Christoffer Valkendorff (1 September 152517 January 1601) was a Danish-Norwegian statesman and landowner. His early years in the service of Frederick II brought him both to

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 ...

Ösel Saaremaa (; ) is the largest and most populous island in Estonia. Measuring , its population is 31,435 (as of January 2020). The main island of the West Estonian archipelago (Moonsund archipelago), it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hi ...

and

Livland Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

. He later served both as Treasurer and ''

Stadtholder In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...

'' of

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 ...

and finally as Steward of the Realm from 1596 to 1601. He owned Glorup Manor 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 ...

from 1535 to 1601, whose current main building he constructed, although it has later been adapted in the

Neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

. He constructed the old Town Hall in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, and he also constructed Svindinge Church, on Funen, one of the best preserved

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

churches in Denmark. He founded the dormitory

Valkendorfs Kollegium Valkendorfs Kollegium is a dormitory located in Sankt Peders Stræde in Copenhagen, Denmark. With a history that dates back to 1589, it is the oldest dormitory in Scandinavia. History The dormitory was founded on 26 February 1589 by the nobl ...

where the street Valkendorfsgade is named after him.

Early life and education

Valkendorff was born into the wealthy Valkendorff family on 1 September 1525 at Glorup Manor, the son of privy councillor Henning Valkendorff by his second wife Sidsel (Cecilie) Jørgens-datter Friis. His father died in 1535. He received a thorough education in his mother's house.

Career

Service in Norway

Valkendorff is mentioned in 1553 as king Christian III of Denmark-Norway`s secretary and was rewarded with the 1554 Fief of

for life. In 1556 he was also granted the fief of Vardøhus. He warned the government of Copenhagen about the threat against Danish economic interests that resulted from the British opening of a trade route north of Norway to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, avoiding the payment of

Sound Dues The Sound Dues (or Sound Tolls; ) were a toll on the use of the Øresund, or "Sound" strait separating the modern day borders of Denmark and Sweden. The tolls constituted up to two thirds of Denmark's state income in the 16th and 17th centurie ...

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; ), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a coastal city in northeastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 63,953 on 1 January 2025, making it the 23rd most populated municipality in Denmark. Helsin ...

. He was also successful in opposing the last remains of

Hanseatic The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

influence, which earned him the benevolence of King Frederick II. He also worked as a

squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Boys served a knight as an attendant, doing simple but important tasks such as saddling a horse or caring for the knight's weapons and armour. Terminology ''Squire'' ...

and local official. He confiscated illegally collected taxes and made the German clergy respect the ordinance and Bergen's superintendent. Mogens Gyldenstierne supported his initiatives. The Hanseatic League complained to the new king, Frederick II, about Valkendorff. The need for support from Lübeck in an awakening conflict with

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

made the king appoint a new fier of Bergen, called Valkendorff home to Copenhagen and open an investigation of his governance. Valkendorff was outraged and a further conflict with the king over land interests on Funen sent him off to Saxony in exile.

Seven Year War

Augustus, Elector of Saxony Augustus (31 July 152611 February 1586) was Elector of Saxony from 1553 to 1586. First years Augustus was born in Freiberg, the youngest child and third (but second surviving) son of Henry IV, Duke of Saxony, and Catherine of Mecklenburg. He c ...

mediated between Valkendorff and the king and in 1561 he was entrusted with the important task of escorting Dake Magnus to

. On 1 October 1563, during the Seven Year War, Valkendorff was appointed to

stadtholder In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...

alongside H. v. Lüdinghausen (Wulff).

Gotland, Roskildegaard and Salling

Valkendorff was called home to Copenhagen in 1567. He lost the fief of

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

in 1570 and was instead granted the fief of

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

in August 1571. The situation on Gotland was chaotic but Valnendorf managed to restore piece on the island in just two years. He then held the field of Roskildegaard in 1573-74 and was then granted Salling with freedom from taxes until 1580.

Service in Copenhagen

Valkendorff's years as a journeyman ended when he was appointed to treasurer (''rentemester'') in 1564. He handled the office with great efficiency and managed to reduce national debts. He was also appointed to

of Copenhagen. When Peder Oxe died in October 1575, the king initially failed to appoint a new Steward of the Realm but Valkendorff was put in charge of Bremerholm and the Nacy. In 1576, a reluctant Frederick II appointed him to Councillor of the Realm. After the death of Frederick II in 1588, Valkendorff assumed control of the guardianship of Christian IV. As "rent master" he delivered the dowry of 75,000 Danish dalers to

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

, who had married

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

in 1589. Valkendorff argued with

Peder Munk Peder Munk of Estvadgård (1534–1623), was a Danish navigator, politician, and ambassador, who was in charge of the fleet carrying Anne of Denmark to Scotland. The events of the voyage led to witch trials and executions in Denmark and Scotland ...

about defects in the fleet that had prevented Anne of Denmark sailing to Scotland in September 1589. In the summer of 1590 the adverse weather and technical problems were blamed on witchcraft. Several women, including

Anna Koldings Ane Koldings (also called Anne or Anna Koldings; died 1590) was an alleged Danish Realm, Danish witch. She was a main defendant in the Copenhagen witch trials held during the summer of 1590, which were held as a parallel to the famous North Berwick ...

, were accused and executed during the

Copenhagen witch trials The Copenhagen witch trials of 1590 was the first major witch trial in Denmark. It resulted in the execution of seventeen people by burning. It was closely connected to the North Berwick witch trials in Scotland. Background In the winter of 15 ...

. His powerful position led to his downfall. In 1590 he had to vacate all his offices after accusations of abuse of power and the judicial murder of

Magnus Heinason Magnus Heinason (Mogens Heinesøn) (1548 – 18 January 1589) was a Faroese naval hero, trader and privateer. Magnus Heinason served William the Silent and his son Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange for 10 years as a privateer, fighting th ...

. Though not quite unjustified these accusations were probably mostly politically motivated. For some years Valkendorff kept in the background but gradually he regained his influence and at the accession to power of the young Christian IV in 1596 he was at last appointed Steward of the Realm, a post he kept until his death. During these last years of power he still showed himself energetic but somewhat more cautious.

Personal life

Valkendorf never married and left no children. He owned Glorup Manor from 1535, although he initially seem to have shared the ownership of some of the land with his siblings. He expanded the estate significantly over the years through the acquisition of more land. I'm the 1570s. he constructed Svindinge Church, now considered to be one of the best preserved

churches in Denmark. After completing the church, he also constructed Glorup's current main building. He supported the university in Copenhagen economically and founded the dormitory

26 February 1589. He died in on 17 1601 and was buried in the graveyard of the Church of Our Lady. Glorup Manor was passed on to his younger brother, Erik Valkendorf, who died in 1605.

References

External links

Stadtholders

Source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valkendorff, Christoffer Valkendorff, Christoffer Valkendorff, Christoffer 16th-century Danish nobility Valkendorff, Christoffer Court of Frederick II of Denmark Regents of Denmark Regents of Norway Burials at the Church of Our Lady, Copenhagen People from Nyborg Municipality Valkendorf family Court of Christian IV of Denmark