Augustin Ehrensvärd

Augustin Ehrensvärd 1710–1772.

Augustin Ehrensvärd (born September 25, 1710 at Fullerö Castle , Västerås municipality , Sweden; † October 4, 1772 , at Saaris estate, Mynämäki , Finland) was a Swedish count , field marshal and artist. He is mainly known as the builder of the Suomenlinna Fortress (Swedish Sveaborg ), which is now a World Heritage Site . Ehrensvärd's father was originally called Jakob Johan Schäffer and received the new name together with the title of nobility in 1717. His mother Anna Margaretha came from the Mannerheim family .

Life

The early years

Ehrensvärd initially showed great interest in the natural sciences, mainly mathematics , and strove for an academic professorship in Uppsala during his studies . His family, however, said that this development did not suit his aristocratic origin and persuaded him to choose another career. At the age of 16 he therefore began as a volunteer in the artillery , where he gradually rose to become an officer.

His extraordinary knowledge aroused public interest and so he was able to undertake a study trip abroad in 1736 with financial support. He crossed Denmark , Germany , France and England . During the trip, he attended not only maneuvers and military schools, but also other scholars and artists. Among other things, he learned the art of engraving in Paris . When Ehrensvärd returned to Stockholm in 1739 , he married Catharina Elisabeth Adlerheim. In the same year he became a member of the Swedish Science Academy . He continued his military career as a teacher at the artillery school.

In 1741 the war against Russia , initiated by the Party of Hats , began , in which it became clear once again that Sweden had lost its great power position. After the Peace of Åbo Ehrensvärd went abroad to watch the Prussian campaign in Bohemia during the War of the Austrian Succession . In 1746 he returned to his homeland, where he was promoted first to major in the artillery and a year later to lieutenant colonel.

Sveaborg ( Suomenlinna )

View over Sveaborg ( Suomenlinna ), painting by Augustin Ehrensvärd

Immediately after the Peace of Åbo, plans for new defenses against the neighbors in the east began in Sweden. The old border fortifications with Russia had been lost. The old strong double row already in the Great Northern War (1700–1721) and the simpler fortification line built later in the war year 1742. There was also a consensus that the linear structures are unsuitable for defensive purposes and that it is better to gather all forces at one point . From this point the connection to the Swedish motherland should be maintained and the surrounding villages should be defended.

The choice fell on the island world off Helsinki , the favorable natural condition of which was noted earlier. Ehrensvärd, who was known for his insight into fortification architecture and his intensive work cycle, was commissioned to plan the complex. His extensive drawings were certified by the government and the estates represented in the Reichstag , so that construction of the fortress could begin in 1749. Little by little, the so-called " Gibraltar of the North" grew out of the cliffs under Ehrensvärd's direction . Ehrensvärd was promoted to colonel in the same year and rose to major general in 1756. When the Mützen party was in power in 1766 , Ehrensvärd temporarily lost his position as site manager, but as early as 1770 the political situation changed so that he got his position back, and the fortress was not completed until 1791, nineteen years after Ehrensvärd's death.

Political activities and the Pomeranian campaign

Ehrensvärd had strong political ambitions and joined the Party of Hats. He was a member of a state committee and its delegate to all diets in the period between 1746 and 1760.

In 1756 he became head of a special fleet ( Skärgårdsflottan ), which was separated from the actual navy. Shortly afterwards, his party began a campaign in Pomerania , which is counted as part of the Seven Years' War . The army had great difficulties in these battles because of the lack of discipline and motivation in Sweden due to the political fragmentation. The authority was often changed and ended up with Ehrensvärd, but even he could not change the existing conditions.

At the beginning of the war he had taken Usedom and besieged the Peenemünder Schanze , which in 1759 earned him the rank of lieutenant general. He was given authority two years later. At Pasewalk he was seriously injured in the chest. He was then given a year off, but after he was healthy again he took part in battles near Loitz , Tribsees and Neukalen and in the defense of Malchin . After the end of the war in 1764 he was promoted to general of the cavalry and held the position of baron . In 1769 he became a knight in the Royal Order of the Seraphines and two years later he was promoted to Count, whereupon he was appointed Field Marshal in 1772.

Augustin Ehrensvärds grave on Suomenlinna.

Marked by his wounds from the Pomeranian campaign, Ehrensvärd died on October 4, 1772 at 4:30 a.m. at Saaris Estate in south-western Finland. He was buried in the city church of Helsinki, after which his ashes were later transferred to Sveaborg at the request of the king. Johan Tobias Sergel's grave monument honors him with the text: "ett snille, som kunnat, ett hjärta, som velat gagna fädereslandet" ("A spirit that could - a heart that chose to serve its fatherland.")

Ehrensvärd's son, Carl August Ehrensvärd , continued his father's artistic tradition as an architect and art theorist.

literature

• Hans Ekund: Augustin Ehrensvärd . 1997, ISBN 91-7100-552-8
• Augustin Ehrensvärd . In: Herman Hofberg, Frithiof Heurlin, Viktor Millqvist, Olof Rubenson (eds.): Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon . 2nd Edition. tape 1 : A-K . Albert Bonniers Verlag, Stockholm 1906, p. 278 (Swedish, runeberg.org ).
• Ny svensk historia - en bokfilm 1771–1810 . Erik Lindorm, Riksbiblioteket, 1979, p. 70
• Continued new genealogical-historical news of the most noble events that happened at the European courts . 1774, p. 244 f.