Christian Albert was a duke of Holstein-Gottorp

Holstein-Gottorp

Holstein-Gottorp or Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp is the historiographical name, as well as contemporary shorthand name, for the parts of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein that were ruled by the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp. Other parts of the duchies were ruled by the kings of Denmark. The...

 and bishop of Lübeck.

He was a son of Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp

Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp

Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp was a Duke of Holstein-Gottorp.He was the elder son of Duke Johann Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp and Augusta of Denmark. His mother was a daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark....

, and his wife Princess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony

Marie Elisabeth of Saxony

Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony was duchess consort of Holstein-Gottorp as the spouse of Duke Friedrich III of Holstein-Gottorp.- Biography :...

. Christian Albertbecame duke when his father died in the Castle Tönning

Tönning

Tönning is a town in the district of Nordfriesland in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. During the Great Northern War, Tönning was besieged twice.-Geography:...

, besieged by the King Christian V of Denmark

Christian V of Denmark

Christian V , was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 to 1699, the son of Frederick III of Denmark and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg...

. Christian Albertwas forced to flee and the remainder of his life was characterized by his fight with Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

. Even the marriage with the daughter of King Frederick III of Denmark

Frederick III of Denmark

Frederick III was king of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death. He instituted absolute monarchy in Denmark and Norway in 1660, confirmed by law in 1665 as the first in western historiography. He was born the second-eldest son of Christian IV of Denmark and Anne Catherine of Brandenburg...

, arranged in the hope for peace, changed nothing. During Christian Albert's reign, the connection with Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, having been initiated by his father, was strengthened, which provided some protection. However, this also led to the duchy being pulled into all of Sweden's conflicts, including the Great Northern War

Great Northern War

The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...

 and several wars with Denmark.

From 1675 to 1689, Christian Albert lived in exile in Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

. However, with the aid of the Holy Roman Emperor

Holy Roman Emperor

The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

 and the European allies, he managed to force the Danish king to sign the so-called Altonaer Vergleich, which allowed to him regain his former position.

On 5 October 1665, he founded the University of Kiel

University of Kiel

The University of Kiel is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the Academia Holsatorum Chiloniensis by Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and has approximately 23,000 students today...

. The painter Jürgen Ovens

Jürgen Ovens

Jürgen Ovens , also known as Georg, or Jurriaen Ovens whilst in the Netherlands, was a portrait painter from North Frisia and, according to Arnold Houbraken, a pupil of Rembrandt...

 worked more than 30 years for him and his father Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp. In 1678 the duke took part in the founding of the Hamburg Opera.

Family and children

Christian Albert married, on 24 October 1667, Princess Frederica Amalia of Denmark, daughter of King Frederick III of Denmark

Frederick III of Denmark

Frederick III was king of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death. He instituted absolute monarchy in Denmark and Norway in 1660, confirmed by law in 1665 as the first in western historiography. He was born the second-eldest son of Christian IV of Denmark and Anne Catherine of Brandenburg...

 and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. They had the following children:

1. Sophie Amalie (19 January 1670 – 27 February 1710), married on 7 July 1695 to Prince Augustus William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
2. Duke Frederick IV of Holstein-Gottorp (18 October 1671 – 19 July 1702).
3. Duke Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp (11 January 1673 – 24 April 1726).
4. Marie Elisabeth
   Marie Elisabeth, Abbess of Quedlinburg
   Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp was Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg from 1718 until her death....
   
    (21 March 1678 – 17 July 1755), Abbess of Quedlinburg
   Quedlinburg Abbey
   Quedlinburg Abbey was a house of secular canonesses in Quedlinburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was founded in 936 on the initiative of Saint Mathilda, the widow of Henry the Fowler, as his memorial...
   
   .

Ancestors

Christian Albert's ancestors in three generations

Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp	Father: Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp was a Duke of Holstein-Gottorp.He was the elder son of Duke Johann Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp and Augusta of Denmark. His mother was a daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark....	Paternal Grandfather: John Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp John Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Johann Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp was a Duke of Holstein-Gottorp.He was a third son of Duke Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp and his wife Christine of Hesse-Kassel . He became the first Lutheran Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck and the Administrator of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen...	Paternal Great-grandfather: Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp was the first Duke of Holstein-Gottorp from the line of Holstein-Gottorp of the House of Oldenburg....
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Christine of Hesse Christine of Hesse Christine of Hesse-Kassel was Duchess consort of Holstein-Gottorp as the spouse of Duke Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp. She exerted some political influence as a widow in 1586.- Biography :...
		Paternal Grandmother: Augusta of Denmark Augusta of Denmark Princess Augusta of Denmark was the third daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark and Sophia of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, and Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp as the wife of Duke John Adolf...	Paternal Great-grandfather: Frederick II of Denmark Frederick II of Denmark Frederick II was King of Denmark and Norway and duke of Schleswig from 1559 until his death.-King of Denmark:Frederick II was the son of King Christian III of Denmark and Norway and Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg. Frederick II stands as the typical renaissance ruler of Denmark. Unlike his father, he...
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Sofie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Sofie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (d. 1631) Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow was a German noble and Queen of Denmark and Norway. She was the mother of King Christian IV of Denmark...
	Mother: Marie Elisabeth of Saxony Marie Elisabeth of Saxony Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony was duchess consort of Holstein-Gottorp as the spouse of Duke Friedrich III of Holstein-Gottorp.- Biography :...	Maternal Grandfather: John George I, Elector of Saxony John George I, Elector of Saxony John George I was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656.-Biography:Born in Dresden, he was the second son of the Elector Christian I and Sophie of Brandenburg....	Maternal Great-grandfather: Christian I, Elector of Saxony Christian I, Elector of Saxony Christian I of Saxony was Elector of Saxony from 1586 to 1591.He was the sixth but second surviving son of Elector Augustus of Saxony and Anna of Denmark...
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Sophie of Brandenburg Sophie of Brandenburg Sophie of Brandenburg was a Princess of Brandenburg and by marriage Electress of Saxony. From 1591 she was the regent of Saxony during the minority of her son Christian II.- Biography :...
		Maternal Grandmother: Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia was an Electress of Saxony as the spouse of John George I, Elector of Saxony.-Life:...	Maternal Great-grandfather: Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia Albert Frederick was duke of Prussia from 1568 until his death. He was a son of Albert of Prussia and Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He was the second and last Prussian duke of the Ansbach branch of the Hohenzollern family.-Duke of Prussia:...
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Marie Eleonore of Cleves Marie Eleonore of Cleves Marie Eleonore of Cleves was a Duchess consort of Prussia as the wife of Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia. She was the eldest child of Wilhelm, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg and Maria of Austria.- Family :...