Axel Lillie

Axel Lillie, engraving by Jeremias Falck (1651)

Axel Lillie

Axel Lillie (born July 23, 1603 at Löfstad Castle ; † December 20, 1662 ) was a Swedish politician and field marshal . His father Gustav Lillie died in 1605.

Life

Axel Lillie became a page of Gustav II Adolf in 1619 . He quickly made a career and was promoted from lieutenant to colonel within four years. In 1630 he came to Germany and became commandant of Spandau. He took part in the siege of Würzburg and Mainz. However, he was shot in the left thigh near Mainz, so that it had to be amputated. He should have it walled up in the church in Schweinfurt. After Gustav II Adolf fell near Lützen, the Swedish feared that Poland would intervene in the war, so Lillie was sent to the army in Prussia. But he soon returned with Torstensson. In 1635 he was assigned major general and in 1638 General Field Marshal Baner as assistant councilor. When the Governor General of Swedish Pomerania Sten Svantesson Bielke died, he was appointed his successor. There he was also active in the military and occupied Demin in 1639 and invaded the Mark in 1640, where he occupied Havelberg, Ratenau and the Haveland. Lillie took part in the Battle of Breitenfeld in 1642 and made a valuable contribution to Lennart Torstensson's victory. After the battle he became the commandant of Leipzig and governor of the margraviate of Meissen . He stayed here for the next few years and negotiated the 1645 armistice of Kötzschenbroda and the subsequent Peace of Eilenburg of 1646.

Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie replaced him as the commandant of Leipzig, Lillie became Reichsrat for Germany. As such, he accompanied the Swedish army on their campaign in Bohemia, where they besieged Prague. In 1649 he returned to Sweden via Nuremberg. There he was appointed Baron of Lesstra and Skötrop by Queen Christina (Sweden) in 1651, and in 1652 Count of Lillienburg and Governor of Karelia. 1652 Governor General of Swedish Pomerania .

Axel Lillie had Löfstad Castle built. In 1652 he got the county of Lillienborg and in 1655 became governor ( landshövding ) of Halland . Because of his poor health, he did not want to leave Löfstad despite pressure from the king and the imperial council, which is why he was replaced as governor of Halland by Erik Stenbock in 1656. Lillie was promoted to field marshal in 1657 . In 1661 he became Governor General of Livonia .

family

In 1630 he married Christina Mörner (1610–1663). The couple had several children including:

• Axel (1637–1692) ⚭ 1665 Maria Elisabeth Stenbock († October 9, 1693)
• Gustaf Helmer (1639–1684) ⚭ Anna von Wachtmeister

literature

• Axel Lillie . In: Herman Hofberg, Frithiof Heurlin, Viktor Millqvist, Olof Rubenson (eds.): Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon . 2nd Edition. tape 2 : L – Z, including supplement . Albert Bonniers Verlag, Stockholm 1906, p. 56 (Swedish, runeberg.org ).
• Carl Günther Ludovici: Large complete universal lexicon of all sciences and arts . P. 1204