Battle of Lake Smolina
| date | 13.09.1502 |
|---|---|
| place | Palkino near Pskov |
| output | Victory of the Livonian Confederation |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 12,000 | more than 5,000 |
| losses | |
|
2,500-8,000 |
low |
On the Smolina Lake in Russia , not far from today's settlement Palkino in the Pskow Oblast , in German Pleskau (hence also often called the Battle of Pleskau ) Wolter von Plettenberg triumphed on September 13, 1502 as Landmeister of the Teutonic Order in Livonia over the opponents of Altlivland.
Cultural and historical significance of the battle
After the Battle of Tannenberg in 1410, the German Order of Knights had increasingly lost its leading role in Prussia by 1466. The situation was different in the Baltic States. Landmeister Johann Freitag von Loringhoven had ended the 200-year civil war in Livonia through his diplomacy and in 1491 through his victory in the Battle of Neuermühlen . After the battle of Lake Smolina in 1502, Landmeister Wolter von Plettenberg succeeded through his politics in creating the conditions for the Livonian Order to retain rule in the 16th century.
The immediate importance of the battle of 1502 resulted from the interaction of Germans, Estonians and Latvians in the fight and from the subsequent peace treaty in 1503 with Ivan III. , the great of Moscow. Both together and the cleverly conducted negotiations by Plettenberg led to an internal and external peace period of almost 60 years in Altlivland. That had never happened before in Livonian history.
Under these conditions, there was a cultural bloom in the country and the bloodless introduction of the Evangelical Creed among Germans, Estonians and Latvians. The impact of the ideas of the Reformation that spread in Livonia after 1502 remained unbroken even after the fall of Old Livonia in 1561.
Historical meaning
The day of the Livonian victory on Lake Smolina was celebrated annually in Riga like a national holiday until the fall of Altlivland . To contemporaries, this last victory in Livonia seemed a miracle.
literature
- Leonid Arbusow: The introduction of the Reformation in Liv, Est and Courland . In: Research on the history of the Reformation. Vol. 3, Leipzig / Riga, I 1919, II 1921.
- Liv-, Est- and Courlandic deed books . 2nd Abbot, Vol. 2, No. 382.
- Carl Schirren (Ed.): Eyne Schonne hystorie ... In: Archives for the history of Liv, Estonia and Courland. VIII, 1861.
- Astaf von Transehe-Roseneck : History of the von Rosen family . In: Genealogical manual of the Baltic knighthoods. Part Livonia, Vol. 2; Goerlitz 1931.
- Reinhard Wittram: Baltic History 1180–1918 . Munich 1954.
Coordinates: 57 ° 32 '10.7 " N , 28 ° 0' 16.6" E