Christian IV

Christian IV (1577-1648), King of Denmark and Norway (1588-1648), the son of Frederick II. His first years on the throne were dominated by regents, but after 1596 he ruled in his own right. An independent but not always judicious ruler, he was above all a man of action. He built up the Danish navy, encouraged industry and commerce, established a regular postal service, and founded a series of new towns; as a builder he left a lasting mark on Copenhagen. His foreign ventures were less fortunate. Despite personal bravery, he was an undistinguished military leader, and his war against Sweden in 1611-1613 succeeded in halting Swedish expansion into northern Norway mainly because the Swedes were otherwise engaged. His participation in the Thirty Years' War was disastrous, although he managed to win a lenient peace at Lübeck in 1629. Even worse was the second war with Sweden (1643-1645) in which Denmark lost considerable territories in the Scandinavian Peninsula and the Baltic.