Iver Hvitfeldt

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ivar Huitfeldt
Medallion of Ivar Huitfeldt on his monument in Copenhagen .
Monument to Ivar Huitfeldt in Langelinie , Copenhagen.

Iver Hvitfeldt also Ivar Huitfeldt (born December 5, 1665 in Halden , † October 4, 1710 in the Køgebucht ) was a Norwegian-Danish admiral .

Life

Hvitfeld joined the Danish-Norwegian Navy in 1681 at the naval base in Bremerholm (today also Gammelholm) in Copenhagen . From 1685 he took part in several expeditions, where he gained his first seafaring experience. He then served as a cadet in the Dutch Navy , where he was promoted to lieutenant in 1687 . In 1688 he entered the service of the French Navy , with which he took part in an attack on Algiers . In 1690 Hvitfeldt went to Copenhagen and served again in the Danish-Norwegian Navy. In 1691 he was promoted to captain and returned to French service, where he took part in the War of the Palatinate Succession in the Battle of Beachy Head and in the Battle of Barfleur and La Hougue .

During the Great Northern War (1700-1721) Hvitfeld was appointed commander of the ship of the line Dannebroge . From 1704 to 1709 he was appointed head of the Orlogsværftet ("War Shipyard") in Kristiansand on the instructions of the King . In 1709 he was again in command of the Dannebroge .

In the sea ​​battle in the Køgebucht (1710) under the leadership of Admiral Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve during the Great Northern War, Hvitfeldt sacrificed his ship out of tactical considerations and thus probably saved the Danish-Norwegian fleet from complete destruction. His ship was sunk, and only 3 of the 600-strong crew could be saved. Hvitfeldt himself was also killed. His body was found a little later on the beach at Køgebucht.

Memorial and honors

In 1884 he was honored by naming the Danish coastal armored ship Iver Hvitfeldt after him.

In 1886 a 19 m high monument was erected in his honor by the architect William Dahlerup and the sculptor Ferdinand Edvard Ring on the Langelinie promenade in Copenhagen . The bronze reliefs and medallions as well as the Victoria angel on the top of the column monument were cast from the cannons of his ship. The anchor and some pieces of cannon barrel that had been recovered from the wreckage of the Dannebroge were also visibly integrated into the monument.

In 2004 the Iver Huitfeldt class of anti-aircraft frigates was created for the Danish Navy . In 2012 the Iver Huitfeldt (F361) of this class was launched .

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Hvitfeldt, Iver
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Huitfeldt, Ivar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian-Danish admiral
DATE OF BIRTH December 5, 1665
PLACE OF BIRTH Heaps
DATE OF DEATH October 4, 1710
Place of death Kø booked