Johan Printzensköld was a Swedish army officer. As lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 he was the commendant of Bornholm

Bornholm

Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...

 between March and December of 1658. A revolt broke out on the island against the Swedish occupation, and Printzensköld was killed in Rønne

Rønne

Rønne is the largest town on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. It has a population of 13,904 . Once a municipality in its own right, it is now the administrative centre of the Bornholm municipality....

, the capital of Bornholm, on December 8, 1658.

Career

Little is known of Printzensköld's life. He was the son of a priest by the name Jakob Printz. His noble surname hints that he was nobled for his service in the Thirty Years War, in which Sweden participated between 1630 and 1648.

Denmark declared war on Sweden in 1657, but was defeated by Charles X of Sweden and his battle-hardened veterans. The harsh terms of the Treaty of Roskilde

Treaty of Roskilde

The Treaty of Roskilde was concluded on 26 February or 8 March 1658 during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Charles X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde...

 dictated among other things that Bornholm was to be part of Sweden, starting on March 15, 1658. Printzensköld was named the king's head representatative on Bornholm. He arrived with a Swedish military force of 116 men on April 29
. At the time Bornholm had a population of around 8,000.

Death

In November 1658, a conspiracy between Bornholmers was started, egged on by the Danish crown which appealed to its loyal citizens to resist the occupiers. A golden opportunity presented itself to the conspirators on December 8. They learned that Printzensköld was to ride, unescorted, from the Swedish headquarters in Hammershus

Hammershus

Hammershus is Northern Europe's largest medieval fortification, situated above sea level on Hammeren, the northern tip of the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. Erected in the 13th century, it was long believed that the castle was built as a private residence for the archbishop of Lund...

 to Rønne

Rønne

Rønne is the largest town on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. It has a population of 13,904 . Once a municipality in its own right, it is now the administrative centre of the Bornholm municipality....

 to prepare for reinforcements from Sweden. Five conspirators rode into Rønne, to the mayor's house where Printzensköld was staying. A struggle broke out, with the mayor vainly trying break up the fight. Printzensköld was dragged to Storegade (Main street), where some of the town's burghers had gathered. Shortly afterwards he was shot by Villum Clausen.