The Royal Danish CollectionRosenborgEllen Marsvin

Ellen Marsvin

The noble lady Ellen Marsvin was the mother of Kirsten Munk, Christian IV’s second wife. Ellen Marsvin was one of the greatest landowners in Denmark in her time; she was widowed for the second time when she was 39 years old, and from then on she concentrated on the administration of her many estates.

The daughter of Ellen Marsvin, Kirsten Munk, was married to Christian IV in 1615. He enjoyed a good relationship with his mother-in-law and admired her financial skills. She had the responsibility for the upbringing of the couple’s children. Even after Kirsten Munk and the King were practically seperated in 1630, the King’s relations with Ellen Marsvin were good. She even arranged the relationship between the King and his new mistress, Vibeke Kruse.

Later, relations with Christian IV worsened, and she then leaned towards the powerful husbands of Kirsten Munk’s daughters with the King. In the middle of the 1640’s she retired to the manorial estate Ellensborg, the present Holckenhavn on East Funen.

 

Relations

Ellen Marsvin, 1648

Ellen Marsvin, Kirsten Munk’s mother. Half-length, painted by Karel van Mander. The painting is dated 1648, the year before Ellen Marsvin died.

2: Christian IV's Writing Room

In this tower chamber, which was easily heated, Christian IV carried out his vast correspondence.

Karel van Mander

The dutch painter Karel van Mander's father was a painter and a weaver of tapestries. Shortly before his death in 1623, he executed a series of tapestries for Frederiksborg Palace with motives from the Kalmar War for Christian IV.

Vibeke Kruse

Vibeke Kruse was the mistress of Christian IV. The first part of Vibeke Kruse's life is not known. She came into the service of Kirsten Munk, the second wife of Christian IV, and later of Kirsten Munk's mother, Ellen Marsvin.

Kirsten Munk

In 1615 Kirsten Munk became the second wife of Christian IV. She was the daughter of Ludvig Munk and Ellen Marsvin. She and the King had twelve children, of which eight survived.

1575-1600

This period was not only the end of a century but also the last part of an period of prosperity. It was also a time of peace, with a pause in the otherwise regular wars with Sweden.

1600-1625

The first decades of the 17th century was a great period for the entrepreneurial and ambitious Christian IV. An economic depression was on its way, but its full force had not yet been felt.

1625-1650

The second half of Christian IV's reign became a time of recession. The economic crisis became more severe, and at the same time the fortunes of war turned.