick was also a major patron of the famous astronomer Tycho Brahe. On April 4, 1588 he died and was succeeded by his eldest son Christian IV. His daughter Anne of Denmark married King James I of England.

Related Topics:
Kronborg - Elsinore - 1574 - 1585 - 1576 - Fredrikstad - Norway - Tycho Brahe - April 4 - Christian IV - Anne of Denmark - James I of England

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On his passing in 1588, King Frederick II was interred in Roskilde Cathedral.

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