Axel Urup (13 September 1601 – 15 March 1671) was a Danish military engineer and commander, '' Rigsråd'' and

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

justice.

Biography

In 1621 he travelled abroad and served in the

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 ...

defence of

Bergen op Zoom Bergen op Zoom (; called ''Berrege'' in the Brabantian dialect, local dialect) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in southwestern Netherlands. It is located in the Province ...

. Later he continued to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

before returning home where he served as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

under Enevold Kruse in the Danish branch of the Thirty Years' War in 1625 and 1626. He was taken as a prisoner of war by Tilly at

Battle of Lutter The Battle of Lutter (German language, German: ''Lutter am Barenberge'') took place on 27 August 1626 during the Thirty Years' War, south of Salzgitter, in Lower Saxony. A combined Danish-German force led by Christian IV of Denmark was defeated ...

on 27 August 1626 but was part of an exchange of prisoners on 10 December. In 1627 he was engaged as a military engineer but returned to the Netherlands in 1629 where he from 1 October participated in the

Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch The siege of 's-Hertogenbosch also known as the siege of Bois-Le-DucMarkham pp. 435-38 was an action in 1629, during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War in which a Dutch and English army captured the city of 's-Hertogenbosch.Knigh ...

and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in Holger Parsberg's Danish regiment. In 1630 he was charged with the fortification of various strategic localities in

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

. In 1631 he founded the fortress of Christianspris just north of

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

and was in 1635 granted it as a fief with title of Governor and Engineer of the Realm. On 7 April 1638 he was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and ordered to establish a regiment of German soldiers. In December 1643, at the outbreak of the

Torstenson War The Torstenson War was fought between Sweden and Denmark–Norway from 1643 to 1645. The name derives from Swedish general Lennart Torstenson. Denmark-Norway had withdrawn from the Thirty Years' War in the 1629 Treaty of Lübeck. After its vic ...

, he was taken prisoner when General

Lennart Torstenson Lennart Torstensson (17 August 1603 – 7 April 1651), Swedish List of Swedish field marshals, Field Marshal and later Governor-General of Pomerania, Västergötland, Dalsland, Värmland and Halland. He adapted the use of artillery on the battlef ...

suddenly burst into Jutland but later set frii at

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

. From 1645 and until the fortress was abandoned in 1648, he served once again as governor of Christianspris. In 1647 he was in Copenhagen where he worked on the fortifications and completed the rebuilding of

Christian IV's Arsenal Christian IV's Arsenal (Danish language, Danish: Christian IV's Tøjhus), is a historic building on Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built by Christian IV of Denmark in 1604 as part of a grand scheme for the construction of a new ...

. On 25 November 1648 he was created Knight of the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in ...

and granted Christianopel as a fief and in 1651 also the Fief of Copenhagen. 1653 he became commander of an infantry regiment on Zealand. During the plague of 1654 he remained in Copenhagen and governed the city in the absence of

Joachim Gersdorff Joachim Gersdorff (12 November 1611 - 19 April 1661) was a Danish politician, from 1650 to 1660 Steward of the Danish Realm. It was Gersdorff who negotiated the Treaty of Roskilde on Denmark's part during the Second Northern War, a war he had hi ...

. On 3 August 1655 he became a member of the Privy Council and that same year received large fiefs in return for the Fief of Copenhagen. He accompanied Crown Prince

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

to Hyldingen in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. On 22 January 1657 he became commander of the Danish army in

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

during the

Scanian War The Scanian War (; ; ; ) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg and Swedish Empire, Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish ...

(. On 12 April 1657 he was granted the Fief of Malmø, 25 maj

Generalissimus ''Generalissimo'' ( ), also generalissimus, is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ...

of the Danish troops in Scania. In 1658 he succeeded

Anders Bille Anders Bille (19 March 1600 – 10 November 1657) was the Danish Rigsmarsk, the officer leading the entire armed forces of Denmark, from 1642.

as Rigsmarsk. On 13 January he became a member of the new War Council and participated in the defence of the Copenhagen during the siege and was at the king's side during the Assault on Copenhagen on 11 February 1659. The following year he took part in the negotiations which led to the Treaty of Copenhagen. From 1661 to 1670 he was a justice in the new

. In 1659 and 1550 respectively, he was granted Dalum Abbey (until 1662) and St. Canute's Abbey, both on the island of

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urup, Axel 17th-century Danish engineers 17th-century Danish military officers 17th-century Danish judges People of the Third Anglo-Afghan War People of the Scanian War 1601 births 1671 deaths

Biography

See also

References