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Gustav II Adolf (also known as Gustaf Adolf den store or Gustavus II Adolphus) (December 9, 1594 – November 6, 1632 O.S.), widely known by the Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus and referred to by Protestants as the Lion of the North, was King of Sweden from 1611 until his death. He is the only Swedish king to be styled "the Great". He was born in Stockholm, the son of Charles IX of the Vasa dynasty and Christina of Holstein-Gottorp. He was King of Sweden from 1611, and as such one of the major players in the Thirty Years' War. Gustav was married to the daughter of the elector of Brandenburg-Prussia, Maria Eleonora, and chose Prussia's city of Elbing as base for his operations in Germany. He died in battle on November 6, 1632 at Lützen in Germany. During his reign, Gustav founded the city of Gothenburg as well as a number of smaller cities. He is also the founder of the University of Tartu in Tartu, Estonia, which then belonged to the kingdom of Sweden. At this time, the three largest cities in the Swedish kingdom were Riga (the capital of Latvia), Stockholm and Tallinn (capital of Estonia).
Military commander As a general, Gustav is famous for employing mobile artillery on the battlefield, as well as a very active tactic where attack was stressed over defense and mobility more important than in the usual linear tactic. The musketeers under his command were widely known for their shooting accuracy and reload speed, three times as many shots per minute as any other comparable musketeer force in the world of the day. This was only part of the reason why Carl von Clausewitz and Napoleon Bonaparte idolized him as one of the greatest generals of all time. His character both in consistency of purpose and of amity with all his troops from commanding officers right down to the rank and file with whom he mixed easily as if another commoner, earned him unassailably documented fame which most commanders in chief would gladly accept as mere joking anecdotes. The king was an active participant in the battles, being prone to lead charges himself at crucial battle moments, and was wounded several times, including gunshot wounds to the neck, throat and the abdomen. His war wounds led the king to adopt a flexible armour of hide instead of the customary two part metal shell cuirass, and this is what he wore in the Battle of Lützen, because a musketball from years before was lodged in his neck near the spine and would be irritated by a metal cuirass, causing extreme pain. Gustav's leather armour is currently on display in the Livrustkammaren at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. Gustav occasionally used the name Captain Gars, especially early in his reign, to travel Europe , the only known king to actually indulge in this highly fictionalized act of self-denigration with the alleged purpose of studying and scouting the lands of friends and potential foe. Gars is derived from the initials of "Gustavus Adolphus Rex Sueciae", Latin for "Gustav Adolf King of Sweden". He was a highly enlightened ruler, and held the Swedish nobility on a firm leash, supporting both the merchant and worker class against the nobility. Gustav was killed at the Battle of Lützen, where, at a crucial point in the battle, he was separated from his troops while leading a cavalry charge into a dense smog of mist and gunpowder smoke. After his death, his wife initially kept his body, and later his heart, in her castle for over a year. His remains (including his heart) now rest in Riddarholmskyrkan in Stockholm. In February 1633, following the death of the king, the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates decided that his name would be accompanied by an accolade and that his name was to be styled Gustav Adolf the Great (or Gustaf Adolf den Store in Swedish). No such honor has been bestowed on any other Swedish monarch since. The crown of Sweden was inherited in the family of Vasa, and from Charles IX's time excluded those Vasa princes who had been traitors or descended from deposed monarchs. Gustav's younger brother had died years ago, and therefore there were only females left. Maria Eleonora and the king's ministers took over the government on behalf of Gustav's underage daughter Christina of Sweden on her father's death. He left one other child of whom we are aware, his illegitimate son Gustav, Count of Vasaborg. Alternative view The German Socialist Franz Mehring (1846–1919) wrote a biography of Gustavus Adolphus with a Marxist analysis of the actions of the Swedish king during the Thirty Years' War, claiming it had little to do with religion (the official explanation), and everything to do with economics (the Marxist explanation). Timeline A history of Adolphus' wars was written by Johann Philipp Abelin. Gustav Adolf Day is celebrated in Sweden each year on November 6. On this day only a special pastry, with a chocolate medallion of the king, is sold. The day is also an official flag day in the Swedish calendar. Fictional appearances See also | ||||||||
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