Walterstorff

In 1798 the director of the Danish Postal Services , Major-General Ernst Frederik Walterstorff (1755-1820), ordered a captain of the engineers, Krag, to select various sites on the Great Belt for optical telegraphs to be used on an experimental basis. At the same time, he had sent an architect, Guione, to Sweden to inspect Edelcrantz´s telegraph. In 1801, Walterstorff´s telegraphs were ready to transmit across the Great Belt. They were of the Edelcrantz type.

E.F. Walterstorff (1755-1820). Painting by C.P. Verhulst, 1804. Post & Tele Museum.

In the course of his long career, Walterstorff managed to serve as a page at the Royal Court in Copenhagen, as Governor-General of the Danish West Indian islands, Postmaster-General, negotiator with Lord Nelson during the wars against Britain and as a diplomat in France. In 1807, he fell out of favour for having surrendered Copenhagen to the British without first consulting the King.