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- Story Listed as: True Life For Adults
- Theme: Action & Adventure
- Subject: History / Historical
- Published: 04/25/2014
THE ADVENTURES OF KING GUSTAV VASA
Born 1969, M, from Herten, NRW, Germany.jpg)
Gustav Vasa's life reads like an epic Hollywood movie. It is the short story that life itself wrote. And it is all true. Every word. Gustav Eriksson Vasa was the son of noblemen. He danced with fine ladies, went to elegant banquets and met quite a few important people. He also had ancestry to be proud of. The Sten Sture royal bloodline was often mentioned. But his father, a mayor, was also unscrupulous. These ways of raping maids and bribing associates somehow found its way into the son's heart. Early 16th century life became Gustav. He obviously heard of how rulers and kings governed on the continent and also what they wore and what they ate. As a king he would try to emulate that. Gustav Vasa experienced his youth during a turbulent time. The Kalmar Union had been founded in 1397 by Danish Queen Margareta. The Scandinavian countries were meant to collaborate. With the help of German aristocrats (one of them, Albrecht von Mecklenburg, even became king), they did. Gustav Vasa, born in 1496, was a young man when the Union began falling apart. After the Battle at Brännkyrka, Gustav became a living target. The Danish occupants had the upper hand and started chasing him through Denmark and Germany, until finally Gustav managed to hide in Lübeck. He studied there and built an important network, perhaps even with the Banker family of the Fuggers. This would benefit him later as king. Vasa grew restless. He knew that his native country was occupied by the arch enemy Denmark, so he left in a boat for the east coastal town of Kalmar. His arrival there on May 31st, 1520 is well documented by a large stone with his inscription. The school children all learn that day by heart, because in retrospect it commemorates the beginning of a new era for Sweden and the beginning of the Swedish Renaissance. The citizens of Kalmar were, however, less enthusiastic. One of the few people to support him was the governor's wife Anna Bielke. The legend has it she stood in the city watchtower waving a white flag acting as false lighthouse. Her ghost does this until this day and she is called the White Lady. Gustav decided to move on and in doing so made history. He fled through the country, taking a half year to get to Dalarna on foot, hiding in barns and finding ways to escape the Danishoccupants with King Christian, who is called "The Tyrant" by the Swedes, at the forefront. Vasa spoke to the citizens of Dalarna, saying that he would change everything if he was chosen King of Sweden. But as in Kalmar, they reacted in a cool way. Now trouble began. Real trouble. King Christian set up a kind of kangaroo trial on Stockholm's main square, judging and killing hundreds of Swedish aristocrats, Gustav's family, their bodies strewn about to terrorize the Swedes. Gustav fled Dalarna on skis, running the first "Vasa-Marathon" that thousands after him did on skis. The people of Dalarna changed their mind, running after him, probably aware of how extreme the situation was. Gustav's career took off. He became leader of Dalarna and in 1521 "Riksförestandare", which means chairman of the land. He drove out the Danes, knowing fully well how dangerous the situation had been for him. After all, he had been the only surviving Swedish nobleman after the bloodbath of Stockholm. In 1523, Gustav became king, restructuring and defending the country with the help of his old city of Lübeck, where he had forgotten his shirt, that still is there on display. Gustav Vasa started restoring 16 old fortresses and creating a network of Vasa-Castles. Strong, pompous, elegant. The most important castle became the castle of Kalmar. Gustav and his sons kept restoring and renovating the castle for almost a century. Erik XIV spent his energy on embellishing the palace with art. Gustav built towers and walls. After all, the Danish border was at the time only 25 miles away and would remain so until 1648. Kalmar was called "the key to the kingdom". Gustav often arrived here with hundreds of courtiers in order to collect his natural taxes: food given by the people to serve the crown. Inspired by kings active on the continent, Gustav reformed the Catholic Church. Protestantism entered Sweden, a New Testament was written and published in 1527 and the liturgy was simplified. So much so that Bishop Olaus Petri complained that a baby could whistle a mass in front of the church and it would suffice. When Gustav was officially crowned king in 1527, he reformed the laws, reorganized the kingdom, strengthened the country and started paying back his war debts to Lübeck. He did this using the golden treasures from the church. Even the churchbells were not safe. When. the city of Vadstena refused to give up its churchbell Gustav travelled there on his own avail and terrorized the city. Gustav Vasa was both strong leader and tyrant, organizer and choleric soldier. But he also wanted to make sure his dynasty lived on. It was time for a wife. Where better to look for a wife than in Germany? The country had always been a fabulous ally. Katharina von Sachsen-Lauenburg was a doing lady with impressive looks and a very hefty temper. Unfortunately, Gustav was the Same way. The relationship produced one son, the already mentioned and highly artistic Erik XIV, who created a family tree for his coronation in 1560 that said he was a descendant of Adam and Eve. No arrogance there. Be that as it may, Gustav and Katharina were unhappy, mismatched and violent. Legend had it that Gustav killed Katharina with an axe. Researchers disproved that, however, after opening her grave and examining her body. After Katharina's death, Gustav decided to marry a Swedish girl. Margareta Leijonhufvud was calm, intelligent, fertile, elegant, articulate and politically versatile. She bore Gustav 10 children and was loved as a cordial and caring queen. She was the love of his life. Sweden was now strong. The foundation for what would later become a superpower was laid, Not by Gustavus II Adolphus, but by Vasa and his sons. Not everyone liked that. Nils Dacke was a normal citizen who hated Vasa. He claimed that life had been better during the Kalmar Union and gathered many followers with his powerful personality and loud voice. In 1542, he started a revolution against the Swedish crown that catapulted Sweden into violent civil war. Dacke was killed in the end, his head stuck at the end of a pole outside the walls of Kalmar Castle as a warning. The last 18 years of Vasa's life would prove to be relatively war free. There were the occasional battles with the wild daughter Cecilia, who was found copulating with a lascivious count. There were political discussions and quarrels. What hurt him more, though, was the death of his second wife in 1551. She lay on her deathbed and thanked the courtiers for the brave grace of making her Queen or Sweden. Vasa courted women within a year. His third wife to be was 16 to his almost 60. Katharina Stenbock was in love with another Gustav, whom she called "Three Roses". Later, three years into her reign, she was found talking in her sleep: "King Gustav is very good to me, but I shall never forget my Three Roses." Katharina hid behind a bush when the old man arrived to woo her. Finally, she consented. Or the family consented for her. Remember Vadstena? Where Vasa terrorized the villagers for not giving him their churchbell? Here the wedding was held in pomp and circumstance. Three days of eating, drinking and dancing couldn't hide the fact that people were worried. Parts of Vadstena burned down after the entourage left and people saw evil signs in the sky. They were wrong. The young Queen Katharina turned into a tolerant and very ladylike regent who took her bitter fate with dignity. When Princess Cecilia had her dramatic and scandalous sexual encounter with a count, Katharina was there to actor as a peaceful mediator. The most spectacular festivity in 16th century history took place in Kalmar Castle during the winter months of 1552 and 1553. 365 people arrived in November and partied until February, drinking a total of 280 000 litres of beer, 60 081 US Gallons. Beef, pork, fish, veal, eel. It was all devoured by the half thousand. Two dozen courses a day. Poisonous herbs and feathers were used to tickle out the old food, that was eaten by pigs, who were slaughtered and grilled and served. Recycling, Renaissance style. The old King Gustav suffered. His teeth were rotting and his knees were failing. So, the young Queen Katharina was more of a nurse to Gustav than a wife. She liked the royal family and they liked her. They were the same age and probably shared the same interests. When Gustav died in 1560 he received a mile long parade that travelled the countryside, followed by crying relatives and buried in the dome of Uppsala. Gustav's greatest legacy was that he strengthened Sweden. Ultimately, he paved the way for his sons and grandsons to create a bigger better Sweden. He is remembered every year when the winter sportsmen ski through the wilderness along the path where he fled from the Danish troops. He might have made up many heroic stories about this time in order to impress the afterworld. But he was ambitious enough to catapult Sweden into a new era. He is remembered as the founder of the Swedish church. And as the rebuilder if Kalmar Castle, his castle, invaded 22 times, protected by 287 cannons. Vasa is remembered every time we speak of his third wife, the Queen Dowager Katharina Stenbock. She lived to reach a ripe old age and spent it serving Sweden well. Not bad for a chick who hid behind a bush when her future husband Dame to ask of her hand in marriage. We remember Gustav Vasa when we speak of the sunken warship with his name. In fact, every time we eat the Swedish Vasa Knäcke Bread or drink the Vasa Blueberry Drink, we think of the angry decisive king who spent his life strengthening his country, making allies, making children, eating, drinking and building castles that today stand as among the world's finest. Vasa might have been a difficult man, but without him Sweden would not be where it is today. We owe him a great deal.
THE ADVENTURES OF KING GUSTAV VASA(Charles E.J. Moulton) Gustav Vasa's life reads like an epic Hollywood movie. It is the short story that life itself wrote. And it is all true. Every word. Gustav Eriksson Vasa was the son of noblemen. He danced with fine ladies, went to elegant banquets and met quite a few important people. He also had ancestry to be proud of. The Sten Sture royal bloodline was often mentioned. But his father, a mayor, was also unscrupulous. These ways of raping maids and bribing associates somehow found its way into the son's heart. Early 16th century life became Gustav. He obviously heard of how rulers and kings governed on the continent and also what they wore and what they ate. As a king he would try to emulate that. Gustav Vasa experienced his youth during a turbulent time. The Kalmar Union had been founded in 1397 by Danish Queen Margareta. The Scandinavian countries were meant to collaborate. With the help of German aristocrats (one of them, Albrecht von Mecklenburg, even became king), they did. Gustav Vasa, born in 1496, was a young man when the Union began falling apart. After the Battle at Brännkyrka, Gustav became a living target. The Danish occupants had the upper hand and started chasing him through Denmark and Germany, until finally Gustav managed to hide in Lübeck. He studied there and built an important network, perhaps even with the Banker family of the Fuggers. This would benefit him later as king. Vasa grew restless. He knew that his native country was occupied by the arch enemy Denmark, so he left in a boat for the east coastal town of Kalmar. His arrival there on May 31st, 1520 is well documented by a large stone with his inscription. The school children all learn that day by heart, because in retrospect it commemorates the beginning of a new era for Sweden and the beginning of the Swedish Renaissance. The citizens of Kalmar were, however, less enthusiastic. One of the few people to support him was the governor's wife Anna Bielke. The legend has it she stood in the city watchtower waving a white flag acting as false lighthouse. Her ghost does this until this day and she is called the White Lady. Gustav decided to move on and in doing so made history. He fled through the country, taking a half year to get to Dalarna on foot, hiding in barns and finding ways to escape the Danishoccupants with King Christian, who is called "The Tyrant" by the Swedes, at the forefront. Vasa spoke to the citizens of Dalarna, saying that he would change everything if he was chosen King of Sweden. But as in Kalmar, they reacted in a cool way. Now trouble began. Real trouble. King Christian set up a kind of kangaroo trial on Stockholm's main square, judging and killing hundreds of Swedish aristocrats, Gustav's family, their bodies strewn about to terrorize the Swedes. Gustav fled Dalarna on skis, running the first "Vasa-Marathon" that thousands after him did on skis. The people of Dalarna changed their mind, running after him, probably aware of how extreme the situation was. Gustav's career took off. He became leader of Dalarna and in 1521 "Riksförestandare", which means chairman of the land. He drove out the Danes, knowing fully well how dangerous the situation had been for him. After all, he had been the only surviving Swedish nobleman after the bloodbath of Stockholm. In 1523, Gustav became king, restructuring and defending the country with the help of his old city of Lübeck, where he had forgotten his shirt, that still is there on display. Gustav Vasa started restoring 16 old fortresses and creating a network of Vasa-Castles. Strong, pompous, elegant. The most important castle became the castle of Kalmar. Gustav and his sons kept restoring and renovating the castle for almost a century. Erik XIV spent his energy on embellishing the palace with art. Gustav built towers and walls. After all, the Danish border was at the time only 25 miles away and would remain so until 1648. Kalmar was called "the key to the kingdom". Gustav often arrived here with hundreds of courtiers in order to collect his natural taxes: food given by the people to serve the crown. Inspired by kings active on the continent, Gustav reformed the Catholic Church. Protestantism entered Sweden, a New Testament was written and published in 1527 and the liturgy was simplified. So much so that Bishop Olaus Petri complained that a baby could whistle a mass in front of the church and it would suffice. When Gustav was officially crowned king in 1527, he reformed the laws, reorganized the kingdom, strengthened the country and started paying back his war debts to Lübeck. He did this using the golden treasures from the church. Even the churchbells were not safe. When. the city of Vadstena refused to give up its churchbell Gustav travelled there on his own avail and terrorized the city. Gustav Vasa was both strong leader and tyrant, organizer and choleric soldier. But he also wanted to make sure his dynasty lived on. It was time for a wife. Where better to look for a wife than in Germany? The country had always been a fabulous ally. Katharina von Sachsen-Lauenburg was a doing lady with impressive looks and a very hefty temper. Unfortunately, Gustav was the Same way. The relationship produced one son, the already mentioned and highly artistic Erik XIV, who created a family tree for his coronation in 1560 that said he was a descendant of Adam and Eve. No arrogance there. Be that as it may, Gustav and Katharina were unhappy, mismatched and violent. Legend had it that Gustav killed Katharina with an axe. Researchers disproved that, however, after opening her grave and examining her body. After Katharina's death, Gustav decided to marry a Swedish girl. Margareta Leijonhufvud was calm, intelligent, fertile, elegant, articulate and politically versatile. She bore Gustav 10 children and was loved as a cordial and caring queen. She was the love of his life. Sweden was now strong. The foundation for what would later become a superpower was laid, Not by Gustavus II Adolphus, but by Vasa and his sons. Not everyone liked that. Nils Dacke was a normal citizen who hated Vasa. He claimed that life had been better during the Kalmar Union and gathered many followers with his powerful personality and loud voice. In 1542, he started a revolution against the Swedish crown that catapulted Sweden into violent civil war. Dacke was killed in the end, his head stuck at the end of a pole outside the walls of Kalmar Castle as a warning. The last 18 years of Vasa's life would prove to be relatively war free. There were the occasional battles with the wild daughter Cecilia, who was found copulating with a lascivious count. There were political discussions and quarrels. What hurt him more, though, was the death of his second wife in 1551. She lay on her deathbed and thanked the courtiers for the brave grace of making her Queen or Sweden. Vasa courted women within a year. His third wife to be was 16 to his almost 60. Katharina Stenbock was in love with another Gustav, whom she called "Three Roses". Later, three years into her reign, she was found talking in her sleep: "King Gustav is very good to me, but I shall never forget my Three Roses." Katharina hid behind a bush when the old man arrived to woo her. Finally, she consented. Or the family consented for her. Remember Vadstena? Where Vasa terrorized the villagers for not giving him their churchbell? Here the wedding was held in pomp and circumstance. Three days of eating, drinking and dancing couldn't hide the fact that people were worried. Parts of Vadstena burned down after the entourage left and people saw evil signs in the sky. They were wrong. The young Queen Katharina turned into a tolerant and very ladylike regent who took her bitter fate with dignity. When Princess Cecilia had her dramatic and scandalous sexual encounter with a count, Katharina was there to actor as a peaceful mediator. The most spectacular festivity in 16th century history took place in Kalmar Castle during the winter months of 1552 and 1553. 365 people arrived in November and partied until February, drinking a total of 280 000 litres of beer, 60 081 US Gallons. Beef, pork, fish, veal, eel. It was all devoured by the half thousand. Two dozen courses a day. Poisonous herbs and feathers were used to tickle out the old food, that was eaten by pigs, who were slaughtered and grilled and served. Recycling, Renaissance style. The old King Gustav suffered. His teeth were rotting and his knees were failing. So, the young Queen Katharina was more of a nurse to Gustav than a wife. She liked the royal family and they liked her. They were the same age and probably shared the same interests. When Gustav died in 1560 he received a mile long parade that travelled the countryside, followed by crying relatives and buried in the dome of Uppsala. Gustav's greatest legacy was that he strengthened Sweden. Ultimately, he paved the way for his sons and grandsons to create a bigger better Sweden. He is remembered every year when the winter sportsmen ski through the wilderness along the path where he fled from the Danish troops. He might have made up many heroic stories about this time in order to impress the afterworld. But he was ambitious enough to catapult Sweden into a new era. He is remembered as the founder of the Swedish church. And as the rebuilder if Kalmar Castle, his castle, invaded 22 times, protected by 287 cannons. Vasa is remembered every time we speak of his third wife, the Queen Dowager Katharina Stenbock. She lived to reach a ripe old age and spent it serving Sweden well. Not bad for a chick who hid behind a bush when her future husband Dame to ask of her hand in marriage. We remember Gustav Vasa when we speak of the sunken warship with his name. In fact, every time we eat the Swedish Vasa Knäcke Bread or drink the Vasa Blueberry Drink, we think of the angry decisive king who spent his life strengthening his country, making allies, making children, eating, drinking and building castles that today stand as among the world's finest. Vasa might have been a difficult man, but without him Sweden would not be where it is today. We owe him a great deal.
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