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Frederik IV (October 11, 1671 – October 12, 1730) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1699 until his death. Frederik was the son of Christian V of Denmark-Norway and his wife Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Cassel. Her parents were Wilhelm VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel and Hedwig Sophia of Brandenburg.

The newborn Prince was baptized the same evening with the name Frederik by the royal confessional Hans Leth. His grandfather King Frederik III had died a year and a half before he was born, and as the eldest son of the reigning King Christian V of Denmark and Norway he was thus Crown Prince from birth. At the age of 18, he was given a seat on the Council of State as the heir apparent to the throne.

King Frederik IV of Denmark and Norway

The reason Prince Frederik was Crown Prince from birth was due to the actions of his grandfather. Prior to the reign of his grandfather, King Frederik III, Denmark had been an elective monarchy. In 1660 King Frederik III made use of his popularity by converting the elective monarchy into an absolute and hereditary monarchy during the Revolution of 1660.

As Crown Prince, Frederik broadened his education by travelling in Europe, led by his chamberlain Ditlev Wibe. He was particularly impressed by the architecture in Italy and, on his return to Denmark, asked his father, Christian V, for permission to build a summer palace on Solbjerg, as the hill in Valby was then known, the future site of Frederiksberg Palace. The one-story building, probably designed by Ernst Brandenburger, was completed in 1703.

His father, King Christian V of Denmark and Norway, died on August 25, 1699 from the after-effects of a hunting accident and was interred in Roskilde Cathedral. His son and heir automatically became King Frederik IV of Denmark and Norway.

Frederik IV, having twice visited Italy, had two pleasure palaces built in the Italian baroque style: Frederiksberg Palace that was extended during his reign, when it was converted into a three-storey H-shaped building, and was completed in 1709 by Johan Conrad Ernst, giving the palace a true Italian Baroque appearance and Fredensborg Palace, both considered monuments to the conclusion of the Great Northern War.

He maintained weekly audiences where anyone could attend and deliver letters with complaints or projects.

Venetian journey

King Frederik IV holds a memorable place in the social history of the city of Venice for a visit he made during the winter of 1708–09. The king stayed in the city with an entourage of at least 70 people, formally incognito as Count of Oldenburg, not to be unknown, but to avoid the cumbersome and more costly etiquette of a royal visit. During his nine week stay, the king was a frequent guest at operas and comedies and a generous buyer of Venetian glass.

On his return from Venice the King led political negotiations with the King August II of Poland (Elector of Saxony) and King Friedrich I in Prussia (Elector of Brandenburg) about the impending plans of war against Sweden.

The Alliance of Kings: King Frederik IV of Denmark and Norway (right) King August II of Poland (Elector of Saxony) (left) and King Friedrich I in Prussia (Elector of Brandenburg) (center)

For much of Frederick IV’s reign Denmark-Norway was engaged in the Great Northern War (1700–1721) against Sweden. In spite of the conclusion of the Peace of Travendal in 1700, there was soon a Swedish invasion and threats from Europe’s western naval powers.

In 1709 Denmark again entered the war encouraged by the Swedish defeat at Poltava. Frederik IV commanded the Danish troops at the Battle of Gadebusch in 1712. Although Denmark-Norway emerged on the victorious side, she failed to reconquer lost possessions in southern Sweden.

The most important result was the destruction of the pro-Swedish Duchy of Holstein-Gottorp, which re-established Denmark’s domination in Schleswig-Holstein. Between 1703 and 1711, Frederick send military units in Hungary and supported Austria in the Rákóczi’s War of Independence. The Danish regiments fought against the Kuruc army and French auxiliaries (Battle of Zsibó).

Much of the king’s life was spent in strife with kinsmen. Two of his first cousins, King Carl XII of Sweden and Friedrich IV, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (the three men were the grandsons of Frederik III of Denmark), had waged war upon his father jointly.

Initially defeated by the Swedes and forced to recognize the independence of Holstein-Gottorp, Frederik IV finally drove the next duke of Holstein-Gottorp, Duke Charles Friedrich (who was Frederik IV’s first cousin once removed) out of Schleswig in 1713, and avoided the revenge contemplated by Charles Friedrich’s mother-in-law, Empress Catherine I of Russia.

Domestic rule

King Frederik IV of Denmark and Norway

Frederick’s most important domestic reform was the abolition in 1702 of the so-called vornedskab, a kind of serfdom which had fallen on the peasants of Zealand in the Late Middle Ages. His efforts were largely in vain because of the introduction in 1733 of adscription (stavnsbånd), a law that forced peasants to remain in their home regions, and by which the peasantry was subjected to both the local nobility and the army.

During Frederik IV rule Copenhagen was struck by two disasters: the plague of 1711, and the great fire of October 1728, which destroyed most of the medieval capital. Although the king had been persuaded by astronomer Ole Rømer (1644–1710) to introduce the Gregorian calendar in Denmark-Norway in 1700, the astronomer’s observations and calculations were among the treasures lost to the fire.