Friherre Nils Ericson (31 January 1802 – 8 September 1870) was a Swedish mechanical engineer (as was his younger brother John Ericsson , who emigrated first to England and then the USA). He became a prominent Swedish canal and railway builder.
29-472: Born as Nils Ericsson, he was raised to the untitled nobility by king Oscar I of Sweden in 1854, and with this he reverted to a spelling of his surname with only one "s". In 1859 he was made a Friherre (equivalent to English Baron ), the 403rd such elevation to Sweden's titled nobility. John and Nils were born in Långbanshyttan , Värmland , Sweden, and received no formal education, but were taught
58-415: A subarctic climate influenced by its interior elevated plateau position transitioning between the coastal and mountainous regions of Norrland. This renders a variable climate prone to summer frosts. The annual temperature is usually just above 2 °C (36 °F). Compared to Torpshammar not far to its east, Bräcke is relatively cold due to the elevation difference. Being in a relative rain shadow from
87-517: A work advocating prison reforms . In 1838 Charles XIV John began to suspect that his son was plotting with the Liberal politicians to bring about a change of ministry, or even his own abdication . If Oscar did not actively assist the Opposition on this occasion, his disapprobation of his father's despotic behaviour was notorious, though he avoided an actual rupture. Yet his liberalism was of
116-793: Is a locality and the seat of Bräcke Municipality in Jämtland County , Sweden with 1,651 inhabitants in 2010. The community is located next to Lake Revsundssjön, 70 km south-east of Östersund . The railway has been an important factor in Bräcke's development. The town is located along the Central line and is the starting point of the Main Line Through Upper Norrland . European route E14 also passes through Bräcke and Länsväg 323 starts in Bräcke and goes towards Kälarne . Bräcke Church ( Bräcke kyrka )
145-524: The Château de Mortefontaine north of Paris. In 1807, he received his first tutor , Le Moine. As the Swedish king Charles XIII was without legitimate heirs, and Sweden therefore was without an heir to the throne , Oscar's father was proposed as a possible candidate to the Swedish throne in 1810. As one of the arguments for his election, it was argued that he already had a son and the future succession to
174-544: The Dalsland Canal while construction there was being led by his son Werner. Sweden started building railways later than many other European countries, having hesitated under heavy debate for several years because of the costs and other issues. Following the Riksdag 's decision in 1854, Erikson was chosen to lead the project of building the main lines (stambanorna). There was also a decision that, for military reasons,
203-755: The Kingdom of Prussia in the First War of Schleswig by placing Swedish and Norwegian troops in cantonments in Funen and North Schleswig (1849–1850), and was the mediator of the Truce of Malmö (26 August 1848). He was also one of the guarantors of the integrity of Denmark (the London Protocol , 8 May 1852). As early as 1850, Oscar I had conceived the plan of a dynastic union of the three Scandinavian kingdoms, but such difficulties presented themselves that
232-551: The Princes of Lapland ) by actress Emilie Högquist : By Countess Jaquette Löwenhielm (née Gyldenstolpe) Oscar had a premarital daughter: In 1824 and 1833, Oscar briefly served as Viceroy of Norway . In 1832–1834 he completed the romantic opera Ryno, the errant knight , which had been left unfinished on the death of the young composer Eduard Brendler . In 1839 he wrote a series of articles on popular education, and in 1841 anonymously published Om Straff och straffanstalter ,
261-558: The Riksdag declared that he had promoted the material prosperity of the kingdom more than any of his predecessors. Oscar was born at 291 Rue Cisalpine in Paris (today: 32 Rue Monceau) to Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, then-French Minister of War and later Marshal of the Empire and Sovereign Prince of Pontecorvo , and Désirée Clary , Napoleon Bonaparte 's former fiancée. He was named Joseph after his godfather Joseph Bonaparte , who
290-788: The Saimaa Canal in Finland (constructed 1845–52), the reconstruction of the Trollhätte Canal in Trollhättan Municipality and the locks at Slussen in Stockholm . In 1845, he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences . After 1850 he was primarily occupied with the design and construction of the Swedish state-owned railway system. At the same time he led the planning of
319-539: The Swedish Army as a second lieutenant, but in 1830 he transferred to the Navy Mechanical Corps (where he eventually advanced to the rank of colonel in 1850). In 1833 he married a daughter of Count von Schwerin in Östergötland . Between 1830 and 1850 Nils Ericson planned and directed the construction of the canals at Stallbacka, Säffle , Karlstad and Albrektsund. He also led the construction of
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#1732798199651348-652: The Swedish Navy and engaged as trainees at the canal enterprise. When two engineers sent to England by Count Platen to obtain information about canal construction returned in 1815 and began to instruct a number of cadets of the Swedish Corps of Mechanical Engineers, the Ericsson brothers were among them; Nils being then twelve years old and John eleven. In 1823 Nils Ericson joined the Engineering corps of
377-694: The 1850s, Oscar's health began to rapidly deteriorate; he became paralyzed in 1857 and died two years later at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on 8 July 1859, four days after his birthday. He was buried in the traditional burial site for Swedish monarchs, the Riddarholmen Church on the islet of Riddarholmen in central Stockholm. His eldest son, who served as Regent during his absence, succeeded him as Charles XV . Swedish and Norwegian honours Foreign honours Br%C3%A4cke Bräcke
406-855: The Western's eastward construction reached Katrineholm , where a better junction could be built with a southern line heading directly to Nässjö. This line was called Eastern Main Line ( Östra stambanan ) but has in modern times been defined to be part of the Southern Main Line. Ericson's proposal also included the railway between Stockholm and Ånge ( Northern Main Line , Norra stambanan ) and Main Line Through Upper Norrland ( Stambanan genom övre Norrland ) which runs between Bräcke and Boden . A railway between Oslo and Laxå ( Northwestern Main Line , Nordvästra stambanan )
435-401: The absence of a will specifying otherwise, brothers and sisters should have equal inheritance. Oscar I also formally established equality between his two kingdoms by introducing new flags with the common Union badge of Norway and Sweden , as well as a new coat of arms for the union. In foreign affairs, Oscar I was a friend of the principle of nationality ; in 1848 he supported Denmark against
464-627: The accession of Charles John to the Swedish and Norwegian thrones. Seeking to legitimise the new Bernadotte dynasty, Charles XIV John had selected four princesses as candidates for marriage, in order of his priority: Oscar would eventually marry Josephine, first by proxy at the Leuchtenberg Palace in Munich on 22 May 1823 and in person at a wedding ceremony conducted in Stockholm on 19 June 1823. The couple had five children: Oscar also had two extramarital sons (unofficially called
493-474: The draughtsmen of the canal company, where they also learned to draw maps, and he persuaded Lieutenant Brandenburg of the Navy Mechanical Corps to teach them the art of shading and 'finishing off' mechanical drawings before they were in their teens. Their extraordinary skills were noted and written about by Baltzar von Platen , the architect of the Göta Canal, and they were soon dubbed cadets of mechanics of
522-591: The most cautious and moderate character, as the Opposition—shortly after his accession to the thrones in 1844—discovered to their great chagrin. The new king would not hear of any radical reform of the cumbersome and obsolete 1809 Instrument of Government , which made the king a near-autocrat. However, one of his earliest measures was to establish freedom of the press . He also passed the first law supporting gender equality in Sweden when he in 1845 declared that in
551-421: The railways should avoid the coasts as much as possible. His proposal was that the line between Gothenburg and Stockholm ( Western Main Line , Västra stambanan ) should run south of Lake Mälaren to avoid competition with shipping. He also proposed that the line between Malmö and Stockholm ( Southern Main Line , Södra stambanan ) should go north via Nässjö to meet up with Western Main Line at Falköping until
580-461: The rudiments of mechanics from an early age by their father, Olof Ericsson. Olof worked as the superintendent of a mine in Värmland until he lost money in speculations and had to move his family to Forsvik , Västergötland , in 1810. There Olaf became a director of blastings during the excavation of Sweden's Göta Canal (built 1810–1832). He secured permission for his sons to draw in the office of
609-637: The scheme had to be abandoned. He succeeded, however, in reversing his father's favored-nation policy towards Imperial Russia . His fear lest Russia should demand a stretch of coast along the Varanger Fjord induced him to remain neutral during the Crimean War , and, subsequently, to conclude an alliance with Great Britain and the Second French Empire (25 November 1855) for preserving the territorial integrity of Sweden-Norway. In
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#1732798199651638-581: The throne was secured. A portrait of the young Oscar was handed out at the Diet of the Four Estates assembled in Örebro to elect an heir to the throne, serving as a lever for the election of Bernadotte. On 21 August 1810, the Riksdag elected Oscar's father as heir-presumptive to the Swedish throne. Two months later, on 5 November, he was formally adopted by the king under the name of "Charles John"; Oscar
667-476: Was King of Sweden and Norway from 8 March 1844 until his death. He was the second monarch of the House of Bernadotte . The only child of King Charles XIV John , Oscar inherited the thrones upon the death of his father. Throughout his reign he would pursue a liberal course in politics in contrast to Charles XIV John, instituting reforms and improving ties between Sweden and Norway. In an address to him in 1857,
696-410: Was accompanied to Sweden by Le Moine, immediately got a teacher of Swedish and was soon able to serve as his father's interpreter. On 17 January 1816, Oscar was elected an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences , and in 1818 was appointed chancellor of Uppsala University , where he spent one semester. Oscar became Crown Prince in 1818 upon the death of his adoptive grandfather, and
725-472: Was also planned, to connect with Western Main Line. The first parts of the Western and Southern lines were opened in 1856. Ericson resigned in 1862 when all of the Western line opened, and in 1864 the Southern line was opened in its entirety. Northwestern line was opened in 1871, Eastern line in 1874, Northern line in 1881 and the line through Upper Norrland in 1894. When Ericson resigned in 1862 his authority
754-429: Was built in the summer of 1859 following a drawing by Abraham Rafael Ulric Pettersson (1824-1866). The church building is externally clad with white painted wooden paneling. The ceiling of the church room has a thin vault of wood. The altarpiece was painted in 1926 by Stockholm artist Karl Tirén (1869-1955). In the church tower hang two bells; the little bell was cast in 1778 and large bell was cast in 1859. Bräcke has
783-608: Was divided between two agencies (the Building Bureau and the Traffic Bureau) until the formation of Kungliga Järnvägsstyrelsen (the Royal Railway Committee) in 1888. Ericson died in Stockholm in 1870, aged 68, and lies buried in Stockholm's Northern Cemetery ( Norra begravningsplatsen ). Oscar I of Sweden Oscar I (born Joseph François Oscar Bernadotte ; 4 July 1799 – 8 July 1859)
812-591: Was married to his mother's elder sister Julie , but was also given the names François Oscar . The latter name was chosen by Napoleon after one of the heroes in the Ossian cycle of poems, and was the name that came to be used in the family, mainly by the mother and the aunt. Désirée is said to have chosen Napoleon to be Oscar's godfather . He spent his first years in France, living with his mother and aunt, partly in Paris, partly at Joseph Bonaparte's country residence,
841-567: Was then created a Prince of Sweden with the style of Royal Highness , and further accorded the title of Duke of Södermanland . Oscar and his mother moved from Paris to Stockholm in June 1811; while Oscar soon acclimated to life at the royal court, quickly acquiring the Swedish language , Désirée had difficulty adjusting and despised the cold weather. Consequently, she left Sweden in the summer of 1811, and would not return until 1823. Oscar, who
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