Christian Rantzau (23 January 1684 – 16 April 1771) was a Danish nobleman and civil servant. He served as Governor-general of Norway from 1731 to 1739.

Biography

Rantzau was born at

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

as son of Otto Rantzau (1632–1719), third lensgreve of Rosenvold, and Sophie Amalie Krag af Jylland (1648–1710). He became 5th lensgreve of Rosenvold in 1726, succeeding his brother Frederik Rantzau (1677–1726). He owned besides Rosenvold, estates at Asdal, Brahesborg, Hammelmose, Krengerup and Skovgaard. In his youth he was on an educational journey in Europe. In 1702 he studied at the Knight Academy (''Det ridderlige Akademi'') in Copenhagen. In 1713 he became a commissioner in the Naval General War Commission. Rantzau was dismissed in 1721. In 1726, he received a seat on the commission to investigate the conditions of the Danish-Norwegian Royal Navy. He was appointed vice Steward of

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 ...

, in 1731 after recently deceased Ditlev Vibe (1670–1731). During King

Christian VI Christian VI (30 November 1699 – 6 August 1746) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746. The eldest surviving son of Frederick IV and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, he is considered one of Denmark-Norway's more anonymous kings, bu ...

voyage to Norway in 1733, Rantzau played a major role; he accompanied the court of the King to

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

. In 1739, his office was rescinded and remained vacant until 1750. The reason for why Rantzaus was deposed was because of his wild lifestyle, and the

pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life. Although the movement is ali ...

King Christian VI did not approve of his way of living and deposed him as his Steward of Norway. In 1740, he succeeded Christian Christophersen Sehested as county governor of Odense and several counties. He lived at St. Canute's Abbey (''Skt Knuds Kloster'') among the largest buildings in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

. For 20 years he governed his counties, resigning in 1760. He died during 1771 at Brahesborg in

Fyn Proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Fyn (p59-FYN, Slk, Syn, MGC45350, Gene ID 2534) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''FYN'' gene. Fyn is a 59-kDa member of the Src family of kinases typically associated with T-cell and neurona ...

Personal life

Rantzau married Charlotte Amalie Goeye (1689–1724) in 1716 and after her death married Eleonore Scheel-von Plessen (1708–1770) in 1726. Had from first marriage Otto Mandrup Rantzau (1719–1768); from second marriage Christian Rantzau (1730–1765), Friedrich Siegfried Rantzau (1744–1822) and Carl Adolf Rantzau (1742–1814). Rantzau was also a great collector of books, and he had over 3600 books in his collection. Unfortunately he became insane in his last years, and destroyed a lot of the collection, including old monastic books from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rantzau, Christian 1684 births 1771 deaths 18th-century Danish nobility Politicians from Copenhagen Nobility from Copenhagen Governors-general of Norway

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 ...