Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
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King of Sweden
Gustav II Adolf (also known as Gustaf Adolf the Great (Swedish Gustav Adolf den store, Latin Gustavus Adolphus Magnus), or Gustavus II Adolphus; December 9, 1594 – November 6, 1632 O.S.), widely known by the Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus and referred to by contemporary Protestants as the Lion of the North, was King of Sweden from 1611 until his death. He is the only Swedish king to be styled "the Great". He was born in Stockholm, the son of Charles IX of the Vasa dynasty and Christina of Holstein-Gottorp.
He was King of Sweden from 1611, and as such, he was one of the major participants in the Thirty Years' War. Gustav Adolf was married to the daughter of the elector of Brandenburg-Prussia, Maria Eleonora, and chose the Prussian city of Elbing as the base for his operations in Germany. He died in battle on November 6, 1632 at Lützen in Germany.
During his reign, Gustav Adolf founded the city of Gothenburg as well as a number of smaller cities. He is also the founder of the University of Tartu in Tartu, Estonia, which then belonged to the Kingdom of Sweden. At this time, the three largest cities in the Swedish kingdom were Riga (the capital of Latvia), Stockholm and Tallinn (capital of Estonia).
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[edit] Military commander
As a general, Gustav Adolf is famous for employing mobile artillery on the battlefield, as well as very aggressive tactics, where attack was stressed over defense and mobility emphasized over the usual linear tactics. His musketeers were widely known for their shooting accuracy and reload speed, three times faster than any contemporary rivals. Carl von Clausewitz and Napoleon Bonaparte considered him one of the greatest generals of all time. He was famed for both consistency of purpose and amity with his troops.
The king was an active participant in his battles. He was prone to lead charges himself at crucial moments, and was wounded several times as a result, including gunshot wounds to the neck, throat and the abdomen. Because a musketball was lodged in his neck near the spine and would cause extreme pain if he wore the customary two-part metal shell cuirass, the king adopted a flexible armor of hide. This is what he wore in his final battle. His leather armor is currently on display in the Livrustkammaren at the Royal Palace in Stockholm.
Gustav Adolf occasionally used the name Captain Gars, especially early in his reign, to travel incognito. Gars is derived from the initials of "Gustavus Adolphus Rex Sueciae", Latin for "Gustav Adolf King of Sweden". He was a highly enlightened ruler, and held the Swedish nobility on a firm leash, supporting both the merchant and worker class against the nobility.
Gustav Adolf was killed at the Battle of Lützen, when, at a crucial point in the battle, he became separated from his troops while leading a cavalry charge into a dense smog of mist and gunpowder smoke. After his death, his wife initially kept his body, and later his heart, in her castle for over a year. His remains (including his heart) now rest in Riddarholmskyrkan in Stockholm.
In February 1633, following the death of the king, the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates decided that his name would be styled Gustav Adolf the Great (or Gustaf Adolf den Store in Swedish). No such honor has been bestowed on any other Swedish monarch since.
The crown of Sweden was inherited in the Vasa family, and from Charles IX's time excluded those Vasa princes who had been traitors or descended from deposed monarchs. Gustav Adolf's younger brother had died years ago, and therefore there were only female heirs left. Maria Eleonora and the king's ministers took over the government on behalf of Gustav Adolf's underage daughter Christina of Sweden on her father's death. He left one other known child, his illegitimate son Gustav, Count of Vasaborg.
[edit] Alternative views
The German Socialist Franz Mehring (1846–1919) wrote a biography of Gustavus Adolphus with a Marxist analysis of the actions of the Swedish king during the Thirty Years' War. In it, he claimed he makes a case that the war was fought over economics and trade rather than religion.
[edit] Timeline
- July 1626. Gustav Adolf and his army disembark at Pillau, Prussia during the Polish-Sweden War of 1625-1629.
- August 18, 1627. The King is seriously wounded by a Polish soldier in the battle of Tczew.
- May 1630. Gustav Adolf lands with his army in Pomerania. On July 6 he lands in Germany.
- September 1631. At the Battle of Breitenfeld, Gustav Adolf decisively defeats the Catholic forces led by Tilly, even after the allied Protestant Saxon army had been routed and fled with the baggage train.
- April 1632. At the Battle of Lech, Gustav Adolf defeats Tilly once more, and in the battle Tilly sustains a fatal wound.
- May 1632. Munich yields to the Swedish army.
- September 1632. Gustav Adolf attacks the stronghold of Alte Veste, which is under the command of Wallenstein, but is repulsed, marking the first defeat in the Thirty Years' War of the previously invincible Swedes. This leads to defection of some mercenary elements in the Protestant army.
- November 1632. At the Battle of Lützen, Gustav Adolf is killed but the Swedes win the day, thanks to Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, who assumed command, and defeat Wallenstein. The Swedish war effort was kept up by generals Gustav Horn, Johan Banér, Lennart Torstenson and chancellor Axel Oxenstierna until the Peace of Westphalia.
A history of Gustavus Adolphus' wars was written by Johann Philipp Abelin.
Gustav Adolf Day is celebrated in Sweden each year on November 6. On this day only a special pastry, with a chocolate or marzipan medallion of the king, is sold. The day is also an official flag day in the Swedish calendar. In Finland, the day is celebrated as svenska dagen or ruotsalaisuuden päivä, "swedishness day", and is a customary flag day. In both countries, November 6 is the name day for Gustav Adolf, one of the few exceptional name days in the year.
[edit] Fictional appearances
- Gustavus Adolphus plays an important supporting role in Eric Flint's 1632 series.
- In Sid Meier's game Civilization IV: Warlords, Gustavus Adolphus makes the appearance of a Great General.
[edit] See also
- History of Sweden — Rise of Sweden as a Great Power
- Axel Oxenstierna
- Gustav Gustavsson af Vasaborg
- Gustavus Adolphus College
- List of people known as The Great
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[edit] External links
| Preceded by Charles IX |
King of Sweden 1611–1632 |
Succeeded by Christina Queen of Sweden |
