Valdemar I
In 1157, King Valdemar I was married to Sophia of Minsk (c. 1140 – 5 May 1198). In 1158, Absalon was appointed the Bishop of Roskilde (1158–1192), and later the Archbishop of Lund (1178–1201), while all along serving as the chief adviser, war commander and a minister for his stepbrother, the King Valdemar I of Denmark. At Absalon's instigation, Valdemar I declared war upon the Wends, who were raiding the Danish coasts. In 1158, Valdemar I erected the Sønderborg Castle for protection against attacks by the Wends and as part of a larger system of fortifications, and in 1175 the Vordingborg Castle as a defensive fortress, and as a base from which to launch raids against the German coast.