Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden. The myth of the ugliness of the Swedish queen or the mediocrity of the court portrait painter. Siege of Fredrikshald, during which Charles XII died

Against the backdrop of events in Ukraine, the glory and shame of Hetman Mazepa, covered up by his European choice in favor of the Swedish King Charles XII, somehow faded.
However, the story of the Swedish king and commander, who was shot in the head, is shrouded in mystery, which brings us to the history of the Kaulbars fitting hanging in the Knights' Hall of the Art Museum in St. Petersburg.

A little about this secret george_rooke on the death of Charles XII

While everyone, with bated breath, wonders "And what about crests?", we will digress a little from the outline of the narrative, and talk a little about the character with whom I have long been related, since the time of writing "Struggle for the Spanish Succession".

Swedish sappers carry the body of Charles XII.

If someone carefully read the previous description, then he should have concluded that the bullet hit the head of the king LEFT.
However, if we look at the photo of his skull:


We will see that the bullet has entered ON RIGHT!
That is, they did not shoot from the side of the fortress walls of Friedriksten!
Moreover, the court physician Melchior Neumann announced that the bullet that killed the king flew from the fortress - to left temple. But the sappers who carried the king away claimed that wound in right temple- the shot was fired from a trench.
The first opening of the king's sarcophagus was done in 1746, and it turned out that Neumann LIE - the bullet really hit the right (this can be clearly seen in the photo). That is, they shot at the king from the Swedish trenches, and their own.
Since the bullet pierced through the head (entered the left temple and exited the right one), the big question was with what force the bullet would hit Karl, given that it was at least 600-1000 meters from the walls of the fortress.

Approximate plan of firing at Karl from the Friedriksten fortress. We are interested in number 7 here - these are the trenches where Charles XII was.
Calculations showed that the bullet would have reached the place of Karl’s death from where the enemy could have shot at him, but its destructive power was no longer enough to pierce through the head, knocking out the temple, as it was found during the examination. Fired from the nearest Danish position, the bullet would have to remain in the skull, or even lodge in the wound itself. This means that someone shot at the king from a much closer distance. But who?
The fact that it was exactly a bullet is doubtful (they also talked about the buckshot that hit Karl in the head), but all those present note exactly a single weapon shot, and we most likely have no reason to doubt this.
However, the blow nevertheless fell precisely on the right side - on the right temple, the inlet is clearly visible, from which deep cracks diverge with black rays. Instead of the left eye, according to eyewitnesses, there was a huge wound, where three fingers freely entered.
Recall the description of Sergei Dol from his "Lace and Steel":

The affected area of ​​a smoothbore musket can be divided into three zones.
I. Up to 100 meters. Zone of catastrophic destruction of the human body.
A supersonic projectile, which has no modern analogues in terms of mass (like two bullets from the famous 45-caliber Colt), inflicts terrible wounds. There are no neat holes in the forehead and cinematic wounds when the protagonist grabs his shoulder (crushing a bag of paint) and at the same time throws Chuck Norris's stoic, shut-off look at the enemy from under his brows.
If a musket bullet hits the forehead, then the head scatters like a watermelon on the floor, and if it hits the shoulder, it knocks out the joint (swivel), and wraps the arm around the neck with a whip.
When shooting at gelatin blocks from 9 meters from a rifled carbine (No. 1288), its bullet formed a cavitation area of ​​​​369 cm³ in size, this is a very solid value. For comparison, the Austrians fired from their 5.56 mm AUG-1 assault rifle, so there the cavity of temporary tissue expansion was three times smaller.
Approaching the enemy front at ultra-close distances, the commander had to be aware that the wounded could immediately be written off as irretrievable losses.
II. 100-150 meters. Zone of severe blind wounds.
A musket bullet at this distance does not pierce the body, does not create a cavitation cavity, and, of course, does not open with petals.
The wound is always blind and has the shape of a blunt cone, similar to the crater of an old volcano.
A large open area of ​​the wound (for muskets No. 1316 and 1317 it was 5.2-5.9 cm³) leads to instant contamination with microbes and large blood loss. The prognosis for treatment is poor.
III. Over 150 meters. The shell shock zone, which is literally full of documents of the Seven Years' War, occasionally leading to death, but having a moral impact on significant distances, by the standards of the era. There is no need to talk about aimed shooting here, we can talk about areal sowing, watering dense enemy formations with a high elevation angle of the gun (he aimed at the hat, hit the foot).

From the description it is clear that we can only talk about zone I for a conventional musket, or about zones I and II if a fortress gun was used. That is, we are talking about a shot from 100-150 meters. And the advanced trenches of the Swedes are located at a distance of 500-1000 meters (that is, the king could have received buckshot with such consequences, but everyone who was with him is talking about a single weapon, and not a cannon shot).
And there remains one more option - everyone who was with Karl that night in the trench is lying. But why? What difference does it make whether the buckshot killed the king or the gun. What difference does it make whether Karl was with them all the time or crawled with a telescope on reconnaissance? Could they blame you for not protecting the king? But knowing Karl's character, hardly anyone would blame them. Moreover, the company crept up that night, surrounded by the King of the International.
It is logical to assume that a lie in this situation has a reinforced concrete argument in only one case - it was the people who were with him who killed the king. Let me remind you of the entire composition: the Frenchman Philippe Maigret, the Livonian Adjutant General Johan Fredrik von Kaulbars and Lieutenant Engineer Karlberg. In addition, a little further away were the adjutant of the king, the Italian captain Marchetti, the captain of the Life Guards, Count Knut Posse, the major general from the cavalry, Baron Philipp Boguslav von Schwerin, the senior adjutant and personal secretary of Friedrich of Kassel-Hesse Andre Sigier, as well as the captain-sapper Philipp Schultz. That is, 2 French, Italian, Baltic, German, 2 Swedes.
At first, the suspicion of those who began the investigation into the death of the king (and the investigation began in 1750) fell on the French - Siguier and Maigret. Like, they killed for the interests of the French crown. But the whole problem is that it was the regent (if we remove the completely crazy version that the regent ordered Charles to his volunteers to please the British) there was no reason to kill Charles, no matter how you pull the motives by the ears.
Therefore, they soon switched to engineer-lieutenant Karlberg. There was an opportunity, Karlberg was an excellent shooter and knew ballistics perfectly. But the motive?... Moreover, how could he take so many people as accomplices? There was also the dying confession of Baron Cronstedt - in the times described, the general was with Charles XII. Like, the Danes offered him 100 thousand talers if the Swedes lifted the siege, he hired the shooter Magnus Stierneroos, the drabant of the Swedish king, for 500 guilders, he crawled from the trenches at night and found a secluded place between the fortress walls and trenches, and as soon as the king’s head appeared above parapet - shot and killed Karl. Honestly, the version is designed for idiots. For those who doubt, I propose to sit in a hole or a ravine at 8-9 pm in November-December, and from a distance of 70-120 meters, identify a person by one protruding head.
And yet, judging by the motives, the main suspects are Karl's sister Ulrika-Elionora and the Anglo-Hanoverian ruler George I. The first is because she received the crown as a result of this murder. The second - as is clear to everyone who read the previous post - because he immediately got rid of the dangerous enemy and ally Jacob Stewart, in addition - excluded plans for reconciliation with Peter I and the war for Bremen and Verden.
But were there other reasons and motives? Could there be?
Yes, they could.
Charles XII was absent from Sweden for a long time, and the situation was the same as under Oxyshiern - the country was essentially ruled by a handful of nobility. The king of the nobles, who returned back, took a step back and began to rule alone. Why not a motive?
Or someone was bribed by Peter I, hoping for a dynastic crisis in Sweden (Charles did not have a direct heir). Also a motive!
Or Denmark, hoping to shove its then pretender, Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp, to the throne of Sweden.
Or Poland-Saxony, since Karl wanted to put Polish king Leshchinsky instead of August the Strong.
You can guess on coffee grounds as much as you like. In conclusion, the words from Lurk about the Dyatlov tourist group fit perfectly here: “In general, after the incident, so many different versions of what happened appeared that it seems that the Dyatlov tourist group had no chance at all to survive. Following these versions, a UFO constantly flies over Mount Otorten, nuclear, chemical, bacteriological weapons are tested, convicts constantly run away in the vicinity, and behind them Squadrons of Death are running, connecting rod bears, evil shamans, ancient gods, foreign intelligence agents are roaming near the mountain, and, of course, avalanches come down from such a movement all the time - even in summer, when there is no snow".
There is only one meaning - Charles XII made so many enemies in his life, and endangered his life so many times that he had almost no chance to end his existence calmly, at home, in bed. So what happened happened.

As a child, Odin gave me a brave heart.
The Saga of Olaf Tryggvasson

Charles XII's father Charles XI was born on 24 November 1655 and was enthroned at the age of five. Nothing in him foreshadowed the future unlimited ruler of Sweden. Charles XI grew up as a shy young man who, at meetings of the State Council, timidly whispered his opinion into the ear of the presiding mother. A turning point in his character occurred after the battle with the Danes at Lund (1676), where Charles XI, who commanded the right wing of the Swedes, put the left flank of the Danes to flight and decided the outcome of the battle.

Charles XI at the battle of Lund

During the war with Denmark, the king concentrated all power in his hands and became a dictator in the ancient Roman, military sense of the word. But he was not seduced by the military field, but used his power to carry out the reduction - the seizure of a significant part of the noble lands in favor of the treasury. The ambition of Charles XI was manifested in the fact that he wanted to achieve an "ideal budget", in which he succeeded, putting things in order in public finances.

Charles XI

The king also completed the church reform initiated by Gustav I. In 1686, a law was passed on the subordination of the Church to royal authority. Archbishop Olof Svebelius wrote a special catechism, which became mandatory throughout the kingdom. The only legitimate spiritual food was recognized as official school textbooks, and then the book of psalms, the authors of which were the famous Swedish poets Hakvin Spegel, Jesper Svedberg and others.

Simultaneously with the growth of prosperity and education in Sweden, as in other states Western Europe, the "witch hunt" was expanding. In this matter, the Swedish clergy showed no less zeal than the papists so hated by them. So, in 1669, in Dalecarlia, an unknown disease was discovered in children, accompanied by fainting and spasms. The children said that the witches take them to the sabbath at night. The church commission interrogated 300 children under torture. According to their testimony, 84 adults and 15 juvenile heretics were burned; 128 children were flogged every day for a long time at the door of the church. Lawyers tried to challenge the children's testimony, but theologians referred to the text of the Bible, which says that "the mouth of the baby speaks the truth," and the executions continued.

Crown political activity The king was the decision of the Riksdag of 1693, which officially described Charles XI as "an autocratic, ordering and disposing of everything king, who is not responsible to anyone on earth for his actions." Thus the doctrine of absolutism was solemnly proclaimed. However, Charles XI continued to turn to the Riksdag for support. The country had to fully regret the recklessness of this decision a little later, already under Charles XII, when nothing could force the king to stop the war that had become senseless.
The indefatigable lust for power of Charles XI left behind a contradictory memory. The opinion of the supporters of state centralization was best expressed by King Oscar II: “The reduction of Charles XI was necessary, but it was executed heartlessly and excessively strict. On the ruins of a provincial aristocracy with federal convictions, he created an official hierarchy, faithful to duty and the royal house ... the state treasury was enriched as a result of austerity and honest management, the courts were incorruptible, trade relations were established with the most distant countries, the army was reorganized and well armed, a strong and well-trained fleet dominated the Baltic Sea.

The Swedish nobility, through the mouth of one of its representatives, composed a panegyric for him in a slightly different spirit: “Blessed be the memory of the great economy of the state, Charles XI, who deprived my grandfather of five estates. God forbid that he be resurrected on the Day of Judgment among the saints, for then he will give us a linen of combs instead of snow-white silk robes and juniper branches instead of the promised palm branches. He will make the Lord God himself think about frugality.
Apparently, Charles XII should have received a very good inheritance.

2. Education

In 1680, Charles XI married the Danish princess Ulrika Eleonora. From this marriage, early in the morning of June 17, 1682, an heir named Karl was born in the Stockholm Palace.

According to legend, many signs and omens surrounded his cradle (to this day it is one of the most precious historical relics in Sweden), contributing to the growth of popular hopes for a brilliant future for the baby.

Allegory written by Ehrenstrahl (1629-1698) in connection with the birth of Prince Charles

Charles XII had six siblings: Princess Jadwiga Sophia was born the year before, Prince Gustav in 1683, Ulrich in 1684, Friederick in 1685, Carl Gustav in 1686, and Princess Ulrika Eleonora in 1688. Subsequently, Charles XII had especially tender feelings for his younger sister and called in letters mon coeur (my heart); she succeeded him, taking the kingship in 1719.

From left to right: King Charles XI, his mother— dowager Queen Hedwig Eleanor,
Prince Charles (future Charles XII), Charles XI's aunt Maria Efrosinia, Princess Hedwig Sophia
(older sister Charles XII), Queen Ulrika Eleonora (mother of Charles XII).
Above them is a portrait of Charles X (father of Charles XI)

Little Karl spent the first years of his life under the beneficial influence of his mother. It was she who sowed in him the seeds of religiosity, justice and purity of morals that distinguished Charles in adulthood. At the same time, the heir showed a natural will and pride, which in childhood inevitably took the form of stubbornness. So, one day the boy said that the dark blue color is essentially black, and they could not convince him otherwise. On another occasion, the nanny, who needed to be away for a while, put Karl in a chair and made him promise not to get up until she returned. After some time, the queen entered the room to take her son with her to church, but all her persuasion to get up and go with her was useless until the nurse arrived.

Prince Carl with his mother

The queen did not want these qualities to increase in the child over time. She closely watched Karl, she herself was engaged in his lessons. They were assigned to the heir the best teachers. At the age of four, Karl received the royal adviser, Count Eric Lindsheld, as an uncle, and later the well-known professor of eloquence (eloquence) at Uppsala University Norchepensky (in the Latin version - Norcopensis), later elevated to the nobility under the surname Nordenghielm, became his teacher; Karl seems to have chosen the latter himself from among several teachers offered to him by his parents. The teachers received instructions which, among other things, said: “Although there are many reasons due to which sovereigns and their children are carried away by arrogance and self-will, however, for the most part these evil properties arise from their own imagination or due to the speeches of flatterers, whence the false opinion arises that royal children, placed above other children, can do or not do what they want. Nordenghielm had a great influence on the heir and enjoyed his unwavering respect.

The first book that Charles was given to read to acquaint him with his own and neighboring states was the work of the 17th-century German lawyer Samuel Pufendorf. Nordenghielm quickly discovered the main spring in the character of the heir - ambition - and successfully used his discovery in order to break his stubbornness. Yes, during training. foreign languages Carl showed a great inclination to German, which he spoke as his native language. But he had an undisguised distaste for Latin. Then Nordenghielm told him that the Polish and Danish kings know her perfectly. Karl immediately changed his attitude towards Latin and studied it so well that he used it in conversation all his life. The same tool helped in the study French“Karl learned it, though he hardly ever used it afterwards. When the teacher remarked to him that knowledge of this language could be useful if it was necessary to speak with the French ambassador personally, the heir proudly replied:
“If I get along with the King of France, I will speak to him in his language, but if the French ambassador comes here, it is more fitting for him to learn Swedish for my sake than for me to learn French for him.”

The great ambition of the boy was revealed in many other cases. When Nordenghielm, reading with the heir the work of Quintus Curtius about Alexander the Great, asked his opinion about this commander, Karl replied:
“I think I would like to be like him.
“But he only lived for thirty-two years,” Nordenghielm objected.
“Isn’t that enough when he conquered so many realms? Carl said arrogantly.

These words were passed on to his father, who exclaimed: “Here is a child who will be better than me and go further than Gustav the Great!”

Another time, in his father's study, Karl became interested in two geographical maps: one of them depicted a Hungarian city taken by the Turks from the German emperor; the other is Riga, conquered by the Swedes. Under the first card was written a saying from the Book of Job: “The Lord gave, the Lord took away; may the name of the Lord be blessed." The prince read the inscription, took a pencil and wrote on the map of Riga: "God gave me, the devil will not take it away from me."

Prince Carl as a child

Unfortunately, Karl's upbringing remained unfinished. On August 5, 1693, Queen Ulrika Eleonora died. Rumor blamed the king for her death. Indeed, in last years Charles XI mistreated her. Every day, victims of the reduction carried out by the king crowded near the Stockholm Palace. Ulrika Eleonora gave them her money, jewelry, furniture and even dresses. When her funds were exhausted, she threw herself at the feet of her husband in tears, asking him to help the unfortunate. Charles XI cut her off rudely:
“Madame, we married you in order to have children from you, and not to listen to your opinions.

Since then, he treated her so severely that this, by all accounts, hastened her end. Karl grieved so much for the loss of his mother that he fell into a fever, which then turned into smallpox, which, however, did not leave any marks. Nordenghielm also died a year later; Lindskjöld died even earlier. Together with these people, the good genius left little Karl. The new teachers assigned to him, Count Nils Gyldenstolpe and the clerical adviser Thomas Polus, could not completely replace the dead - the heir was gradually left to himself. In addition, Charles XI, a passionate hunter, often took his son with him, disrupting the course of studies. In communication with his father, Charles learned the habits of an unlimited sovereign.
Carl's development went very quickly. At the age of 14-15, contemporaries paint his character with the same colors that will prevail in him later.

3. King

At the beginning of 1697, Bishop Dr. Benzelius prepared Charles for the first communion of the Holy Mysteries; the heir took communion the day after the last celebration of this sacrament over the dying father. Charles XI died at the age of forty-two from stomach cancer.

Death mask of Charles XI

Charles XII ascended the throne on April 14, 1697 at the age of 14 years 10 months, taking possession of Sweden, Finland, Livonia, Karelia, Ingria, the cities of Wismar, Vyborg, the islands of Rügen and Ezel, the best part of Pomerania, the duchies of Bremen and Verden - the lands, assigned to Sweden by international treatises and fear of the Swedish army.

Immediately arose difficult situation: in the will of Charles XI, the date of the coming of age of Charles XII was not precisely determined, but only a regency of five guardians was appointed, chaired by the grandmother of Charles XII, Jadwiga Eleonora of Holstein, until the more “mature” age of the new king, as was said in the will. As a result, the regency immediately turned into a tangle of intrigues of the rival parties of the court. Jadwiga Eleonora was already at a venerable age, which made her natural dementia excusable; of the regents, distinguished by spinelessness, only Count Bengt Oxenstierna had influence on state affairs. The regents were opposed by the French party, represented by Christopher Güllensherna, Fabian Wrede, Wallenstedt, Güllenstolpe and others, and the pro-Danish aristocracy, which, due to its impotence, soon merged with the supporters of France.

There is little information about this period. The dissatisfaction of the people with the rule of the nobles, love for the young king and the famine that broke out in the country hastened the coup. During the terrible fire that destroyed the royal palace, Charles XII had already managed to show for the first time in public his inherent dexterity and fortitude: he left the smoking ruins of the castle against his will, yielding to the insistence of the courtiers. His popularity has increased. The name of Charles XII united his favorites, senators who did not get into the regency, the aristocracy, who hated the regents as supporters of reduction, officers who hoped for promotion, and the people, who, as usual, had high hopes for the young king.
Subsequent events developed rapidly. Somehow, at the beginning of November 1697, Charles was reviewing several regiments. With him was his favorite Karl Pieper, an energetic, intelligent, ambitious fat man, a representative of a poor noble family. The king was thoughtful.
“May I ask your Majesty what are you thinking about so seriously?” Piper asked.

“I think,” answered Karl, “that I feel worthy to command these brave men and that I would not like me or them to take orders from a woman.

Pieper decided to take advantage of the opportunity to take high position, fulfilling a more than transparent hint of his master. He conveyed the king's words to Count Axel Sparre, a hot-tempered man who was also looking for an opportunity to draw attention to himself. Sparre took on the role of an intermediary in relations with court parties. In a short time, he enlisted the support of almost all influential people.

The Riksdag was urgently convened. Among the deputies of the nobility, the French party prevailed, standing for the speedy provision of Charles with the rights of majority. On the morning of November 8, in the chamber of the nobility, the supporters of the king shouted down the cautious, silenced the resisters, and ridiculed the doubters. A deputation was immediately sent to the State Council, which was at that time in the cathedral. All members of the council, including Jadwiga Eleonora, with some feverish haste, agreed with the decision of the nobles.

Other classes also hastily announced their consent, only the clergy admonished not to rush and showed stubbornness, "later called respect for the law," according to Oscar II.

By decision of the Riksdag in 1604, the age of majority of the Swedish king came from the age of eighteen. Charles was only fifteen (which, perhaps, explains the vagueness of the will of Charles XI), but after the announcement of the decision of the noble chamber, everyone began to enthusiastically throw their hats at the ceiling and shout: “Vivat rex Carolus!” (Long live King Charles!). The clergy were almost absent; the next day it again called for prudence, but an adult king could no longer be made a minor again.

In the evening, the leader of the nobility, at the head of the representatives of the estates at the audience, expressed the desire that Charles declare himself sovereign. The king willingly announced his decision "to rule the country with the help of God and the name of Jesus Christ." The estates swore fidelity and obedience, in non-sparing of good, belly and blood. Subsequently, Charles XII had no reason to complain about the infidelity of the Swedes, and his subjects - that the king forgot at least a word from their oath: he demanded from them the first, second, and third.

So, three days after the conversation with Pieper and less than ten hours after the start of the meeting of the Riksdag, a coup d'état took place - the "political Narva" of Charles XII. On November 29, 1697, the king took over the reins of government.

Charles XII in coronation robes

The king rode into Stockholm on a red horse, shod with silver, with a scepter in his hand and a crown on his head, to the enthusiastic cries of the crowd. The Archbishop of Uppsala performed the rites of chrismation and coronation over him. When he was ready to place the crown on Charles's head, he snatched it from his hands and crowned himself, proudly looking at the prelate. The audience greeted this gesture with frantic applause. Thus, Charles took away from the Church the only right in relation to the king, which she still had from the time of Catholicism.

Charles XII in his youth

Having become an unlimited monarch at such an early age, Charles wanted to show the habits of an adult husband and did not convene the Council of State for two years. He decided things in the bedroom, consulting mainly with his favorites, among whom the first role for a long time passed to Pieper, who became a count and first minister.

However, Charles did not particularly burden himself with state concerns. It gave him even more pleasure to break chairs and candelabra in the palace with his peers, to shoot at marble statues in the halls and to drink wine with a tame bear for the amusement of the court. If windows rattled and flew out in Stockholm houses at night, the townspeople knew: this was the young king having fun; if a belated passer-by met on the street a noisy gang riding on horseback in nothing but shirts, he had no doubt: it was the young king who was making fun; if shots were fired in the Sejm hall of the palace, the courtiers were not afraid, knowing that the young king was hunting ... It is possible that these inclinations of Charles also influenced the decision of the nobility to transfer power to him - the absolutism of Charles XI was imposed on everyone in the teeth.

Karl divided his free time between heroic amusements - hunting, a passion for which was encouraged by the Duke of Holstein, married to Karl's older sister, and war games under the guidance of a military science teacher, Quartermaster General Stuart.

Military tradition was as strong in Sweden as anywhere else in Europe. It was only thanks to the wars that the country acquired the significance that it had, and only through wars could it be preserved. A number of brilliant warriors on the throne of Vaz accomplished what seemed to be possible only in the ancient sagas.

Karl grew up in an atmosphere of heroic legends. Since childhood, he was so fond of reading sagas that Nordenghielm even warned him against wasting time in this occupation. The sagas had a strong influence on his imagination. Seven-year-old Charles had already expressed a desire to entrust the reign to his brother, while he himself would travel around the world with his retinue. This passion has not faded with age. As a young man, he became interested in reading chivalric novels, avidly read the multi-volume Gideon de Maxibrandard, where the king, among other things, passes the scepter to his son with the words: “I spent my days in peace, but you have to constantly fight with robbers and rebels, with lions and leopards, with fire and water. Yes, the world will be amazed at the suffering that you will have to endure: malice and envy and persecution from scorpions and snakes that will block the way for you and yours. But after long and hard work, you will finally reach your goal.” The subsequent life of Karl will be an almost literal fulfillment of this parting word.

Of course, a rare boy does not dream of adventure and exploits, but for Karl this was not a simple game of imagination. Already in childhood, he began to lead an appropriate lifestyle: at the age of 4 he sat on a small horse in order to be present at the maneuvers of the troops; at the age of 12, he enthusiastically wrote about the pleasure of riding the royal horses. At the age of seven, he shot the first fox on a hunt; at the age of 11 - the first bear. The courtiers who were present were especially surprised by the composure with which the boy pointed his gun at the approaching beast.

In hunting, Karl was looking not for prey, but for glory, as it was supposed to be for a Viking. Growing up, he was not satisfied with the existing hunting rules, but issued a decree that, on royal hunts, they would only go for a bear with a spear or knife (like the ancient knights), and, according to his biographer Friksel, did this many times. His companions watched in horror as the huge beast stood up on its hind legs and walked towards the king, spewing a hot stench from its mouth along with a roar. Once the bear rushed at Karl so fast that he managed to rip off his wig. But the king also found this method of hunting insufficiently chivalrous and too profitable for the hunter - and began to go to the bear with a pitchfork and a club. He knocked over the beast with a pitchfork, and his comrades tightened the hind legs with a loop. Especially famous was the hunt in Kungör, in which eighteen-year-old Karl stunned a bear that rushed at him with such powerful club blows that the clubfoot was brought in a sleigh in a fainting state.

Karl also loved other life-threatening amusements, such as horseback riding. He was running around thin ice bays and lakes, often falling through the ice, then ascended such steep mountains that one day he fell backwards with his horse.

One spring at four o'clock in the morning, accompanied by the captain of the guards, he went out onto the ice, which had already left the shore. The officer held the horse.

- You are afraid? the king asked him.
“I’m not afraid for myself, but for the high personage of Your Majesty,” answered the guardsman.

But Karl pulled on the reins and galloped across the ice. When he reached the other shore, it turned out that a strip of water several meters wide had formed between the shore and the ice. It was impossible to jump over it, as the king liked to do. Then Karl spurred his horse, went waist-deep into icy water, but safely got out on land.
The Duke of Holstein incited Charles to more dangerous antics. One day the king, on a dare, sat astride a newly caught deer. On another occasion, the duke boasted that he would cut off the head of a calf with one blow of his saber. Hearing this, Carl was startled. For several days, calves and sheep were brought into the palace, and Charles and the duke cut off their heads and threw them out of the windows into the street.

The king did not forget about military exercises, to which he also accustomed himself from childhood. At the age of 6, he ordered the construction of a fortress with bastions in order to get acquainted with various types of fortifications; He listened with enthusiasm to lectures on fortification and tactics.

At the age of thirteen, he enthusiastically threw himself on maneuvers into the thick of the “enemy” cavalry, despite bruises and abrasions. He literally lost his mind from pleasure.

Karl accustomed himself to military hardships: at night he went to sleep from bed to floor; in the 17th year he spent three December nights in a hay barn. It is no coincidence that the Swedish king subsequently served as one of Suvorov's favorite models.

On one of the hunts, Charles XII found the news of the beginning of the Northern War, which became for him the first and only - a lifetime.

National Museum of Sweden. Painting by Gustav Sederström. Carrying the body of Charles XII across the Norwegian border, 1884 variant

Who and why killed Charles XII is not exactly known until now - three centuries after his death on the battlefield

Autumn 1718. It's been going on for 18 years North War, one of the largest military conflicts of the XVIII century. It brought together the armies of Sweden, Russia, Denmark, Poland, England and other European countries. fighting embraced vast territory- from the Black Sea to Finland.

On November 12, 1718, the Swedish army led by the 36-year-old king Charles XII besieged the well-fortified fortress of Fredrikshald - today it is the city of Halden (Halden) in southern Norway. Three hundred years ago, the now independent country was a province of Denmark.

(The Julian calendar was in effect in Sweden until 1753, and all the dates in this article are indicated in accordance with it for reliability. The Gregorian calendar in the 18th century was “ahead” of the Julian one by 11 days. Thus, the siege of Fredrikshald began on November 23 according to the Gregorian calendar. - note . author)

Within a couple of weeks, it became clear that the capture of the fortress was only a matter of time. The city was fired upon from three sides by 18 siege guns, methodically destroying the fortifications. Only 1,400 Danish and Norwegian soldiers defended Fredrikshald from the 40,000th Swedish army.

The Swedes built a system of trenches and sappers around the city, which allowed the besiegers to fire on the defenders of the fortress from a distance of only a few hundred steps ( metric system distance measurements were not yet used at that time, and the step length in different countries corresponded to modern 77-88 centimeters).

The siege was led by Charles XII - an outstanding commander and an exceptionally brave man. On November 26, he personally led a detachment of 200 people to storm one of the Danish fortifications under the walls of the fortress. The king found himself in the center of hand-to-hand combat, could easily die, but was not injured and left the battle only after taking the fortification.

Carl was in control engineering work and daily bypassed the Swedish positions in a few hundred steps from the Danish soldiers. The risk was huge - one well-aimed rifle shot or a successful cannon volley could deprive Sweden of the king. But this did not stop the monarch. He was bold to the point of recklessness. No wonder he was called "the last Viking."

On the evening of November 30, the king, together with a group of officers, went to the next inspection. From the trench, he looked at the walls of the fortress through a telescope for a long time and gave orders to the colonel of the engineering service, Philippe Maigret, who was standing nearby. It was already dark, but the Danes, in order to see the positions of the Swedes, launched bright flares. From time to time shots rang out - the defenders of Fredrikshald were firing harassing fire.

At some point, Karl wanted to get a better view. He climbed up the earthen parapet. Megre and the personal secretary of the monarch, Siquier, were waiting below for new instructions. The rest of the suite was also located nearby. Suddenly, the king fell off the embankment. The officers who ran up found that Karl was already dead, and a huge through wound was gaping in his head. Legend has it that Megre, at the sight of the murdered monarch, said: "Well, that's all, gentlemen, the comedy is over, let's go to dinner."

The deceased was transferred to the headquarters tent, where the court physician Melchior Nojman embalmed the body.

The death of the king dramatically changed plans Swedish command. Already on December 1, the siege of Fredrikshald was lifted and a hasty retreat from the city began, more like a flight.

Karl's body was taken on a stretcher across half of Scandinavia to Stockholm. This funeral procession is captured in the painting by the Swedish artist Gustaf Sederström (Gustaf Cederström) "Transferring the body of Charles XII across the Norwegian border".

On February 15, 1719, the king was buried in Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm. Charles became the last monarch of Europe to be killed during the fighting. The throne was taken by his sister Ulrika Eleonora.

The hasty retreat from Fredrikshald did not allow for a full investigation into the circumstances of the death of the king. It was announced that he was killed by buckshot fired from Danish positions.

Immediately there were people who questioned this version. The doubts turned out to be so strong that 28 years later, in 1746, the Swedish king Fredrik I ordered the grave of Charles to be opened for re-examination of the body. The court physician Melchior Neumann performed the embalming flawlessly, so the august deceased looked as if he had died quite recently.

The excellent preservation of the body made it possible to study in detail the wound on Karl's head. Doctors and the military, who are well acquainted with the nature of combat injuries, made a stunning conclusion: a through hole in the skull the size of a pigeon's egg was made not by a fragment of a canister shell, as previously assumed, but by a rifle bullet.

This immediately called into question the version of the fatal shot from the Danish side. From the advanced positions of the Swedish troops to the walls of the fortress there were about 300 steps. According to ballistic calculations, the probability of hitting a target measuring 1.2 x 1.8 meters from a smoothbore gun of the early 18th century from such a distance is only 25%, and the chance of hitting a person’s head from such a distance is much less.

It should also be taken into account that Karl was killed at night in the uneven light of engineering missiles, which would further complicate the task of the Danish sniper. The wound on the skull turned out to be through, which indicates the high speed of the bullet, which is maintained only at a short distance. No traces of lead or other metal were found in the head.

If the monarch had been killed by a bullet that had accidentally flown in from the Danish positions, it would have lost kinetic energy and stuck in the skull.

It would seem that the "Danish" version was untenable. But it received unexpected confirmation almost two centuries later.

It was said above how difficult it would be to hit Karl with a conventional smoothbore musket. But in 1718 there were already special fortress guns. These were heavy and bulky mechanisms with a barrel length of up to two meters and a weight of up to 30 kilograms. Such a gun is difficult to hold in your hands, so it was equipped with a wooden stand. The ammunition for him was conical lead bullets weighing 30-60 grams, and the range of destruction made it possible to pierce through the skull even from a very long distance. Could it have been used to shoot Karl?

In 1907, a Swedish physician and amateur historian, Dr. Njustrem, conducted an experiment. According to old drawings, he assembled a fortress gun and stuffed it with gunpowder, also made according to a recipe from the 18th century. At the site of the death of the king, the doctor set up a wooden target the size of a human body, and he himself climbed onto the fortress wall of Fredrikshald, from where he fired 24 times. Nyström himself believed that the Danes could not hit Karl from such a distance even with a fortress gun and wanted to confirm this.

But the result of the experiment turned out to be just the opposite. The doctor hit the target 23 times, proving that a good shooter from the fortress wall could well have killed the king.

In 1891, Baron Nikolai Kaulbar from Estonia (as Estonia was called at that time) stated that he kept a gun, from which family tradition Carl was shot. The aristocrat sent for examination to Stockholm two photographs of the family relic and a cast of a bullet.

The old gun turned out to be a very remarkable artifact. For some reason, the names of the courtiers from the inner circle of Charles were engraved on it, namely those who were present at his death.

The examination revealed that the rarity was released at the end of the 17th century, but the king was not shot from it. The terrible wound of the monarch did not correspond to the bullets fired from Kaulbar's gun.

In 1917, the remains were again removed from the crypt (there were four exhumations in just three centuries) and subjected to examination based on modern forensic techniques. For the first time, x-rays of the skull were taken.

The conclusions of experts were contradictory. On the one hand, the bullet hit the skull on the left and slightly behind, and, according to experts, could not have come from Fredrikshald. But on the other hand, the inlet was located just above the outlet - the bullet moved along an inclined trajectory, from a hill, for example, from an embankment or .... walls. The second conclusion already allowed a shot from the fortress.

In 1924, a new artifact appeared. Norwegian Carl Hjalmar Andersson (Carl Hjalmar Andersson) handed over to the museum of the Swedish city of Varberg (Varberg) an old bullet, which, in his opinion, killed the monarch, but there was no evidence of this. According to legend, the soldier Nilsson Stierna, who served in the Swedish army during the siege of Fredrikshald, saw the death of Charles, picked up a bullet that had pierced the king's skull, and kept it with him. Two centuries later, the artifact came to Andersson in a roundabout way.

It is noteworthy that the bullet was cast from a brass button, which was sewn onto the soldier's uniforms of the Swedish army. Those who believed that it was with this piece of metal that the monarch was killed turned to superstition for argument. Karl so many times emerged unscathed from bloody battles that many considered him to be under a spell. It was possible to kill him only with something unusual and close to the king. And what could be closer to a militant monarch than the soldier's uniform of his own army?

In 2002, a DNA test was carried out at Uppsala University. The researchers compared the biomaterials found on the pool with a brain sample taken during the exhumation of the remains of the king, and the monarch's blood left on clothes stored in the historical museum of Stockholm.

The result of the examination was again ambiguous. For 284 years, the samples have changed a lot under the influence of environment. Researchers have identified only the general parameters of the genetic code. The conclusion was that the DNA found on the pool could belong to about 1% of the population of Sweden, including Karl. Moreover, traces of DNA of two people were found on the metal at once, which further confused the researchers. In general, the genetic examination did not clarify the historical mystery.

Over time, other facts appeared, indicating that Karl was not killed by Danish soldiers at all.

To begin with, it is necessary to briefly describe the political and economic situation at the beginning of the 18th century. For 18 years, the exhausting Northern War had been going on, in which Sweden opposed almost half of Europe. In the early years of the conflict, Charles managed to inflict serious defeats on Russia, Denmark and Poland, but then unsuccessful battles on land and at sea followed.

A real disaster for the Swedish army turned into a campaign against Russia in 1709. Karl suffered a crushing defeat near Poltava, where he himself was wounded and nearly captured.

The king was completely absorbed in the war and did not at all deal with the economy of Sweden, which was in a deplorable state. He carried out the infamous monetary reform, in which silver coins were equated in value with copper ones. This made it possible to cover military expenses, but caused a sharp rise in prices and the impoverishment of the population. The Swedes hated financial innovations so much that the "author" of the reform, the German baron Georg von Görtz, was arrested and executed three months after Charles's death.

The aristocrats repeatedly asked the king to start peace negotiations. In 1714, the Swedish parliament (Riksdag) even adopted a special resolution on this matter, which was sent to the monarch, who was in Turkey at that time.

Charles rejected him and, despite the defeats and economic problems, decided to continue the war to a victorious end. For such stubbornness, the Turks gave him another speaking nickname - "Iron Head". Since 1700, the monarch has practically not appeared in his homeland, spending his life in endless campaigns.

The German scientist Knut Lundblad, in his book The History of Charles XII, published in 1835, put forward a version of involvement English king George I to the murder of a Swedish colleague. AT early XVIII century, George fought with the pretender to the throne, Jacob Stuart. In 1715, the standoff led to a Jacobite rebellion, which was put down by the royal forces.

Lundblad suggested that Charles XII was going to help Jacob by sending an expeditionary force of 20,000 soldiers to England to fight George. And the current English king decided to prevent this by organizing the assassination of Charles. This version has one weak point - Sweden, with all its desire, could not, either in 1718 or in subsequent years, land a large amphibious assault in England. After unsuccessful naval battles with Russia and Denmark, the Scandinavian kingdom lost most of its fleet. George could not be afraid of the Swedish invasion.

However, both inside Scandinavia and outside it, there were many influential people who wanted Charles dead.

Knut Lundblad also described such a story. In December 1750, Baron Carl Cronstedt, one of the best officers of Charles XII, was dying in Stockholm. He invited the priest to confess.

The dying man admitted that he was involved in a plot to kill Charles and demanded that the pastor go to another officer, Magnus Stierneroos, who also served under the late monarch.

Cronstedt stated that it was Stierneroos, his former subordinate, who shot the king. The baron considered his own confession insufficient and wanted to convince another officer involved in the murder to repent.

Stierneroos, after listening to the priest, said that Kronstedt was clearly out of his mind and did not understand what he was saying. The pastor conveyed the answer to the baron, to which he told in detail from which gun Karl was killed. It, according to Cronstedt, still hung on the wall of Stierneroos' office. The priest again went to the latter with a request for recognition, but the officer, in a rage, drove the pastor out of his house.

This story would have remained unknown, because the priest does not have the right to divulge what he heard in confession. He described the unusual squabble between the two officers in his diary, which he did not show to anyone. In 1759 the pastor died and his notes were made public.

The murder of Charles, according to the dying Cronstedt, was the result of a conspiracy of the Swedish aristocracy, dissatisfied with the policies of the king. As a direct executor of the murder, the baron attracted Stierneroos, his subordinate and an excellent shooter.

On the evening of November 30, he followed Charles and his retinue through the trenches, then got out of the trench and took up a position in front of an earthen embankment, to which the monarch approached from the other side. Stierneroos waited for the king to peek out from behind the parapet and fired. In the confusion that followed the assassination, he quietly returned to the trenches.

Cronstedt also admitted that he and other military leaders after the death of Charles did not behave in a noble way at all - they appropriated the entire military treasury. Stierneroos also received a very substantial monetary reward and subsequently rose to the rank of general of the cavalry.

The information contained in the notes of the late priest had no confirmation and could not serve as legal evidence. But it is known that in 1789 the Swedish king Gustav III, in a conversation with the French ambassador, said that he considered Kronstedt and Stierneroos to be the perpetrators of the murder.

Another suspect is also Carl's personal secretary, the Frenchman Sigur. Allegedly, it was he who shot the king. In Sweden, many believed in this version. Indeed, shortly after the murder, a Frenchman in Stockholm, in a fit of delirium tremens, shouted that he had killed the king and asked for forgiveness for this.

Many years later, the famous French philosopher Voltaire, who wrote a biography of Charles, spoke with Sigur, then a very old man, in his house in France. He said that the confession was false and was made due to a painful clouding of reason. Sigur had great respect for Charles and would never have dared to harm him.

After that, Voltaire wrote: “I saw him shortly before his death and I can assure you that not only did he not kill Karl, but he himself would have let himself be killed a thousand times for him. If he were guilty of this crime, it would, of course, be for the purpose of rendering a service to some state, which would reward him well. But he died in poverty in France and needed help.”

Above, different opinions about the direct executor were considered, but who was the organizer of the conspiracy, if one did take place?

The involvement of the English King George is unlikely. He didn't have enough motive to kill.

Most of all, Frederick of Hesse, the husband of his sister Ulrika Eleonora, who took the throne immediately after the death of her brother, won the most from the death of Charles. In 1720, she abdicated the crown in favor of her husband. Fredrik ruled Sweden until his death in 1751. Many conspiracy theorists believe that he was the mastermind behind the assassination.

But, perhaps, all these conclusions are incorrect and Karl died from a random bullet fired from the walls of Fredrikshald. A new examination of the remains using the most modern technical means could solve the riddle.

In 2008, Stefan Jonsson, Professor of Materials Science at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, in an interview with the BBC, he announced the need for a new exhumation, already the fifth in a row. The scientist is going to examine the bones with an electron microscope.

“Even if there are the slightest traces of metal, we can study them chemical composition' said the professor. However, permission for the next exhumation of the remains of the "last Viking" has not been received to this day.

Text: Sergey Tolmachev

Ulrika Eleonora was a Swedish queen who ruled from 1718-1720. She is the younger sister of Charles XII. And her parents are Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark and Charles XI. In this article, we will describe short biography Swedish ruler.

Potential regent

Ulrika Eleonora was born in Stockholm Castle in 1688. As a child, the girl was not much spoiled with attention. The favorite daughter of her parents was considered her older sister Gedviga Sophia.

In 1690, Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark was named by Charles as a possible regent in the event of his death, provided that their son did not come of age. But due to frequent childbirth, the health of the king's wife deteriorated greatly. After the winter of 1693, she was gone.

The Legend of the Queen's Death

There is a legend on this subject. It says that when Karl's wife was dying in the palace, Maria Stenbock (her favorite lady-in-waiting) was sick in Stockholm. On the night when Ulrika Eleonora passed away, Countess Stenbock arrived at the palace and was admitted into the room of the deceased. One of the officers peered through the keyhole. In the room, the guard saw the Countess and the Queen talking at the window. The shock of the soldier was so great that he began to cough up blood. Around the same time, Maria, along with her crew, seemed to evaporate. An investigation began, during which it turned out that that night the countess was seriously ill and did not leave her house. The officer died of shock, and Stenbock died a little later. Karl personally gave the order never to tell anyone about what had happened.

Marriage and authority

In 1714, King Ulrika's daughter Eleonora was engaged to Frederick of Hesse-Kassel. A year later, their wedding took place. The authority of the princess grew significantly, and those close to Charles XII had to reckon with her opinion. The girl's sister, Hedviga Sophia, died in 1708. Therefore, in fact, Ulrika and Karl's mother were the only representatives of the Swedish royal family.

At the beginning of 1713, the monarch already wanted to make his daughter temporary regent of the country. But he did not carry out this plan. On the other hand, the royal council had a desire to enlist the support of the princess, so he persuaded her to attend all its meetings. At the first meeting, where Ulrika was present, they decided to convene a Riksdag (parliament).

Some participants were in favor of appointing Eleanor as regent. But the royal council and Arvid Gorn were against it. They feared that new difficulties would arise with the change in the form of government. Subsequently, Charles XII allowed the princess to sign all documents emanating from the council, except for those sent personally to him.

Fight for the throne

In December 1718, Ulrika Eleonora learned of her brother's death. She took the news in cold blood and made everyone call herself queen. The Council did not object to this. Soon the girl gave the order to arrest the supporters of Georg Görtz and canceled all the decisions that came out from under his pen. At the end of 1718, at the convocation of the Riksdag, Ulrika expressed her desire to abolish the autocracy and return the country to its former form of government.

The Swedish military high command voted for the abolition of absolutism, the non-recognition of the hereditary right and the award of the title of queen to Eleanor. Members of the Riksdag had a similar position. But to get support royal council, the girl announced that she had no rights to the throne.

Swedish Queen Ulrika Eleonora

In early 1719, the princess renounced hereditary rights to the throne. After that, she was proclaimed queen, but with one caveat. Ulrika approved the form of government drawn up by estates. According to this document, most of her power passed into the hands of the Riksdag. In March 1719, Eleanor's coronation took place in Uppsala.

The new ruler was unable to cope with the difficulties that she had when she assumed her new position. Ulrika's influence fell significantly after disagreements with the head of the Chancellery A. Gorn. She also did not have a relationship with his successors - Krunjelm and Sparre.

When taking the throne, the Swedish queen Ulrika Eleonora wanted to share power with her husband. But in the end, she was forced to abandon this venture due to the persistent resistance of the nobility. The inability to adapt to the new constitution, the autocracy of the ruler, as well as the influence of her husband on her decisions gradually pushed government officials to desire to change the monarch.

new king

Ulrika's husband Friedrich of Hesse began to work actively in this direction. To begin with, he became close to A. Gorn. Thanks to this, in 1720 he was elected Land Marshal at the Riksdag. Soon, Queen Ulrika Eleonora filed a petition with the estates for joint rule with her husband. This time, her proposal was met with disapproval. On February 29, 1720, the heroine of this article abdicated in favor of her husband, Friedrich of Hesse-Kassel. There was only one caveat - in the event of his death, the crown returned to Ulrika again. On March 24, 1720, Eleanor's husband became the monarch of Sweden under the name Frederick I.

Far from power

Ulrika before last days interested in public affairs. But after 1720 she moved away from them, preferring to do charity work and reading. Although periodically the former ruler replaced her husband on the throne. For example, in 1731 during his trip abroad or in 1738, when Frederick became seriously ill. It is worth noting that, replacing her husband on the throne, she showed only her best qualities. November 24, 1741 - this is the date when Ulrika Eleonora died in Stockholm. The Swedish queen left no descendants.

Ulrika Eleonora.
Reproduction from the website http://monarchy.nm.ru/

Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden
Ulrika Eleonora
Years of life: February 23, 1688 - November 24, 1741
Reigned: November 30, 1718 - February 29, 1720
Father: Charles XI
Mother: Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark
Husband: Friedrich von Hesse-Kassel

Ulrika Eleonora inherited the throne after the unexpected death of her older brother Charles, who had no children. Ulrika immediately agreed to the signing of a new constitution, which limited the power of the monarch in favor of parliament and officials. When making political decisions, she always consulted with her husband Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, and even wanted to officially appoint him regent, but did not receive the consent of the Riksdag. Then Ulrika decided to completely abdicate in favor of her husband. The reign of Ulrika Eleonora is considered in Sweden the beginning of the "Age of Freedom", when a significant part of the powers of the monarch again passed to the aristocracy.

Used material from the site http://monarchy.nm.ru/

Ulrika Eleonora the Younger (January 23, 1688 - November 24, 1741) - Queen of Sweden (1719-1720), younger sister Charles XII. She was elected queen with the support of an aristocratic opposition hostile to absolutism, but at the same time she signed a law on a new form of government that transferred decisive power to the Riksdag. She stopped the reduction and restored a number of privileges of the higher nobility (charter to the Baltic nobility in 1719, etc.). Ulrika Eleonora was completely dependent on her husband Friedrich of Hesse, in whose favor she abdicated in 1720.

Soviet historical encyclopedia. In 16 volumes. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1973-1982. Volume 14. TAANAKH - FELEO. 1971.

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Sweden, kingdom of Sweden (history and list of rulers).