Thanks for telling the story. History is very interesting. I will just add this, that the estate, that later got the name Marselisborg, when the castle that now stands were built around 1900 , were a royal estate called Havreballegaard. Because of the king´s ( Christian IV )dept to Gabriel Marselis, he gave him the estate. Gabriel Marselis got a son, Constantin, who inherited the estate. Constantin died childless in 1699, and the estate then fell back to the crown again.
But not only the castle of 1900 got its name from Marselis, but lingers on in the area in streetnames etc.... There has been several interesting connections between the danish kings and the dutch, way back when Holland were rich and powerfull, all interesting stories.
And nice I can go over and see Christian IV crown here around the corner, every now and then :o) Happy New Year, by the way.
--Previous Message-- : Yesterday in a television series about the : Dutch Golden Age (17th C) the focus was now : on the East Sea Trade. The Danes and the : Swedes were always fighting each other to : control the profitable toll on the Sont (the : sea street between Denmark and Sweden, : giving access to the East Sea, the Baltic : states and Russia). It was told this toll : was very important, in some years it formed : half of the total revenues of the Danish : state. This toll was a thorn in the flesh of : the Dutchmen because they, with the largest : merchant fleet, had to pay the most. : : The shrewd Dutch always supported the : weakest of the two countries. When Sweden : was stronger than Denmark, the Dutch would : support the Danes. When Denmark became too : powerful, the Dutch supported the Swedes. : Often the price was high, both parties had : to pay enormous sums for weapons, soldiers, : assistance from the Dutch fleet (as we know, : war is very expensive). : : Interesting was that a Dutch merchant : family, Marselis, became so enormously rich : because the King of Denmark paid in fiefs : and lands. Ultimately even the debt-ridden : King of Denmark (I thought Frederik III) had : to pawn the royal crown to the Marselis : family. The family would become very : important and still belong to the Danish : nobility as Barons of Güldencrone. Queen : Margrethe still has an estate called : Marselisborg, once originally established by : the Dutch Marselis family. : : At the other side of the Sont a Dutch family : equally gained an enormous wealth and : fortune by getting the King debt-ridden. It : is the family De Geer, still belonging to : both the Swedish and the Dutch aristocracy. : The palais De Geer in Stockholm still serves : as the Embassy of the Kingdom of the : Netherlands. In yesterday's program the : presenter both visited a Baron Marselis av : Güldencrone and had a meeting with various : De Geer descendants at the former palais : (the Embassy). : : The most funny anecdote was that Gabriel : Marselis, without any formal power or : position, informally became the one of the : most influential men in Denmark. He even : litterally slept above the crown. The state : crown was pawned to him and was placed in a : cassette underneath the bed of the Dutch : merchant.... : : I never knew that the so carefully guarded : Danish royal crown once was given in pawn to : a merchant. Quite unbelievable but also a : nice fait-divers. : : : : : :
on January 2, 2013, 7:28 am, in reply to "