Ove Ramel (1637 – 29 January 1685) was a Danish landowner and administrator.

Biography

Ramel (also written Offue Rommel and Rammel) was the son of Privy Counsellor Henrik Ramel (1601–1653) and Margrethe Skeel (died 1671 or later). 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 ...

in 1653–1656 and then went abroad to continue his education enrolling at the University of Orléans in 1659. After Denmark's loss of

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 ...

Skåne 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 ...

to Sweden in 1660, Ramel was naturalized after swearing his loyalty to the Swedish king. Ramel married Mette Rosenkrantz (12 March 1646 – 25 January 1730), daughter of Erik Rosenkrantz of Rosenholm (1612–1681) and Margrethe Skeel ( 1626–1647). He was the owner of

Bäckaskog Bäckaskog is a locality situated in Kristianstad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden, between Ivö Lake and Oppmanna Lake, with a population of 293 inhabitants in 2010. The village has developed around the castle and the Premonstratensian mo ...

and Ugerup in

and Lergrav 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 ...

. As the guardian of Kjeld Kristoffer Barnekow, he was also responsible for the management of his estates Vittskövle and Rosendal. 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 ...

1675-79, he went back into Danish service in 1676,Hirsch & Hirsch, Danske og norske officerer 1648-1814, vol. 8-3 as soon as the war reached Scania. Ramel served first as a commissary at Kristianstad and then became district governor (amtmand) of the county of Helsingborg - a post that he kept until the end of the war. He worked hard to rebuild the city and to introduce sanitary measures that would decrease the diseases that had come with the war. His Scanian estates were confiscated and presented to Field Marshall Conrad Marderfelt. Negotiations for the return of his estates and his appointment to ''landshøvding'' of

Blekinge Blekinge () is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second-smallest provin ...

and Ramel and four other Danish noblemen were in 1678 executed ''in effigie'' in the central square 'Stortorget' in

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

. The doll that represented Ramel was impaled and exhibited by the city gates so as to warn others from fighting the Swedes. The other three dolls portrayed Knud, Tage and Holger Thott and were 'only' decapitated, but these gentlemen were not known to have taken up arms against the Swedes.

Knud Thott Knut ( Norwegian and Swedish), Knud ( Danish), or Knútur ( Icelandic) is a Scandinavian and German first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used which c ...

, however, was district governor of the county (amt) of Landskrona and worked hard to oppose them so the Swedes must have had evidence that Ramel had taken arms against them, else his image would not have been impaled. During the war, Ramel served first as General War Commissioner in

Kristianstad Kristianstad ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 41,198 inhabitants in 2023. Since the 1990s, the city has gone from being a garrison town to a developed commercial city, ...

and from 1677 as county governor of

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...

. He played an important role in the small war and in the organisation of resistance groups ( snaphaner). He was reported to be popular among the commoners and he also dined with the common soldiers and made friends with lower-ranking officers. Ramel settled in Denmark where he was granted the title of ''

etatsråd was a Danish and Norwegian title, which was conferred by the king until 1909 and entailed a third-class rank in the order of precedence, and thus the right to enroll one's daughters in Gisselfeld Convent and Vemmetofte Convent. It was awarded to ...

''. He was, by marriage, the proprietor of Lergrav. In 1551 he ceded Lergrav to his sister, Anna, the widow of chancellor

Peder Reedtz Peder Reedtz (1531 - 21 September 1607), a favourite of Frederick II of Denmark, was avener, lensmann and landowner. He owned Hørbygaard and Tygestrup (now Kongsdal) at Holbæk. Early life and education Reedtz was born at Schultendorp in ...

, in exchange for Basnæs on Zealand. In 1682, he also acquired

Borreby Castle Borreby Castle (, ) is a fortified manor house located near Skælskør, Slagelse Municipality, in the south-west corner of the island of Zealand, in eastern Denmark. History Early history First mentioned in 1345, by the end of the century Borreb ...

. Ramel died on 29 January 1685 at Borreby and was buried at Sorø Abbey Church. Borreby had to be sold as a result of his financial situation. The king granted his widow a pension of 500 daler as compensation for the loss of their Scanian holdings. She sold Basnæs in 1685.

References

External links

Ove Ramel
at geni.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramel, Ove 17th-century Danish landowners 1637 births 1685 deaths People educated at Sorø Academy