1.
Waldemar, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal
–
Waldemar the Great, a member of the House of Ascania, was Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal from 1308 until his death. He became sole ruler of the Margraviate of Brandenburg upon the death of his cousin John V of Brandenburg-Salzwedel in 1317. Waldemar is known as the last in the line of Ascanian margraves starting with Albert the Bear in 1157, he was succeeded by his minor cousin Henry II. He was a son of Margrave Conrad of Brandenburg-Stendal and his wife Constance, Waldemar was co-regent from 1302, and succeeded as margrave upon the death of his uncle Otto IV in 1308. In 1307 Waldemar signed an agreement with the Swienca family ceding him the lands of Pomerelia, whereafter Brandenburg troops occupied Świecie, Tczew, the castle districts Schlawe and Stolp including the Swienca residence of Rügenwalde at first remained with Brandenburg. In 1312, Waldemar also waged war against Margrave Frederick I of Meissen. Frederick was captured and arrested, to regain his freedom, he had to cede the March of Lusatia as well as the towns of Torgau and Großenhain to Brandenburg and to pay a ransom of 32,000 silver Mark. In the Imperial election of 1314, Waldemar voted for the Wittelsbach candidate Louis IV against his Habsburg rival Frederick the Fair, in 1316, Waldemar again occupied Dresden until the feud with Meissen was finally brought to an end in 1317. Thereby, he provoked a large coalition of Mecklenburg, Werle, in August 1316, Waldemars troops were defeated near Gransee. According to the 1317 Treaty of Templin, the margrave had to surrender Stargard and he also had to waive the previous Pomerelian acquisitions of Schlawe and Stolp, which passed to Duke Wartislaw IV of Pomerania. In 1319 Waldemar acquired the Silesian towns of Züllichau and Schwiebus, in 1309 he married his cousin Agnes, a daughter of Margrave Hermann of Brandenburg-Salzwedel. Waldemar was the last governing member of the Brandenburg line of the Ascanian House, with the death of his cousin John V in 1317, the younger Salzwedel line of the Brandenburg margraves became extinct. From 1318 Waldemar also acted as a guardian for his minor cousin Henry II and his advance towards the Prussian lands was resumed more than 200 years later, when both Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia were under the rule of the Hohenzollern dynasty. After Waldemars death, his wife Agnes secondly married Duke Otto of Brunswick-Göttingen in December 1319, when Waldemars ward Henry II died in July 1320, the Brandenburg branch of the Ascanian house died out in 1320. As a reverted fief, the margraviate fell back to the Wittelsbach king Louis IV, in 1323, he enfeoffed his eldest son Louis with Brandenburg, ignoring the claims of the Ascanian princes of Anhalt
2.
Ringsted
–
Ringsted is a city located centrally in the Danish island of Zealand. It is the seat of a municipality of the same name, Ringsted is approximately 60 km from Copenhagen. Ringsted Station is the last station before trains bound for Funen and Jutland diverge from trains bound for Lolland-Falster, Ringsted is one of Denmarks busiest transit cities. The city is located in the middle of Zealand, connecting both the southern parts of Zealand as well as Funen and Jutland with the Copenhagen area. Danish Tramway Museum of Skjoldenæsholm, near Jystrup, St. Bendts Church — a Romanesque, former Benedictine, abbey church containing numerous tombs of medieval Danish royalty. Ringsted was the site of Sjællands Landsting during the Middle Ages, in 1805 it moved to Copenhagen and was renamed Østre Landsret, and is still active under this name. In 1131, Canute Lavard was killed in Haraldsted forest, leading to outbreaks of civil war, the town arms goes back to 1421. There has been discussion about what it portrays. The traditional answer is at the top the hand of God, the city officially interprets the three figures as Saint Canute Lavard, King Eric Plovpenning, and Saint Benedict of Nursia. The church was consecrated in 1170, in front of the church is the spacious town square leading to the shopping streets with shops and boutiques for every taste. Ringsted features two shopping centers named RingStedet and Ringsted Outlet Center, Ringsted also has a wide selection of cafes and restaurants, as well as two local breweries. During the summer months, a mobile tourist office is opened in the town square, jørgen Roed, painter Poul Ruders, composer P. C
3.
King of Denmark
–
The Monarchy of Denmark, colloquially known as the Danish Monarchy, is a constitutional institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes not only Denmark, but the regions of Greenland. The Kingdom of Denmark were already consolidated in the late 8th century, originally an elective monarchy, it became hereditary only in the 17th century during the reign of Frederick III. A decisive transition to a constitutional monarchy occurred in 1849 with the writing of the first Constitution, the current Royal House is a branch of the princely family of Glücksburg, originally from Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, the same royal house as the Norwegian and former Greek royal families. The Danish Monarchy is constitutional and as such, the role of the monarch is defined and limited by the Constitution of Denmark, the monarch is, in practice, limited to non-partisan functions such as bestowing honours and appointing the Prime Minister. The monarch and his or her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial, diplomatic, Queen Margrethe II ascended the throne on the death of her father, King Frederick IX, on 14 January 1972. On her accession, Queen Margrethe II became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margrethe I, ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375‒1412, during the Kalmar Union. Danish regnal names have traditionally alternated between Frederick and Christian, Margrethe has taken the place of a Christian, and accordingly her heir apparent is Crown Prince Frederik. The modern Kingdom of Denmark dates back to Harthacnuts son, Gorm the Old, the first King of a united Scotland was King Kenneth MacAlpin who died around 80 years before Gorm the Old was born. The Danes were united and officially Christianized in 965 CE by Harald Bluetooth, furthermore, the Jelling stones attests that Harald had also won Norway. The son of Harald, Sweyn Forkbeard, mounted a series of wars of conquest against England, the reign of Cnut represented the peak of the Danish Viking age, his North Sea Empire included Denmark, Norway, England and held strong influence over the north-eastern coast of Germany. The last monarch descended from Valdemar IV, Christopher III of Denmark, Count Christian of Oldenburg, descendant of Valdemar IVs aunt Richeza, was chosen as his successor and became the next monarch of Denmark, ruling under the name Christian I. Originally the Danish monarchy was elective, but in practice the eldest son of the monarch was elected. Later a Coronation Charter was signed by the king to restrict the powers of the Danish monarch, in 1657, during the Second Northern War, King Frederick III launched a war of revenge against Sweden which turned into a complete disaster. The war became a disaster for two reasons, Primarily, because Denmarks new powerful ally, the Netherlands, remained neutral as Denmark was the aggressor and Sweden the defender. Secondly, the Belts froze over in an occurrence during the winter of 1657-1658. In the following Treaty of Roskilde, Denmark–Norway capitulated and gave up all of Eastern Denmark, in addition to the counties of Bohuslän, but the Second Northern War was not yet over. Three months after the treaty was signed, Charles X Gustav held a council of war where he decided to simply wipe Denmark from the map
4.
Sweyn III of Denmark
–
Sweyn III Grathe was the King of Denmark between 1146 and 1157, in shifting alliances with Canute V and his own cousin Valdemar I. In 1157, the three agreed a tripartition of Denmark, Sweyn attempted to kill his rivals at the peace banquet, and was subsequently defeated by Valdemar I at the Battle of Grathe Heath and killed. Sweyn was the son of Erik II the Memorable and the concubine Thunna. Sweyn travelled with Eric II to Norway in the mid-1130s, when his father fought King Niels to win the Danish throne, when Eric II died in 1137, he was succeeded by Eric III, and Sweyn was sent to the court of Conrad III of Germany. Here he befriended Conrads nephew Frederick, the later Friedrick I of Germany and he travelled to Denmark, where he and his cousin Valdemar sought to canonize Sweyns uncle and Valdemars father Canute Lavard in 1146, under protest from Archbishop Eskil of Lund in Scania. At the abdication of Eric III in 1146, Sweyn was elected king by the magnates on Zealand while Canute V was crowned by their counterparts in Jutland, for the next years, Sweyn fought a civil war against Canute for the kingship of Denmark, supported by Valdemar. Canute was supported by Archbishop Eskil, but Sweyn moved to secure Eskils loyalty by granting the Archbishop of Lund land holdings in Scania, Sweyn subsequently defeated Canute on Zealand, to confine him to Jutland. In 1147, Sweyn and Canute united to support the Wendish Crusade, as Sweyn engaged the Wends in naval battle, he received little support from Canute, and lost his flagship. The civil war was soon re-ignited, after several battles, Sweyn conquered Funen and parts of Jutland, and set Valdemar up as Duke of Schleswig. Sweyn then campaigned with Etheler von Dithmarschen against Adolf II of Holstein, Sweyn succeeded in banishing Canute in 1150, and Canutes re-entry with German troops in 1151 was also repulsed. Both Canute and Sweyn sought the support of Conrad III of Germany, in 1152, Frederick I was crowned King of Germany, and he brokered a deal in Merseburg later that year. The deal made Sweyn premier king, with Canute eligible to receive a portion of Denmark. However, Sweyn only granted Canute small holdings, breaking the agreement, in 1154, Sweyn was overthrown by an alliance between Canute and Valdemar, who was crowned Canutes co-ruler as Valdemar I. Eskil and the majority of Sweyns other supporters deserted him, Sweyn spent three years seeking support for a reconquest, and returned to Denmark in 1157 with the support of German duke Henry the Lion. This prompted the Danish magnates to force through a tripartition of the kingdom into Jutland, Zealand, Sweyn chose first, and was made the ruler of Scania. At the peace banquet in Roskilde on August 9,1157, the incident became known as the Bloodfeast of Roskilde. Valdemar escaped to Jutland, and on 23 October 1157, Sweyn and his army faced and met him at the Battle of Grathe Heath, which gave him his nickname Grathe. Sweyns army was defeated, and he was killed by peasants who caught him when his horse was sucked into a bog while he fled from the battle, in 1152, Sweyn married Adela of Meissen, daughter of Conrad, Margrave of Meissen and Luitgard of Ravenstein
5.
Canute VI of Denmark
–
Canute VI was King of Denmark. Canute VI was the eldest son of King Valdemar I and Sophia of Polotsk, Canute VI was proclaimed King of Denmark, first as co-regent in 1170 and as sole ruler in 1182 at the Urnehoved Assembly and subsequently at the other assemblies throughout Denmark. He immediately faced a peasant uprising in Skåne, the peasants refused to pay Bishop Absalons tithe. They met at the Skåne Assembly and chose Harald Skreng, one of Canute friends to represent them to the king to plead their case, the king refused to hear Skreng out and began to gather an army to teach the peasants their place. Before the king could muster his army, the nobles of Halland and Skåne cobbled together their own army, Canute arrived with his army and proceeded to teach the peasants a lesson with fire and sword. Canute was so relentless that Bishop Absalon begged the king to desist, emperor Frederick Barbarossa had compelled Canutes father to acknowledge him as overlord, and in 1184 Barbarossa sent a messenger to Canute requiring him to acknowledge the emperor as his liege. Canute failed to respond, so the emperor sent a second messenger threatening the emperors wrath if Canute failed to acknowledge his liege lord, Bishop Absalon replied to the messenger on behalf of Canute. Canute is as free a king as the emperor and he has as much right to Denmark as the emperor has to the Holy Roman Empire, and so the emperor should expect no allegiance from this place. The emperor flew into a rage when he received Canutes reply, Duke Bogislaw, recognizing a great opportunity quickly gathered 500 ships. The first notice of the invasion came from Chief Jærmer of Rügen who sailed to Zealand to give warning. The king was in Jutland, and so it was left to Bishop Absalon to order every available ship from Zealand, Funen, Absalon sailed for Rügen with his fleet and waited for Bugislaw to show up. When the enemy failed to appear, Absalon sent out scouts to bring word when the Pomeranian fleet arrived and he ordered his men to go ashore so he could celebrate mass on Second Easter Day. In the middle of services, one of the scouts ran into the church shouting that the enemy had been sighted through the fog, now will I let my sword sing the mass to the praise of God. Exclaimed Absalon as he set aside the altar implements, the Danish fleet weighed anchor and sailed through the fog toward the Pomeranians. Bugislaws fleet saw nothing of the Danes until they were enough to hear their war cries. Fear swept through the Pomeranians, and they tried to row away, the men panicked and began jumping from ship to ship which caused eight of them to flounder. The Danes threw themselves onto the ships to plunder them when Absalon shouted that they should leave the goods, few complied and with just seven ships, Absalon routed the entire Pomeranian fleet, capturing 35 enemy ships. Absalon sent Bugislaws own great tent to Canute, who was still in Jutland, with Bugislaws defeat the emperor gave up, for a time, his attempt to rule Denmark
6.
Magnus I of Sweden
–
King Magnus III of Sweden, in Swedish Magnus Ladulås, was at times in error called Magnus I. Magnus I, was a Danish duke who ruled Gothenland in southern Sweden from the 1120s to c and his status as ruler of Sweden was disputed in his own time, but today he is recognized as one of the historical Swedish monarchs. Snorri Sturlason gives him the epithet Magnus the Strong, Magnus was the son of King Niels I of Denmark and Margaret Fredkulla, the second or eldest daughter of King Inge the Elder of Sweden. His elder brother Inge was killed in an accident, leaving Magnus as the sole heir to Niels. He grew up to be a tall and strong young man, the chronicles give different opinions about his character, depending on their political preferences. The near-contemporary Roskilde Chronicle calls him merry and generous and a lover of firmness in character, Saxo Grammaticus, on the other hand, says that he was well endowed by nature but still a violent brute. When Margarets first cousin King Inge the Younger died at a time in the 1120s. The Svear, on their part, had selected Ragnvald Knaphövde, according to the brief chronicle incorporated in the Westrogothic law, Ragnvald showed disrespect towards the Geats by not giving hostages when riding his tour of installation. In retaliation, Ragnvald was murdered by the Geatish population, an event sometimes dated to c, at his death, according to Saxo, power was transferred to Magnus. Magnus is not mentioned as King in the Westrogothic law, nor in any Swedish king-list, the law-speaker of Västergötland, Karl of Edsvära, governed his province around this time and is occasionally known in the sources as jarl or even king. The few sources from this period indicate that Christianity was still not implemented everywhere, the Bishop of Uppsala, Siwardus, was appointed by the Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen in 1123, but forced to flee by pagans in 1130. Another bishop, Henry, was appointed in Sigtuna by the Danish Archbishop Asser. The alterations also indicate the clerical rivalry between Hamburg-Bremen and the Danish archbishopric, the still insufficiently Christianized Swedes henceforth saw him as a temple defiler who had robbed the gods. Around 1127, Magnus married Richeza, daughter of Boleslaw III of Poland, the couple had two sons, Knud and Niels. In 1130, Magnus backed Boleslaw III in conquering Rügen, the Polish forces together with a Danish fleet compelled the Rani to recognize Polish rule over the island. In 1131, Magnus had his cousin and potential rival for the Danish throne, Canute Lavard, murdered, after this deed he had to return to Gothenland, where he was still recognised as king. Though he was backed by Niels, Magnus found himself in a civil war against Lavards half-brother Eric Emune. The civil war weakened Magnuss position in Sweden, the Swedes chose a landowner from Östergötland, Sverker I, to be their king
7.
Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein
–
Schleswig is a town in the northeastern part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the Kreis Schleswig-Flensburg and it has a population of about 27,000, the main industries being leather and food processing. It takes its name from the Schlei, an inlet of the Baltic sea at the end of which it sits, Schleswig or Slesvig therefore means bay of the Schlei. The urban area ranges from 0 to 20 m above sea level, the nearest major cities are Flensburg, Husum and Kiel. Autobahn 7 runs immediately west of the city, highways 76 and 77 end in Schleswig and B201 runs to the north of the town. Schleswig station is a stop for InterCity and Intercity-Express trains and is on the Hamburg–Neumünster–Flensburg, the climate is humid and maritime. The annual mean temperature is 8 °C and precipitation averages 925 mm, the Viking settlement of Hedeby, located south of the modern town, was first mentioned in 804. It was a settlement in the Baltic region, dominating the area for more than 200 years. In 1050, following several destructions, the population was moved to the shore of the Schlei. In 1066 Hedeby was finally destroyed, and Schleswig remained as a part of the Danish kingdom, in 1544, Gottorf Castle became the residence of the local rulers. The dukes of Gottorf were vassals of the Danish kings and ruled much of present-day Schleswig-Holstein. In 1721, when the Great Northern War ended, the dukes of Gottorf lost their power, after the Second Schleswig War, Schleswig was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia
8.
Vordingborg Castle
–
The Vordingborg Castle ruins are located in the town of Vordingborg, Denmark and are the towns most famous attraction. The castle was built in 1175 by King King Valdemar I as a defensive castle and his half-brother built another castle in a remote location, which is now Copenhagen. King Valdemar II similarly used the castle for expansion into the Baltic, and in 1241 it was where he created the legal system. By the time of King Valdemar IV, the castle had nine towers, the castle was the birthplace of Queen Margaret I, daughter of King Valdemar IV, in 1353. Large parts of the castle were demolished after the Swedish wars had ended, in order to construct a palace for Prince George, the prince never took up residence, and the palace too was demolished in the 18th century. Three manors were constructed nearby, including Iselingen, which became a place for many leading artists and scientists during the 1800s. Today Vordingborg Castle is a ruin, although parts of the fourteenth century ring walls remain, the only fully preserved part of the castle, the 26 meter tall Goose Tower, is the symbol of the city. The name comes from the golden goose that perches on top of the towers spire, although legend has it that Valdemar Atterdag used the symbol to taunt the Hanseatic League, the truth is the goose was first erected in 1871. The tower was transferred into the national trust on December 24,1808, next to the castle is a botanical garden and also a museum. A larger museum is planned which will include information on all of Denmarks historical castles, excavations of the castle ruins continue. Regular archaeological digs take place here, many of the finds are displayed in the exhibition at the Danish Castle Centre. In 2004, the National Bank of Denmark issued a 20 DKK commemorative coin for the tower, list of castles and palaces in Denmark Tourism in Denmark Museums website
9.
Vordingborg
–
Vordingborg is an old ferry town in Vordingborg Municipality in Denmark. It has an urban area population of 11,843. These satellite towns have evolved during the last decades, due to three large estates surrounding Vordingborg and therefore prevented a collective development of the town, Vordingborg Municipality has a population of 46,000. Long term head coach of the Danish national football team, Morten Olsen, was born in Vordingborg, on January 1,2007 the old Vordingborg municipality was, as the result of Kommunalreformen, merged with Langebæk, Møn, and Præstø municipalities to form an enlarged Vordingborg municipality. Vordingborg is situated 37 km from Nykøbing Falster, roughly 50 km from Gedser, the town is situated on the island of Zealand and is linked to the island of Falster with Farø Bridges and Storstrøm Bridge. Vordingborg Municipality is home to 9,500 jobs, companies headquartered in Vordingborg include Vordingborg Køkkener, a kitchen manufacturer. Udbetaling Danmark, an institution under ARP, has one of its five regional centres in the town. The ruins of Vordingborg Castle, the old castle which was built around 1364, is the towns most famous attraction. The only fully remaining part of the castle, the 26 meter tall Goose Tower, is the symbol of the city and it is the largest of King Valdemar Atterdags nine main castle towers. The name comes from the golden goose perched on top of the towers spire, legend has it that Valdemar Atterdag used the symbol to taunt the Hanseatic League. The current goose was put there in 1871 and it is not certain what was on top of the tower before 1871 and maybe it was just a weather vane made of gold. The tower was transferred into the national trust on December 24,1808, a historic garden is also located on the site of the ruin. Vordingborg is the home of the South Zealand Museum, the city holds an annual festival, Vordingborg Fest Week in July. The Vordingborg Transmitter is one of the tallest towers in Denmark, the Danish Army operates a barracks facility on the edge of town, known as Vordingborg Kaserne. Margaret I of Denmark, monarch Peter_Andreas_Heiberg, author N. F. S, media related to Vordingborg at Wikimedia Commons Official site of Vordingborg
10.
St. Bendt's Church, Ringsted
–
St. Bendts is a church in Ringsted, Denmark, which was originally part of a Benedictine monastery that burnt down in the 18th century. Built in the Romanesque style, it is the oldest brick church in Scandinavia and it is considered to be one of Denmarks architecturally finest churches. Furthermore, it is of historical interest as it is first Royal church in Denmark and it houses the tombs of many of Denmarks earlier monarchs. The church was dedicated to St. Mary. In 1157, Saint Canute Lavards bones were moved into a new chapel in the church with the approval of St. Canutes son, many miracles were said to have occurred there and the church immediately became a popular site for pilgrimages. With the funds raised from the pilgrims and thanks to Valdemars royal patronage, Valdemar had from the beginning designed the church for the Danish monarchy. The church formed the wing of a large monastery, probably built at the same time as the church. The architectural style indicates Lombard influence, possibly because the Benedictines brought Lombard builders to Denmark, the structure is cross-shaped with a central tower, typical of Romanesque architecture. There were, however, some modifications in the Gothic style such as the vaults, replacing the original flat ceiling. For centuries, the served as the monastery church, it was only after the Reformation that in 1571 it became a normal parish church. A fire in 1806 destroyed the monastery and damaged the church, as a result, the western wall was pulled down and replaced with an Empire style facade. The brickwork of the outer walls was covered with cement. Large-scale restoration work was carried out between 1899 and 1910 by the Danish architect H. B, storck who set out to restore the church to its former Romanesque style. It was the first time such extensive restoration work had been carried out in Denmark, the church took on its old appearance with new Romanesque windows in the nave. A pyramid-shaped spire was added to the tower, the cement was removed from the outer walls revealing the churchs original red brickwork. As the church houses the tomb of Valdemar the Great, it is of historical significance to Denmark. Since St. Canutes relics were enshrined in a chapel behind the high altar, indeed, from 1182 to 1341 all the Danish kings and queens were buried in St. Bendts. Apart from Valdemar the Great, they included Canute VI, Valdemar II, Eric VI and it is second only to Roskilde Cathedral for the number of royal Danish tombs it contains
Media related to Valdemar I of Denmark at Wikimedia Commons
