The Battle of Falun () was the first battle of the

Swedish War of Liberation Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

that took place in

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabit ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, on February 5, 1521. Swedish rebels under

Gustav Vasa Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm (''Reichsverweser#Sweden, Riksföreståndare'') fr ...

, who had just days earlier been proclaimed leader of the Dalecarlians against the

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...

, raided Falun. The rebels, consisting of a few hundred poorly armed peasants and some

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officers, took the Danish forces in the town completely by surprise. The local (bailiff)

Kristoffer Olsson Mats Kristoffer Olsson (born 30 June 1995) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for IK Sleipner. A full international since 2017, Olsson has won 47 caps for the Sweden national team and represented his country at the U ...

and a few others labelled as "traitors" were captured. Local shops run by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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were plundered, and the population

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. The rebels continued onwards through the region, gaining many new recruits. Shortly after they returned to Falun, and the locals pledged allegiance to Gustav Vasa and his cause. The rebellion continued until the

Treaty of Malmö The Treaty of Malmö (), signed on 1 September 1524, ended the Swedish War of Liberation. Frederick I of Denmark, King Frederick I of Denmark–Norway acknowledged Gustav Vasa as the king of Sweden, who in turn renounced claims to Scania and Blekin ...

in 1524. A year earlier, in 1523, Vasa was crowned

King of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is centred on the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the #IOG, Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. by law a constitutional monarchy, constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parl ...

References

* * 1521 in Europe

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

16th century in Denmark 1521 in Sweden 1521 in Denmark

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