Conquest of Kalmar 1523
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1523 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Sweden | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Swedish War of Liberation | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 56.6614, 16.3628 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Conquest of Kalmar (Swedish: Erövringen av Kalmar) took place on 27 May 1523, during the Swedish War of Liberation (1521-1523). In the beginning of 1523, Kalmar and Stockholm remained as the only real Danish strongholds in Sweden. The situation in Kalmar was tense, with many German Landsknechte mercenaries in Danish hire stationed in the city. They were under orders that, if the city were to be attacked, they should kill all burghers of Swedish origin, burn the city and castle, retreat, and regroup in Visby, Gotland.
When this order became known in the city, the inhabitants quickly made contact with the commanders of the besieging Swedish forces, Arvid Västgöte and Peder Hansson. An agreement was made that the burghers would leave the northern city gate open on the night before 27 May. This was done, and the attack began. Before dawn, the city was in Swedish hands. Eight days later Kalmar Castle surrendered as well, and Arvid Västgöte continued on to cleanse Öland of Danish troops.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Conquest of Kalmar (revision 1373365933), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Kalmar 1611 · 3 km
- Action of 26 July 1566 1566 · 20 km
- Battle of Öland 1676 · 30 km
- Battle of Öland (1563) 1563 · 51 km
- Battle of Öland (1789) 1789 · 57 km
- First Battle of Öland 1564 · 92 km
Other battles of the Swedish War of Liberation
- Battle of Brunnbäck Ferry 1521
- Battle of Falun 1521
- Battle of Västerås 1521
- Conquest of Uppsala 1521
- Conquest of Stockholm 1523
All 6 battles of the Swedish War of Liberation →
Browse more: battles in Sweden · Europe · Early modern battles