Swedish War on Bremen, 1653-1654






Swedish War on Bremen, 1666




Sweden interpreted the Treaty of Westphalia as granting her the sovereignty over the Princebishoprics of Bremen and Verden, as well as over the city of Bremen; the city council of Bremen thought otherwise, insisting on her status as an immediate city, long practiced, but confirmed only in 1646 (Linz Privilege). A first Swedish War on Bremen had been fought over the issue in 1653-1654.
Since 1663, Gustav Horn was Swedish Governor of the Duchies of Bremen and Verden. Bremen had strong fortifications, a garrison of 1500 men and 6000 burghers who could be drawn into the militia. Denmark, the Emperor and numerous German princes sympathized with Bremen, and Sweden had reason to fear they might declare war on her.
The second Swedish War on Bremen began on January 27th 1666 with Swedish troops landing on Bremen territory, Swedish commander Wrangel already in February was ordered to enter into negotiations; in June, he was ordered to cut the suppl lines of Bremen; and on November 15th 1666 the Treaty of Habenhausen was signed. No battle had been fought; the treaty stipulated that Bremen would pay taxes both to Sweden and the Emperor, would not claim the title of a free Imperial city until 1700, would not send delegates to Imperial diets until 1700.



EXTERNAL
FILES 		The Second War on Bremen, from The Many Swedish Wars by Hans Högman
Andra Bremiska Kriget 1654, from Svenskt Militärhistoriskt Bibliotek, in Swedish
Andra Bremiska Kriget, from Svenska Krig, by Anders Lundin, in Swedish
Bremens Weg in die Selbständigkeit (Bremen's Road to Self-Government), by Hartmut Müller, in German
DOCUMENTS List of Swedish Governors of Bremen/Verden, by Bernd Wedekind, a German language website
REFERENCE



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on March 13th 2004, last revised on November 19th 2004

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