{{Infobox_Monarch 
| name           = Christian IV
| title          = King of Denmark and Norway
| image          = 200px|King Christian IV
| reign          = 4 April 1588 &ndash; 28 February 1648<br>( years)
| coronation     = 29 August 1596 in Copenhagen
| predecessor    = Frederick II
| successor      = Frederick III
| consort        = Anne Catherine of Brandenburg
| issue          = 
| royal house    = House of Oldenburg
| royal anthem   =
| father         = Frederick II
| mother         = Sofie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
| date of birth  = 
| place of birth = Frederiksborg Palace
| date of death  = 
| place of death = Rosenborg Castle
| place of burial= Roskilde Cathedral
|}}

right|250px|thumb|The coronation of King Christian IV, painted by [[Otto Bache, 1887.]]

right|250px|thumb|Coat of arms of Christian IV and Queen Anne Catherine. From ''Kompagnietor'', [[Flensburg.]]

'''Christian IV''' (12 April, 1577 &ndash; 28 February, 1648) was the king of Denmark and Norway from 1588 until his death. He is sometimes referred to as ''Christian Firtal'' in Denmark and ''Christian Kvart'' or ''Quart'' in Norway.

==Biography==
The son of Frederick II, king of Denmark and Norway, and Frederiksborg castle in 1577, and succeeded to the throne on the death of his father (April 4 1588), attaining his majority on August 17 1596. On November 30 1597 he married Anne Catherine of Brandenburg, a daughter of Joachim Friedrich, margrave of Brandenburg and duke of Prussia. The queen died fourteen years later, after bearing Christian six children. Four years after her death the king privately wedded a handsome young gentlewoman, Kirsten Munk, by whom he had twelve children &mdash; a connection which was to be disastrous to Denmark.

It is believed that he, counting both legitimate and illegitimate, had at least 26 children, quite possibly more.

He descended, through his mother's side, from king Hans of Denmark, thus uniting the senior branch' descent to the crown.

He is frequently remembered as one of the most remarkable Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects, and ruling for just under sixty years.

==Reformer==
Despite courtly life, he found time for work of the most various description, including a series of domestic reforms (see Danish navy, which in peasant levies recruited for the most part from the peasantry on the crown domains.

Christian first initiated the policy of expanding Denmark's overseas trade, as part of the mercantilist wave that was sweeping Europe. Denmark's first colony was established at Tranquebar, or Trankebar, on India's southcoast in 1620. He also assigned the privilege establishing the Danish East India Company. This was in large part the beginning of Danish colonial empire.

==The Kalmar War==
His first experiment with his newly organized army was successful.  In the war with Sweden, generally known as the Kalmar War (1611-1613) because its chief operation was the Danish capture of Kalmar, the eastern fortress of Sweden, Christian compelled King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden to give way on all essential points at the Treaty of Knäred (January 20, 1613). 

He now turned his attention to Bremen and Verden as appanages for his younger sons. 

He skilfully took advantage of the alarm of the German Frederick (September 1621).  A similar arrangement was reached in November at Verden.  Hamburg was also induced to acknowledge the Danish overlordship of Holstein by the compact of Steinburg in July 1621.

==The Thirty Years' War==
The growing ascendancy of the Tilly at Lutter-am-Barenberge, and in the summer of Wallenstein, ravaging and burning, occupied the duchies and the whole peninsula of Jutland. In his extremity Christian now formed an alliance with Sweden (January 1 1628), whereby Gustavus Adolphus pledged himself to assist Denmark with a fleet in case of need, and shortly afterwards a Swedo-Danish army and fleet compelled Wallenstein to raise the siege of Stralsund. Thus the possession of a superior sea-power enabled Denmark to tide over her worst difficulties, and in May 1629 Christian was able to conclude peace with the emperor at Lübeck, without any diminution of territory.

left|thumb|220px|Monument of Christian IV in [[Kristiansand, Norway.]]
==Court intrigues and foreign adventures, 1629-1643==
Christian IV was now a broken man. His energy was temporarily paralysed by accumulated misfortunes. Not only his political hopes, but his domestic happiness had suffered shipwreck. In the course of 1628 he discovered a scandalous intrigue of his wife, Corfitz Ulfeldt and Hannibal Sehested, who now came prominently forward.

Even at the lowest ebb of his fortunes Christian had never lost hope of retrieving them, and between 1629 and 1643 the European situation presented infinite possibilities to politicians with a taste for adventure. Christian was no statesman, and was incapable of a consistent policy. He would neither conciliate Sweden, henceforth his most dangerous enemy, nor guard himself against her by a definite system of counter-alliances. By mediating in favour of the emperor, after the death of Gustavus Adolphus in 1632, he tried to minimize the influence of Sweden in Germany, and did glean some minor advantages. But his whole Scandinavian policy was so irritating and vexatious that Swedish statesmen made up their minds that a war with Denmark was only a question of time; and in the spring of 1643 it seemed to them that the time had come.

thumb|right|300px|Ritratto di Cristiano IV
{{Bio
|Nome = 
|Cognome =Cristiano IV di Danimarca
|PostCognomeVirgola = ''Christian IV''
|Sesso = M
|LuogoNascita = Frederiksborg
|GiornoMeseNascita = 12 aprile
|AnnoNascita = 1577
|LuogoMorte = Copenhagen
|GiornoMeseMorte = 28 febbraio
|AnnoMorte = 1648
|ForzaOrdinamento = Cristiano 04 di Danimarca
|Categorie = Categoria:Re di DanimarcaCategoria:Re di Norvegia
|FineIncipit = fu re di Danimarca e di Norvegia
}}

==La vita==
Figlio di Federico II e Sofia di Meclemburgo-Güstrov alla morte del padre (1588) Cristiano aveva soltanto undici anni ma già dal 1584 era stato acclamato quale futuro re di Danimarca e nel 1591 re di Norvegia.

Data la giovane età i primi anni di governo della Danimarca furono gestiti da un apposito consiglio di nobili detta ''Consiglio del Regno'' fino al momento della sua incoronazione il 29 agosto 1596.

La sua politica interna fu volta alla sistemazione dello stato e alla costruzione di nuovi castelli, fu per questo motivo molto amato dal popolo e acquisì fama di sovrano illuminato. La pericolosa vicinanza dell'emergente Regno di Svezia lo portò, già nel 1611 allo scontro armato con gli svedesi. La cosiddetta ''Guerra di Kalmar'' contro gli svedesi terminò nel 1613 e la Danimarca ottenne la cessione di alcuni territori norvegesi fino a quel momento occupati dalla Svezia.

==La Danimarca nella Guerra dei Trent'anni==
Da quel momento il regno di Cristiano IV fu volto al predominio sul anseatiche di Brema e di Amburgo.

Nel Ferdinando II anche nelle terre luterane.

Ma la tendenza espansionistica danese s'infranse dopo alcune rovinose battaglie che portarono all'occupazione temporanea della penisola dello Jutland. La Pace di Lubecca del 1629 rese comunque alla Danimarca le terre occupate dagli eserciti della Lega.

Entrato in conflitto con il ''Consiglio del Regno'', un'assemblea di nobili creata al tempo della minore età di Cristiano, il re danese cercò di acquisire nuovo lustro con una nuova guerra contro il prepotere della Svezia che ormai aveva sostituito la Danimarca come referente dei Principi elettori protestanti tedeschi.