Baltzar von Platen (statesman)
Count Baltzar von Platen , also Balzer Bogislaw von Platen (born May 29, 1766 in Dornhof near Schaprode , Swedish Pomerania ; † December 6, 1829 in Christiania , Norway ), was a German - Swedish officer and statesman from the family of the Counts of Platen .
Training and military
Baltzar von Platen was born as the son of the later Governor General of Swedish Pomerania , Philip Julius Bernhard von Platen , and his wife Regina Juliana von Usedom on Rügen . The father planned for his son a career as a naval officer and so Baltzar von Platen was sent to the cadet school in Karlskrona as early as 1779 . In 1780 he was an ensign on the Handelsbrigg Thetis , on which he soon rose to become a helmsman. He was then on behalf of the Swedish state on various missions, including in the West Indies . In 1784 he was a fleet officer on the liner Prinz Gustav . This ship was sunk by Russian gunboats in 1788 off the island of Hogland in the Baltic Sea . Platen was one of the few survivors and was taken prisoner by Russia. He was taken to Novgorod , where he had to stay until the end of the Russo-Swedish War with the Peace of Värälä in 1790. He was promoted retrospectively to captain on his return .
Political career
In 1792 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed knight of the Order of the Sword . In 1800 he left the Navy and turned to politics. He became a member of the State Council in Stockholm , in 1814 Governor General of Holstein , Schleswig and Jutland . From 1827 he was Reich Governor of Norway . He was a respected politician and, due to his proximity to the royal family, he had the opportunity to temporarily rest his offices. During this time he devoted himself to one of his passions, building canals. So in 1798 he was elected to the directorate for the construction of the Trollhätte Canal . There, near Lake Vänern , Platen bought the Frugarden estate and in 1800 married Hedwig Elisabeth Ekmann, daughter of a Gothenburg merchant. The marriage had three children. One son, Baltzar von Platen , was Sweden's Foreign Minister from 1871 to 1872 .
Preparations for the canal construction
Platen's ambitious goal was to expand the Trollhätte Canal across Sweden. In order to acquire further knowledge about canal construction, he traveled to Prussia , France and England. In England he met the builder Thomas Telford and was able to get him excited about his project. In 1806 Platen submitted a treatise on canals through Sweden, with particular reference to the connection from Vänern to the Baltic Sea , in order to attract donors to the construction of the canals. The strategic importance of a direct canal connection from Gothenburg to Stockholm for the fleet and the enormous time and cost savings compared to a sea connection of over 800 kilometers were of particular importance. With prudent foresight, Platen founded a stock corporation.
King Gustav IV Adolf finally commissioned him in 1808 to draw up a design. After the king was deposed in March 1809, Platen had to under Charles XIII. , who ruled until 1818, and whose successor Karl XIV. Johann (General Bernadotte) continued his project. Both regents were positive about the project, but the decisive Reichstag was frightened by the expected high costs. Here in 1809 Baltzer von Platen gave an eloquent speech and pointed out the economic and military benefits. He was finally able to convince the MPs to decide to build the Göta Canal , as it was now called.
Construction of the Göta Canal
On April 11, 1810, the king gave him permission to build the canal with the assurance of military support. Construction began at Motala in May 1810 . Platen approached this task with great commitment, using modern technology such as steam excavators , which he had got to know in England. These were made in Motala. He also founded Sweden's first machine factory. In 1813 the first of 65 locks was completed, and in 1822 the Westgöta Canal was opened by King Charles IV Johann. Baltzer von Platen died while the work was being carried out on December 6, 1829 and did not live to see the opening of the Ostgötakanal on September 26, 1832. His grave is in Motala, overlooking the canal.
In October 1834, the steamship Admiral von Platen, the first liner sailed the route from Stockholm to Gothenburg.
Honor
On May 21, 2004, a memorial stone for Baltzar von Platen was inaugurated in Schaprode on the island of Rügen.
literature
- Werner Gilde: The adventurous life of Herr von Platen . Historical novel. Halle-Leipzig: Mitteldeutscher Verlag 1987. ISBN 3-354-00141-0
- Erich Gülzow: Balzer Bogislaus Graf von Platen. In: Pommersche Lebensbilder II. Saunier, Stettin 1936, pp. 41–49.
- Gert Liebling: Baltzer Bogislaus von Platen (1766-1829) - the builder of the Göta Canal. In: Heimathefte für Mecklenburg und Vorpommern, 19th year, issue 2, Schwerin 2009, pp. 6-8.
- Lutz Mohr : Baltzar Bogislaw von Platen - naval officer and builder. A native of Rügan in the Royal Swedish Military and State Services. In: Die Pommersche Zeitung , Volume 62, Episode 41 of October 11, 2014, pp. 2–3.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Platen, Baltzar von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Platen, Balzer Bogislaw from |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German-Swedish officer and Reich governor of Norway |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 29, 1766 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dornhof near Schaprode |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 6, 1829 |
| Place of death | Oslo |