Christian Detlev, Count von Reventlow (21 June 1671 – 1 October 1738) was a Royal Dano-Norwegian Army officer and diplomat.

Biography

He was the son of Conrad, Count Reventlow, chancellor of Denmark, and his first wife, Anna Margarethe Gabel (1651–1678). He was a brother of Christine Sophie Holstein (1672–1757) and a half-brother of

Anne Sophie Reventlow Anne Sophie von Reventlow (; 16 April 1693 – 7 January 1743) was Queen of Denmark and Norway from 1721 to 1730 as the second wife of Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway. Early life Born in Clausholm castle, into an ancient House of Reventlow, ...

(1693–1743), second wife and queen consort of King

Frederick IV of Denmark Frederick IV (Danish language, Danish: ''Frederik''; 11 October 1671 – 12 October 1730) was List of Danish monarchs, King of Denmark and List of Norwegian monarchs, Norway from 1699 until his death. Frederick was the son of Christian V of Denma ...

. Reventlow had a military career and fought in the Danish contingent against the French during the

War of the Grand Alliance The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

. In 1701 he was sent at the head of the Danish troops to fight the French in

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 ...

during the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish ...

, serving under

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

(1663–1736). He took part in the Battle of Höchstädt in 1704 and was severely wounded in the Battle of Cassano in 1705. At the

Battle of Calcinato The Battle of Calcinato took place near the town of Calcinato in Lombardy, Italy on 19 April 1706 during the War of the Spanish Succession between a French-led force under the duc de Vendôme and an Imperial army under Graf von Reventlow. I ...

on 19 April 1706, Count von Reventlow was pitted against General

Louis Joseph de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

(1654–1712), in a battle resulting in a French victory. His forces were divided as Reventlow was in command of the imperial army at both

Montichiari Montichiari (Brescian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on December 27, 1991. The town is home to the Gabriele D'Annunzio airport (Italian: ''Aer ...

and Calcinato. In 1709 he held command of Danish forces 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

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

. In March 1713 King Frederick IV appointed Reventlow as the top official (''overpræsident'') of the city of Altona. Opposite

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, the harbor of Altona was on the banks of the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

river and at that time one of the more important Danish harbour towns. The city had been plundered by Swedish forces and had to be rebuilt. His task was to supervise the reconstruction program. In 1732 in the aftermath of the death of King

, he was dismissed from his position at Altona.

Personal life

Reventlow was first betrothed to Anna Christiane Gyldenløve (1676–1689), who died at 13 years of age. Anna Christiane was the daughter of daughter of King

Christian V of Denmark Christian V (15 April 1646 – 25 August 1699) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the dec ...

and Sophie Amalie Moth, Countess of Samsø. In 1700, he was married Benedikta Margarethe von Brockdorff (1678–1739). Among his children were * Conrad Detlev (1704–1750) married in 1731 Wilhelmina Augusta (1704–1749), daughter of Prince Christian Charles of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön-Norburg *

Christian Ditlev Reventlow (1710–1775) Christian Ditlev, Count of Reventlow (10 March 1710 – 30 March 1775) was a Danish Privy Councillor, nobleman and a landowner. Early life and ancestry Being a member of an old House of Reventlow, he was born into the family of significant ...

, Danish Privy Councillor * Christine Armgard von Reventlow (1711–1779), married

Frederick Charles, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön Frederick Charles of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (4 August 1706, in Sønderborg18–19 October 1761, in Traventhal), known as ''Friedrich Karl'' or ''Friedrik Carl'' of Holstein-Plön, was a member of a cadet branch of the Danish Royal Fa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reventlow, Christian Detlev, Count 1671 births 1738 deaths Danish army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession 18th-century Danish diplomats Christian Detlev Generals of the Holy Roman Empire