Wiebke Kruse
Wiebeke Kruse (* around 1605 in Puls ; † April 28, 1648 in Copenhagen ) was a mistress of the Danish king Christian IV. (The spelling of the name in her own signature is Wiebeke, in the Danish-speaking area Vibeke)
Life
origin
The origin of the Wiebeke Kruse has only been clarified since 2011. Her brother H (e) inrich Kr (a) use, who can be documented in a document, was initially the administrator of the Drage estate and from around 1632 was bailiff in Krempe . In 1629 he was the owner of a church chair in the church in nearby Hohenaspe and donated an altar wreath for the church in Schenefeld in 1637. For this year 1637 there is a document that proves him and with it his sister Wiebeke as brother or sister of Claus Kruse in Puls in the parish of Schenefeld. The Kruse family has been based in Puls since the first half of the 16th century at the latest with several owners of the name Claus Kruse. Another sister is mentioned, albeit not by name, by the contemporary doctor and botanist Otto Sperling in his autobiography.
The often mentioned origin from Föhrden-Barl from the farm of the local farrier Hans Kruse is not documented and can be attributed to a legend due to the similarity of names and the local proximity. However, this origin has found lasting entry into local history through the novel Wiebeke Kruse by Johanna Mestorf (published in 1866) and has been passed on many times.
Mistress of the king
Wiebeke Kruse came to the Danish court around 1625 in the service of Kirsten Munk (probably as a laundress) . Kirsten Munk was the second wife of the Danish King Christian IV. Twelve children came from this morganatic marriage . In 1628 Kirsten Munk had an intense love affair with the Rhine Count Otto von Salm , who was in Christian's service , which was discovered by Christian. Christian therefore doubted the paternity of the last child (born September 1, 1629). Kirsten Munk was removed from court and banished to her property. All servants were fired. Wiebeke Kruse came into the service of Kirsten's mother, Ellen Marsvin , who was one of the largest landowners in Denmark and had great influence on the king due to her daughter's marriage. Christian Wiebeke met on their property in 1629 and probably began an intimate relationship with her. From then on, Wiebke Kruse took on the role of his partner. Some publications speak of Ellen Marsvin "shoving her into bed" with the king in order to maintain her influence at court.
The king had a good looked for that seemed suitable as a supply for Wiebke. It became the Stedinghof in Bramstedt in Holstein, which had got into trouble due to inheritance disputes and the war events (large parts of Bramstedt burned down in 1628). Christian IV rounded off the estate, added the land of Gayen and the Bramstedt mill, the latter as hereditary property for all direct descendants. In 1633 the property was transferred to Wiebke and the Bramstedter Schloss was built for her and the other buildings were renovated in succession - partly under the direction of her brother Hinrich, who was temporarily bailiff in Segeberg. There is no documentary evidence of whether Wiebke Kruse actually used the estate as a place of residence. In 1638 she was also given the royal court in Glückstadt as a present, which the Wiebke-Kruse-Tower reminds of to this day.
The connection with Christian IV had two children:
- Ulrich Christian Gyldenløve (* April 7, 1630 Ibstrup or Jägersborg / DK; † December 11, 1658 near Copenhagen on "exhaustion in combat")
- Elisabeth Sofie Christiansdatter (* 1633 in Bramstedt ?; † January 20, 1654 burial. March 16, 1654 in Kiel , St. Nikolai Church)
When Christian IV died on February 28, 1648, Kirsten Munk's sons-in-law, first and foremost Corfitz Ulfeldt and Christian von Pentz , chased Wiebke Kruse from the court in Copenhagen. She was sick at the time. The daughter was just 14 years old and the son was on a campaign - the mother was without protection. Ulfeldt tried to bring them to court. He is said to have sent messengers almost every day to her new domicile on the outskirts of Copenhagen to ask “whether she was still alive”.
Wiebke Kruse also died on April 28, 1648. The cause of death is unknown, and unnatural death cannot be ruled out. On Ulfeldt's instructions, the body was buried in an ordinary morgue outside the city gates.
Events after her death
The estate was devastated, so that today hardly any archive material about Wiebeke Kruse can be found. In Rosenborg Castle is a pair of earrings on display. Christian IV had these made after the sea battle on the Kolberger Heide , in which he was injured by shrapnel. The earrings are made from two splinters that were surgically removed.
The son Ulrich Christian had the mother's body exhumed on his return and transferred to his country house in Ulriksholm / Fyn. According to tradition, there she was buried in the church in Kölstrup and found her final resting place.
The daughter Elisabeth Sofie married the widower Major General Claus von Ahlefeldt (1614–1674) , who was almost 20 years older, just a few weeks after her mother's death - around 15 years old . They had a daughter together before Elisabeth Sofie died in 1654 and was buried in the von Ahlefeldts family grave in the Nikolaikirche in Kiel. Ulrich Christian was killed in defense of Copenhagen just four years later in 1658. His successor was his brother-in-law Claus von Ahlefeldt. Gut Bramstedt and Ulriksholm went to Elisabeth Sofie's daughter, who was married to Claus von Ahlefeldt.
literature
- Johanna Mestorf: Wiebeke Kruse - a Holstein farmer's daughter. Hamburg 1866.
- Otto Sperling: Dr. med. Otto Sperling's selvbiografi (1602–1673).
- Detlev von Ahlefeldt : Memoirs from the years 1617–1659. after Louis Bobé 1896.
- Klaus-Joachim Lorenzen-Schmidt: Wiebke Kruse - a Holstein farmer's daughter? In: Writings of the Detlfesen Society. 2000.
- Jan-Uwe Schadendorf: Wiebeke Kruse - novel and history. Bad Bramstedt 2004.
- Sune Dalgård: Lidt om Vibeke Kruse. Copenhagen 2005.
- Sune Dalgård: "A little bit about Viebeke Kruse", translation, lectures of the Detlefsen Society , No. 11, 2009 pp. 7–37
- Michael Bregnsbo: Til Venstre Hand. Gyldendal 2010.
- CF Bricka: Kruse, Vibeke . In: Carl Frederik Bricka (Ed.): Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Tillige omfattende Norge for Tidsrummet 1537-1814. 1st edition. tape 9 : Jyde – Køtschau . Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag, Copenhagen 1895, p. 569-570 (Danish, runeberg.org ).
- Jan-Uwe Schadendorf: "The veil is lifted - on the Holstein origin of Wiebeke Kruse", Lectures of the Detlefsen Society , No. 16, 2014, pp. 69–86
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ These research results can already be seen in the extensive legacy of the genealogist Nicoline Still († 1974), which is stored in the Itzehoe city archive but has never been published.
- ↑ LAS 110.3 No. 122 Pag. 53
- ↑ LAS Dept. 133 S&P Glückstadt No. 214 fol. 725
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kruse, Wiebke |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Kruse, Vibeke; Kruse, Wiebeke; Kruse, Wiebcke |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Mistress of the Danish King Christian IV. |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1605 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Pulse |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 28, 1648 |
| Place of death | Copenhagen |