Charles X Gustav of Sweden

King of Sweden (1622-1660)

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Lived 1622–1660, aged 38Sweden

Sweden Historical Figures

Wikipedia
56 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1622–1660
Aged 38

Summary

Updated 2026-06-21

The Swedish king who marched his army across a frozen sea. Charles X Gustav turned the winter of 1658 into a military gambit no one expected: when the waters between Denmark and Sweden iced over, he led his troops straight across and forced Copenhagen to surrender.

Biography

About

Born 8 November 1622, son of a German count palatine and a Swedish princess, Charles X Gustav inherited the throne in 1654 from his cousin Christina, who abdicated. He immediately plunged Sweden into the Second Northern War, pushing the empire's borders outward through relentless campaigning. From 1655 to 1657 he claimed the title Grand Duke of Lithuania as Swedish forces swept through Poland. Married to Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, he fathered the son who would become Charles XI. He died 13 February 1660, only thirty-seven, after six years of near-constant war. His reign launched the…

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