Claus Horn

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Claus Horn in the portrait collection of Gripsholm Castle
Fight between the Danish and Swedish flagships Jegermesther and St. Erik drawn by Rudolf van Deventer
Five loss-making sea battles in three years weakened Denmark less than the subsequent sinking of the Danish-Lübeck fleet in the storm off Visby in 1566
Tomb of Claus Horn and his wife Kerstin Krumme in Uppsala Cathedral

Baron Claus Horn , Swedish also Klas Kristersson (Horn af Åminne) (* 1517 Åminne herrgård in Åminne / Halikko near Salo in today's Finland; † September 9, 1566 in Åby prästgård near Vadstena in Östergötland ) was a Swedish naval hero and admiral of the Swedish Navy in the three-crown war .

Life

Claus Horn was the son of Krister Klasson (Horn), who died around 1520 as the Swedish bailiff at Åbo Castle, and his wife Ingeborg Siggesdotter Sparre . He married Kerstin Krumme (1532–1611) on January 3, 1551 . Krister Klasson Horn af Åminne (1554-1612) was both son.

Horn was educated as a page of Duke Philip I of Pomerania-Wolgast and as a squire of King Gustav Wasa and fought for the latter initially in the Russo-Swedish War (1554–1557) . He took part in the siege of Shlisselburg in 1555 and became commander of Vyborg Castle in 1556 . As a result, he made a contribution to the consolidation of Swedish interests in the Baltic States and was baronial ennobled.

In the three-crown war that began in 1563 with the (first) naval battle off Bornholm , he was deployed as a troop leader both on land and at sea. In 1564 he became admiral of the Swedish Navy, which was in the fight against Denmark and the allied Hanseatic cities under the leadership of Lübeck , after on 30./31. May 1564 in a (first) battle between the islands of Öland and Gotland, the Swedish admirals Jakob Bagge and his deputy Arved Trolle were taken prisoner by Denmark. In the (second) battle north of the island of Öland on August 14, 1564, Horn defeated the Danish-Luebsche fleet under the Danish Admiral Herluf Trolle and the Luebeck commander Friedrich Knebel , which lost three ships and 600 men. The following summer, Horn met the Allies again in the Øresund and the number of ships was superior. The naval battle of June 4, 1565 ended in a draw. The Danes withdrew to Køge Bugt , where their Admiral Bagge succumbed to his injuries on June 25th. His deputy Jørgen Thygesen Brahe died of fever a few days later on June 28th. As their successor, Otte Knudsen Rud took over command of the Danish fleet. On July 7, 1565, the conflicting parties met for the (second) naval battle near Bornholm . Despite considerable losses on both sides, the Swedes were able to capture the Danish flagship Jegermesther and decide the battle for themselves. In the summer of the following year, the opponents met again on July 26, 1566 east of Öland. After the battle, the Danes and Lübeckers withdrew under the Gotland coast and anchored there to bury the deputy of the Danish admiral. The anchorage was chosen extremely unfortunate for the approaching bad weather and the combined fleet with over five thousand men was lost off Gotland, which was decisive for the war. The mayor of Lübeck and fleet leader Bartholomeus Tinnappel was among the drowned people . He was buried in Visby Cathedral, where his epitaph has been preserved and reminds not only of him but of everyone who stayed at sea. The Swedish fleet under Admiral Claus Horn, however, survived the severe storm, albeit with damage and losses on the open sea.

He died a little later of the consequences of the plague and was buried in Uppsala Cathedral, where his tombstone has been preserved. Several units of the Swedish Navy have been named after him to this day.

literature

  • Horn, 3rd Klas Kristersson in: Nordisk familjebok , 1st edition 1883
  • Herbert Kloth: Lübeck's naval warfare in the time of the Nordic 7-year war 1563–1570 , in: Journal of the Association for Lübeckische Geschichte und Altertumskunde , Volume 21 (1923), pp. 1–51, 185–256 plus Volume 22 (1923– 25), pp. 121-52 & 325-79

Web links

Commons : Klas Kristersson (Horn)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Isacson, Claes-Göran: Vägen till stormakt - Vasaättens krig , Norstedts förlag, Stockholm, 2006. P. 181. ISBN 91-1-301502-8
personal data
SURNAME Horn, Claus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swedish naval hero and admiral in the Swedish Navy in the Three Crown War
DATE OF BIRTH 1517
PLACE OF BIRTH Åminne, Halikko near Salo , Finland
DATE OF DEATH September 9, 1566
Place of death Åby prästgård near Vadstena , Östergötland