Christoffer Knudsson Urne of Årsmarke (27 October 1593 – 27 September 1663) was a Danish statesman and landholder. He served as

Royal Treasurer Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or Royalty (disambiguation), royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Ill ...

from 1617 to 1627, Governor-General of Norway from 1629 to 1642 and as Chancellor of the Realm from 1646.

Early life and education

Urne was born at

Halsted Priory Halsted Priory ( Danish: Halsted Kloster), formerly a small Benedictine house, is a manor house and estate located close to Nakskov on the island of Lolland in southeastern Denmark. The estate was renamed Juellinge when the Barony of Juellinge wa ...

on the island of

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the List of islands of Denmark#List of 100 largest Danish islands, fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Kattegat, Belts and Sund area, it is part of Re ...

, Denmark. He was a son of Knud Axelsen Urne til Årsmarke (1564–1622) and Margrethe Eilersdatter Grubbe til Alslev (1568–1654). He was a brother-in-law of

Ove Gjedde Ove Gjedde (alternatively spelled Giedde; 27 December 1594 – 19 December 1660) was a Danish nobleman and Admiral of the Realm (), who established the first Danish colony in Asia. Born in Tomarps (), Denmark–Norway, in 1594 to Brostrup ...

who married his sister Dorothy Knudsdatter Urne (1600-1667). He attended

Sorø Academy Sorø Academy ( Danish: ''Sorø Akademi'') is a boarding school and gymnasium located in the small town of Sorø, Denmark. It traces its history back to the 12th century when Bishop Absalon founded a monastery at the site, which was confiscated by ...

1605-09 and travelled 6 years in Europe.

Career

Urne became secretary of the chancellor of Denmark until he became a treasurer in 1617, which he remained until 1627. In 1627 was granted supervision of Nykøbing and Ålholm and made commissioner-general of the market towns of

and

Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

. He served as Steward of Norway from 1629 to 1642. After 13 years in Norway he returned to Denmark. In 1646, Urne succeeded

Just Høg Just Høg (8 September 1584 – 25 May 1646) was a Danish statesman and landowner. He served as the first '' Hofmeister'' of Sorø Academy from 1629 to 1640 and then as Chancellor of the Realm from 1640 to 1646. He was the owner of Ghorslev Man ...

as Chancellor of the Realm (''rigskansler''). He escorted Christian IV to the Norwegian ''herredag'' in Christiania.

Property

He inherited Knuthenborg Årsmarke from his father. His wife brought Søbysøgård into the marriage. He also bought Nielstrup and Fårevejle. Throughout his career he was rewarded with numerous royal fiefs. They included

Aalholm Aalholm, also Aalholm Castle (), is a castle and country estate in Nysted in the municipality of Guldborgsund, on the south coast of the island of Lolland, Denmark. It is the oldest castle on the island, first mentioned in 1329. The main buildin ...

, Akershus, Tranekær and Dragsholm. From 1658 he was granted

Lyse Abbey Lyse Abbey or Saint Mary's Abbey, Lyse () is a now-ruined Cistercian monastery in Bjørnafjorden Municipality in Vestland county in south-western Norway. The name "Lyse" is derived from Lysefjorden near which the building stood. The abbey l ...

which he exchanged the year after for

Halsnøy Abbey Halsnøy Abbey (''Halsnøy kloster'') was a house of Augustinian Canons located on the island of Halsnøy on the Hardangerfjord at Kvinnherad in Vestland, Norway. History Halsnøy Abbey was one of the richest monasteries in medieval era No ...

which he retained until his death in 1663.

Personal life

On 18 July 1624 Urne married Sophie Hansdatter Lindenov (1608–1652), daughter of Hans Johansen Lindenov and Lisbeth Sophie Rantzau. In 1628 they became the parents of Christian Urne (1628–1669) later a magistrate on

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 ...

. Christoffer Urne donated a new altarpiece to the church Egebjerg Church in

Odsherred Odsherred is a peninsula in the north-western part of the island Zealand (Sjælland) in Denmark. Odsherred stretches from the Sjællands Odde in the north-west to the now drained Lammefjord in the south, covering an area with a wide range of the ...

. He died on 27 September 1663 and was buried in

Nykøbing Falster Nykøbing Falster (; originally named Nykøbing) is a city on the island of Falster in southern Denmark. It has a population of 16,682 (1 January 2025). Including the satellite town Sundby (Lolland), Sundby on the Lolland side, with a populatio ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urne, Christoffer 1593 births 1663 deaths People from Lolland Court of Christian IV of Denmark Governors-general of Norway Urne family People educated at Sorø Academy