Asheberg, Rutger von

Representative of the Westphalian baronial Asheberg family, who emigrated to Courland in the 16th century . The son of Wilhelm von Asheberg and Margarita von der Austen.

Rutger von Asheberg at the age of 13 began military service and participated on the side of Sweden in the Thirty Years War in Germany (1618–1648) . He participated in a number of battles, including the Battle of Nördlingen (1634) .

In 1639, 18-year-old Rutger von Asheberg left military service and went to study in France, but a year later he entered the Hessian cavalry regiment of the Swedish army and continued his participation in the Thirty Years War. In 1641, Rutger von Asheberg participated in the Battle of Wolfenbüttel . At the battle of Breitenfeld (1642) he was wounded and captured, but was then released. Later, Rutger von Ascheberg fought in Germany under the command of field marshals Lennart Torstensson and Karl Gustav Wrangel . In 1644 he received the rank of Cornet , from 1646 - captain .

After the conclusion of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Rutger von Asheberg remained in Germany. He held the position of Ober-Amtmann in 1651-1655. In 1655 - lieutenant colonel and regiment commander in the Swedish army.

In 1655, Rutger von Asheberg took part in the Swedish war with the Commonwealth . In March 1656, after the Swedes captured the city, Yaroslav Asheberg was promoted to colonel . In July of that year, he took part in the three-day battle of Warsaw . On January 2, 1657, he commanded the Swedish avant-garde in the battle with the Poles near Chojnice . As a sign of gratitude, the Swedish king Karl X Gustav granted Asheberg the rapier with which he fought in battle. Rutger von Asheberg also received valuable jewelry and possessions in Prussia as a gift.

In 1657, the Danes attacked Swedish possessions in northern Germany. The main forces of the Swedish army under the command of King Charles X Gustav himself , including a unit under the command of Asheberg, left Poland and opposed Denmark. In 1658, Rutger von Asheberg participated in a successful Swedish operation on the Danish islands . The Swedish army (12 thousand people) crossed the straits of Small and Big Belts on ice and reached the island of Zealand. He miraculously escaped captivity in December 1658 during an attack by the combined forces of the Brandenburg elector Friedrich Wilhelm and the Polish commander Stefan Czarniecki on the city of Sønderborg . In February 1659, he was seriously injured during the Swedish attack on Copenhagen . He was forced to return home, where he spent 10 weeks. After recovery, Rutger von Asheberg returned to service and in May 1659 participated in the conquest of the Danish island of Myeon . He remained on the island until the end of the war in 1660 .

In 1664, Rutger von Asheberg was promoted to major general . In 1665, he participated in the military company of the Swedish army under the command of Field Marshal Wrangel against the German city of Bremen during the Swedish-Bremen conflict. He returned to Sweden when the conflict was settled. In 1670, Rutger von Asheberg received the rank of lieutenant general . In 1673 he was awarded the title of baron and received the Castellgarden estate in the vicinity of Kungelva . In 1674 he was promoted to general .

Rutger von Asheberg participated in the Danish-Swedish war of 1675-1679 . Initially, he led the defense of the province of Bohuslain from attacks by the Danes from Norway, defeated the enemy at the Battle of Kvistrem. He was then transferred from Bohuslän to the province of Skåne, where he acted as commander of the Swedish army in a number of battles with the Danes, often together with King Charles XI. In August 1676, he distinguished himself in the battle of Halmstad , where he was wounded in the arm. In December of that year, Rutger von Asheberg played a prominent role in the defeat of the Danes at the Battle of Lund . In July 1677 he distinguished himself in the victory of the Swedish army over the Danes at Landskron . He was awarded the rank of Field Marshal Lieutenant . Even before the war with Denmark ended, Rutger von Asheberg was appointed commander of the Swedish army in the province of Skåne . In November 1678 he received the rank of Field Marshal .

In December 1679, after the end of the Danish-Swedish war of 1675–1679, Rutger von Asheberg was appointed Governor General of the provinces of Gothenburg-Bohus and Dalsland . In 1680, he also became governor of Skane , Halland, and Bleking . In 1681 he was appointed royal adviser, and in 1687 received the count's title.

On April 17, 1693, 71-year-old Rutger von Asheberg died in Gothenburg . He was buried at the German Church in Gothenburg on August 26, 1694 . At his funeral was attended by the Swedish king Charles XI .

One of the streets in the city of Gothenburg still bears his name.

November 25, 1650 Rutger von Asheberg married Magdalen Eleanor von Bussek (1632-1690), a representative of a noble family from Hesse . The couple had the following children:

• Georg Frederick von Asheberg (December 10, 1651 - August 22, 1677), lieutenant colonel of the infantry regiment
• Margareta Sabina von Asheberg (November 25, 1652 - February 4, 1738)
• Folrat Ludwig von Asheberg (June 7, 1654 - April 14, 1677), lieutenant and captain
• Anna Elizabeth von Asheberg (May 10, 1656 - September 2, 1686)
• Karl Gustav von Asheberg (September 13, 1659 - May 15, 1660)
• Rutger von Asheberg (June 6, 1660 - June 15, 1660)
• Gustav Adolf von Ascheberg (June 23, 1661 - November 5, 1691)
• Christian Ludwig von Asheberg (June 4, 1662 - February 1, 1722), General
• Eleanor Elizabeth von Asheberg (September 13, 1663 - November 13, 1737), who married David Makeleer in 1679 (1646-1708)
• Sophia Lovisa von Asheberg (August 23, 1664 - August 1, 1720), since 1685 the wife of Hans Wachtmeister (1642-1714)
• Otto Wilhelm von Asheberg (August 5, 1665 - June 2, 1687), Cornet
• Margareta von Asheberg (July 9, 1671 - October 10, 1753), Colonel of the Infantry Regiment, in 1691 became the wife of Kjell Kristoffera Barnekou (1663-1700)

• Björlin, Gustaf .: Kriget mot Danmark 1675–1679. Stockholm 1885.
• Wahlöö, Claes & Larsson, Göran .: Slaget vid Lund. Lund 1998.