Bengt Horn

Baron Bengt Horn
Bengt Horn af Åminne in 1651
Governor-General of Halland
In office 1654–1655
Preceded by	Nils Kagg
Succeeded by	Axel Lillie
Governor of Estonia
In office 1656–1674
Preceded by	Wilhelm von Ulrich
Succeeded by	Wilhelm von Ulrich
President of Svea Court of Appeal
In office 1674–1677
Preceded by	Johan Gyllenstierna the Younger
Succeeded by	Knut Kurck
Personal details
Born	Bengt Klasson Horn (1623-11-10)November 10, 1623 Rytterne, Västmanland County, Sweden
Died	February 7, 1678(1678-02-07) (aged 54) Riga, Swedish Livonia
Spouse(s)	Margareta Larsdotter Sparre Ingeborg Banér Margareta Bielke
Relations	Krister Horn
Children	Christer Bengtsson Horn af Åminne Katarina Ebba Horn af Åminne Ture Sigismund Horn
Parent(s)	Klas Horn Sigrid Oxenstierna
Education	Uppsala University
Military service
Allegiance	Swedish Empire
Rank	Field Marshal (Fältmarskalk)
Unit	Blue Regiment Stenbock Infantry Regiment Queen's Life Regiment of Foot
Commands	Commandant of Ottersberg and Vechta Queen's Life Regiment of Foot Superviser of the garrisons in the Baltic Dominions Commander-in-chief of the Livonian expedition
Battles/wars	Thirty Years' War Bavarian campaign Attack on Bregenz Capture of Mainau Siege of Lindau Northern War Deluge Siege of Marienburg Russo-Swedish War Livonian campaign Siege of Dorpat Scanian War Prussian expedition

Bengt Klasson Horn af Åminne (November 10, 1623 – February 7, 1678) was a Swedish Baron, Diplomat, Judge, Field Marshal (Fältmarskalk), and governor-general. He was governor-general of Halland from 1654 to 1655, and governor of Estonia between 1656 and 1674. He served as a lieutenant colonel in the Thirty Years' War and was promoted to commander of the Queen's Life Regiment of Foot during the Deluge. Horn was the head of a mission to Russia, which resulted in the Treaty of Cardis. During the Scanian War he was given command of an expedition to Prussia, but his fleet was wrecked by a storm. He died not long after, in 1678.

Early life and service (1623–1655)

Horn was born on November 10, 1623, in Rytterne, Västmanland County. His parents were Privy Council member Klas Horn and Sigrid Oxenstierna, daughter of Bengt Gabrielsson Oxenstierna. He was the middle child of Klas's five children. Horn went to the University of Uppsala with his brother, Krister, in April 1636. After that he traveled to the Baltic region, and studied in Dorpat (Tartu). He completed his education with a trip abroad. During this trip he visited the Dutch Republic and traveled to Italy via France, he stayed in Rome until 1646.

Horn joined the Swedish Army in 1646 during the Thirty Years' War and joined Carl Gustaf Wrangel during his Bavarian campaign. He obtained the rank of captain in the Blue Regiment. The following year, he was promoted to major in Gustaf Otto Stenbock's Regiment, and soon after, lieutenant colonel. He became commandant of Vechta and Ottersberg in 1650. In 1653, he attained the rank of colonel of the newly created Queen's Life Regiment on Foot. In October 1654, he resigned and was appointed Governor-General of Halland by Queen Christina. A year later, he left his governorship to become commander of the Queen's Life Regiment on Foot.

Northern War (1655–1663)

Further information: Northern War of 1655-1660 and Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658)

Horn accompanied the new Swedish king, Charles X Gustav, in his Polish campaign. He distinguished himself in the two month siege of the Marienburg Castle (Malbork). In 1656, Horn was appointed Governor of Reval (Tallinn). Around the same time, Tsar Alexei I invaded the Swedish Baltic in support of Poland. He was sent to relieve the Russian siege of Dorpat. However, his relief attempt failed, and Dorpat ultimately capitulated on October 23.

In 1658, he was assigned to be part of the Swedish negotiations with the Russians. The Russian lead delegate, Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin, demanded Ingria, Kexholm, and several cities and fortresses in Estonia and Livonia. This proposal was rejected by the Swedes. On December 20, a three-year peace was agreed upon. As part of the treaty, Kokenhusen, Dorpat, Marienburg, Neuhausen, Syrensk, Jama, Dinaburg, Lyutin, Anzl, Marnauz, and Rēzekne were ceded to Russia for three years. Although the treaty was a Russian victory, it gave Charles much-needed breathing space.

In 1661, he was appointed head of a mission to Russia. This delegation secured a peace treaty in which Russia ceded back all captured territory and Tsar Alexei renounced all claims to Livonia and Estonia. Horn was able to secure this peace because of Russia's renewed war with Poland.

Under Charles XI (1663–1678)

Upon his return to Estonia, Horn resumed his governorship of Estonia, of which he had already been governor for seven years. He carried out his duties with much competence. In 1672, the young King Charles XI, under the influence of Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, promoted Horn from governor to governor-general of Estonia. A year later, he was entrusted with the supervision of all garrisons in Estonia, Livonia, and Ingria. In 1675, he was appointed president of the Svea Court of Appeal, an advancement believed to be orchestrated by De la Gardie. His tenure was only three years, and was largely uneventful during his presidency.

Prussian Expedition (1678)

Baron Bengt Horn as a Roman General. Oil painting by David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl

In late 1674, under pressure from France, Sweden invaded Brandenburg. The campaign culminated at the Battle of Fehrbellin, where the Swedes were badly defeated by Elector Frederick William. A Brandenburg-Danish army launched a counterattack into Swedish Pomerania, conquering most of it, except for Stettin, Greifswald, Rügen, and Stralsund. Although Frederick failed to capture Stettin in 1676, a year later he besieged it again.

In response, Charles planned a diversionary attack from Riga to Prussia, in order to relieve Stettin. Horn was given command of the expedition and was promoted to the position of field marshal. Horn was poorly suited for the job. He was old and in poor physical health. He planned to raise 10,000 men, but he suffered from insufficient funds and had to assemble this force so quickly. He disobeyed orders and stayed in Stockholm, where he celebrated his third marriage to Margareta Bielke. He finally left Stockholm on November 8. The voyage across the Åland Sea was marked by stormy weather. Later, while on his way to Riga, his ship got stuck in ice off the Turku Archipelago. This forced him to go overland to Riga, finally arriving on January 17. Stettin had already fallen two months before. This angered Charles, who relieved him of his post. Horn died a broken man on February 7.

Family

Horn married three times and had three children. His first wife was Queen Christina's maid of honor, Margareta Larsdotter Sparre. Her parents were the Lord Marshal (Lantmarskalk) Lars Sparre and Märta Gustafsdotter Banér. She married Horn on November 20, 1652, in Reval and they had one son, Christer Bengtsson. She died only eight years later in Stockholm. After Margareta's death, Horn married Ingeborg Banér, Margareta's first cousin, the daughter of Axel Gustafson Banér and Karin Bielke.

Together they had two children, Katarina Ebba and Ture Sigismund. She died on July 25, 1675, of natural causes. Two years later, he married Ingeborg's second cousin, Margareta Bielke, the daughter of Gustaf Bielke and Maria Elisabet Sparre. They married in Stockholm, which delayed the Livonia Expedition. Unlike his first two wives, Margareta lived longer than Horn, dying on May 10, 1727.

• Christer Bengtsson Horn af Åminne (1659 or 1660-1740); married Jacobina Catharina Lilliehöök

• Katarina Ebba Horn af Åminne (1666-1736); Mistress of the Robes, married Axel Banér

• Ture Sigismund Horn (1674-1724); married Regina Benigna Ludlenska

Gallery

• 
  Horn with his two wives: Margareta Sparre and Ingeborg Banér. 1675 oil painting by David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl.
• 
  Ingeborg Banér, the second wife of Horn. 1662 oil painting by Ehrenstrahl.
• 
  Katarina Ebba Horn af Åminne, daughter of Horn. 1698 oil painting by Amalia von Königsmarck.
• 
  Bengt Horn af Åminne, 1623-1678. Copy of a portrait by Ehrenstrahl in 1726, originally by David Kock.
• 
  Funeral achievement of Horn in the Norrtälje Municipality.

Ancestors

Ancestors of Bengt Horn
8. Klas Horn 4. Krister Klasson Horn 9. Kerstin Krumme 2. Klas Horn 10. Ture Bielke 5. Catharina Bielke 11. Sigrid Sture 1. Bengt Horn 12. Gabriel Kristiernsson Oxenstierna 6. Bengt Gabrielsson Oxenstierna 13. Beate Eriksdotter Trolle 3. Sigrid Oxenstierna 14. Knut Posse 7. Brita Knutsdotter Posse 15. Ebba Göransdotter

Sources

• "Horn af Åminne". Riddarholmen's funeral register 1659 - 1737. Retrieved 2026-07-07.

• "Horn, Bengt". Academy of Music. Retrieved 2026-07-07.

• "Bengt Horn". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon. Retrieved 2026-07-07.

• "Horn, Bengt (1623-1678)". BBLd – Baltisches Biografisches Lexikon digital. 2026.

• Željko., Fajfrić (2008). Ruski carevi (1. izd ed.). Sremska Mitrovica: Tabernakl. ISBN 9788685269172. OCLC 620935678.

• Neilson, William Allan; Carhart, Paul Worthington; Knott, Thomas Albert (1934). "Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language: With Reference History. An Entirely New Book Utilizing All the Experience and Resources of More Than One Hundred Years of Genuine Webster Dictionaries. A Merriam-Webster".

• "Nordisk familjebok". Runeberg. 1929.

• von Essen, Michael Fredholm (2019). Charles XI’s War: The Scanian War Between Sweden and Denmark, 1675-1679. Century of the Soldier. Helion & Company. ISBN 9781911628002.