Christian III (King of Denmark)

His first teacher, talented scientist Wolfgang von Utenhof, who came from Wittenberg , and the energetic Johann Rantzau, who later became his closest advisers, were adherents of the Reformation . In 1521, Christian traveled to Germany and visited the Worms Reichstag ( German: Reichstag zu Worms ), where Martin Luther spoke. Luther's speech made a deep impression on Christian. When Christian returned to his homeland, his father took the throne instead of the ousted Christian II . Christian made no secret of his religious views, and his Lutheran views led to clashes with both the Catholic Riksrat (Council of State) and his father. At every opportunity, he acted as a decisive champion of Lutheranism, and besides, he did not stop blaming Danish nobles for betraying their former king (Christian II) and generally showed little desire to take the Danish throne, which caused great displeasure for his father and his associates. In his duchy, Schleswig-Holstein Christian spread the ideas of the Reformation, despite the opposition of local bishops. Having become the viceroy of the king in the duchy in 1526 and also vice-king of Norway in 1529 , he showed considerable ability to rule the state, although his religious intolerance irritated the Catholic Church.

After the death of Frederick I, the Catholic State Council rejected Christian's candidacy for the throne, preferring to him the half-brother of Hans , raised in the Catholic faith. Meanwhile, the mayors of Copenhagen and Malmö, in alliance with the German Lübeck, decided to bring the former king Christian II to power, provoking the so-called. " Count feud " (1534-36).

Having received support from the Jutland nobility and bishops Christian in 1534 conducted a successful military campaign, after the surrender of Copenhagen in 1536 he regained full control of the country.

The triumph of such a fanatical reformer caused the imminent fall of Catholicism in Denmark, the Catholics were still strong in the state council, so Christian resorted to a coup d'etat, which he carried out with the help of German mercenaries on August 12, 1536. At the Seimas in Copenhagen (October 1536), a decision was made to confiscate church property and establish a state Lutheran church. The severe measures taken by Christian against the bishops attracted criticism not only from the partisans of Catholicism, but even from Luther. However, he was not embarrassed by this and steadily continued the work begun.

In 1537, the Danish church was reorganized under the guidance of counselor Christian Johann Bugenhagen . New bishops were appointed. Another adviser, Johan Friis ( Dates. Johan Friis , 1494-1570) contributed to maintaining good relations between the nobility and the king, helping to modernize local and state administration.

The circumstances under which Christian gained power led to the fact that the politics of Denmark began to be exposed to dangerous foreign influence. After all, with the help of the German nobility, Christian ascended the throne, they led his army and directed his diplomacy. Immediate reconciliation between the king and the people who fought against him with weapons was unattainable, and the first six years of rule were marked by a struggle between the Danish Riksrat and German advisers who sought to single-handedly lead the devout king.

Although the Danish side at first won a significant victory, having won the right to elect only nee Danes to the highest positions in government, German advisers continued to occupy high posts in the first years of the reign. The final political victory over the Germans was achieved in 1539 , when Christian, due to threats from the emperor Charles V and supporters of imprisoned Christian II, realized the need to eliminate discontent in the country, finally leaning on the side of Danish supporters. The king received full recognition by the Danes in 1542 , when the Danish nobles allotted a twentieth of their property to pay off Christian's onerous debt to the Holsteiners and Germans.

Christian's foreign policy focused on creating an alliance with German Protestant knights as a counterweight to Charles V, who supported the hereditary claims of his nieces, the daughters of Christian II, on the Scandinavian kingdoms. Christian declared war on Charles V in 1542, and although the German knights proved to be unreliable allies, the closure of the Sound Sound for the Dutch courts proved to be such an effective tool in Christian’s hands that the economic blockade forced Charles V to make peace with Denmark on May 23, 1544 in Speyer .

In the future, the policy was determined based on the concluded peace treaty. Christian in every possible way avoided complicating relations with foreign powers, refused to participate in the Schmalkalden war , thereby earning the trust of the emperor and becoming a mediator between him and Saxony after the death of Elector Moritz of Saxony in the battle of Siefershausen ( German Sievershausen ), contributed to the conclusion of peace.

Christian died on the first day of 1559, is buried in the Cathedral of Roskilde .

Christian's 23-year reign brought him fame as a model reformer. At the Danish court established a serious, moral spirit. Throughout his life, Christian maintained close relations with Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon ; the former even benefited from him constant subsidies, which after his death passed to his family.

On October 29, 1525, Christian married Dorothea Saxe-Lauenburg in Lauenburg Castle. They had five children:

1. Anna Danish (1532-1585) - wife of the Saxon Elector Augustus ;
2. Frederick II (1534-1588) - King of Denmark;
3. Magnus (1540-1583) - king of Livonia;
4. Hans II (1545-1622) - Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Pleon;
5. Dorothea of ​​Denmark (1546-1617) - wife of Prince William of Braunschweig-Luneburg .

• Christian III // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.