Page 27 - Hotel Tunnel's 100 Years of History
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march could be heard from far away, and it was just after the time in the evening when the city gates had been closed and the city's watchman Bonde Weyer, the city's orderly and the supervisor of the night watchmen since 1592, had just assigned patrol rounds for the night to the watchmen at the meeting place outside the town hall steps. However, the watch- men had not yet been able to disperse before the distant noise from the shouting Swedes reached them. Through one of the watchmen, Söfren Clemmidsen, Bonde Weyer learned of the cause of the disturbance and gave him the task of supervising "the Swedes" and, if there was "noise
or fighting”, to promptly inform the city watchman, so that he and seve- ral other watchmen could come to the scene and "make peace." In the meantime, Mr. Sten and his group had gone to Jacob Fechtell's tavern and continued to consume alcoholic beverages. They had made noise and caused a commotion, and through their rowdy behavior had disturbed the young tavern keeper, who, since Jens tavernhad gone home, was alone in serving drinks. Finally, the tavern keeper, fearing a disturbance, went out on the street and asked the watchman Sofren Clemmidsen to stay and "stay with him." A short time later, other watchmen arrived and waited in the vicinity for "the Swedes" to leave the tavern. A fight ensued, and the disorderly swedes were placed under arrest.
Corfitz Ulfeldt was born in 1606 and was the son of Jacob Ulfeldt, who passed away in 1630 and was a respected member of the Danish nobili- ty. After a long stay abroad, he returned in 1629 and was appointed as a courtier and then chamberlain to King Christian IV. At the same time, he was engaged to the King's daughter, Christina Munk Leonora Christina, and through his education, talents, good looks and charm, he quickly gained the King's trust and moved up in rank, eventually becoming a member of the council of state and a Knight of the Order of the Elephant, Denmark's most prestigious order. He gained more political influence, became governor of Copenhagen and finally, in April 1643, the highest position, that of Lord High Steward, which combined the duties of a Pri- me Minister and a Minister of Finance, and a seat in the council of state.
It is likely that the king expected his son-in-law to strongly support his interests, but this expectation was soon disappointed. Corfitz Ulfeldt used his influential position to advance his own interests, and a rift soon developed between him and the king. After the king's death on February 28, 1648, the break with him became complete.
The well-known case involving Dina Vinhovers and her lover, Lieutenant Jorgen Walter, who launched a smear campaign against the Ulfeldts for an alleged plot to murder the king, led to an investigation of Corfitz Ulfeldt's
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