Battle of Bogesund

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Battle of Bogesund
Depiction of the death of Sten Sture on the ice of Lake Malare
Depiction of the death of Sten Sture on the ice of Lake Malare
date January 19, 1520
place on the frozen lake Åsunden near Bogesund (today Ulricehamn )
output Victory of the Danes
Parties to the conflict

Flag of the Kalmar Union.svg Kalmar Union under the domination of Denmark

Flag of Sweden.svgFollower of Sten Sture the Younger

Commander

Otte Krumpen

Sten Sture the younger

Troop strength
6,000 to 10,000 men, mercenaries from Germany, France and Scotland up to 10,000 men, mostly armed farmers
losses

unknown

Sten Sture the younger

Memorial stone to the Battle of Bogesund, erected in 1914 on the Skottek

The Battle of Bogesund (also Battle of Lake Åsunden ) took place on January 19, 1520 on the eve of the Swedish War of Liberation on Lake Åsunden, about three kilometers south of today's Ulricehamn . The Swedish troops under the imperial administrator Sten Sture the Younger lost the battle against a Danish army under the leadership of Otte Krumpen. Sten Sture was badly wounded and died on February 3, 1520 of the consequences of his injury. The Danish troops then marched on to Stockholm, where Christian II was crowned King of Sweden on November 4, 1520, and the Stockholm bloodbath followed .

In 1473 the Peace of Kalmar was concluded between Denmark and Sweden. From 1518 Christian II tried again to subdue Sweden. A first attempt failed with the lost battle at Brännkyrka . In the winter of 1519–1520 he made a new attempt to reclaim sovereignty over Sweden.

The commander of the Danish troops was Otte Krumpen, a Danish knight. The army consisted of well-trained mercenaries from the German Empire , France and Scotland . The cold season was chosen because, in addition to the existing paths, the rivers, lakes and swamps were frozen, making it possible to move around quickly.

On the Swedish side, soldiers and farmers from the border region were mobilized for defense.

Sture could carefully choose the place where he wanted to meet the attackers. The lake was relatively narrow at this point and in the east the mountains of Skottek rose directly on the shore.

Right at the beginning of the battle, Sten Sture was hit just above the knee by a cannonball that ricocheted off the ice. He was carried off the battlefield and the Swedish troops gave in more and more. Stubborn injuries were not adequately cared for and he died on February 3rd while being transported back to Stockholm on a sled on the ice of Mälaren as a result of his injury. The Danes moved further north and pillaged Bogesund (Ulricehamn), Falköping , Skövde and Skara on the way . In Tiveden there was another battle, which cost the Danes half of their troops.

On February 21, the fighting parties in Strängnäs decided to lay down their arms for eight days. On March 2, the Danes reached Uppsala and signed an armistice with a Swedish embassy led by Archbishop Gustav Trolle , in which the Swedish side swore allegiance to King Christian and the Danish side undertook to refrain from retaliation.

Christian II was crowned King of Sweden on November 4, 1520 in Stockholm. Immediately after the coronation, despite the previous amnesty, trials began against the supporters of Sten Sture, which led to the execution of more than eighty people . Sten Sture's body was also excavated and burned on a stake .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. James L. Larson: Reforming the North. The Kingdoms and Churches of Scandinavia, 1520-1545. Cambridge 2010, p. 73.
  2. James L. Larson: Reforming the North. The Kingdoms and Churches of Scandinavia, 1520-1545. Cambridge 2010, p. 74.

Coordinates: 57 ° 46 ′ 12.1 ″  N , 13 ° 23 ′ 43.5 ″  E