The Kronoberg Regiment (), designations I 11 and I 11/Fo 16, was a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was disbanded in 1997. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from

Kronoberg County Kronoberg County (; ) is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. Kronoberg is one of three counties in the province of Småland. It borders the counties of Skåne, Halland, Jönköping, Kalmar, and Blekinge. Its capital is the city of V ...

, and they were later garrisoned there.

History

The regiment originated in fänikor (companies) and was raised in Kronoberg County in the 16th century. In 1616, these units—along with fänikor from the nearby

Kalmar County Kalmar County () is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg County, Kronoberg, Jönköping County, Jönköping, Blekinge County, Blekinge and Östergötland County, Östergötland. To the ...

—were organised by

Gustav II Adolf Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as ...

into

Smålands storregemente ''Smålands storregemente'' or ''Landsregementet i Småland'' (Småland Grand Regiment, Regiment of the Land in Småland) was one of the nine grand regiments organized by Gustavus Adolphus in the late 1610s and split into smaller regiments in th ...

, of which twelve of the total 24 companies were recruited in Kronoberg County. Smålands storregemente consisted of three field regiments, of which Kronoberg Regiment was one. Sometime around 1623, the grand regiment was permanently split into three smaller regiments, of which the Kronoberg Regiment was one. Kronoberg Regiment was one of the original 20 Swedish infantry regiments mentioned in the Swedish

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

of 1634, although it was mentioned as one of two regiments that should merge to form Småland Regiment, that regiment was never formed and instead Kronoberg Regiment and

Jönköping Regiment The Jönköping Regiment (), designation I 12, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was merged with another unit to form a new regiment in 1927. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited ...

were kept separate. The regiment's first commander was

Patrick Ruthwen Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...

. The regiment was allotted in 1684. The regiment was given the designation I 11 (11th Infantry Regiment) in a

general order A general order, in military and paramilitary organizations, is a published directive, originated by a commander and binding upon all personnel under his or her command. Its purpose is to enforce a policy or procedure that is not otherwise addres ...

in 1816. Kronoberg Regiment was garrisoned in

Växjö Växjö () is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 71,282 inhabitants (2020) out of a Municipalities of Sweden, municipal population of 97,349 (2024). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial ce ...

from 1920. In 1974, the regiment gained the new designation I 11/Fo 16 as a consequence of a merge with the local defence district Fo 16. The regiment was disbanded in 1997.

Campaigns

*The

War against Sigismund The war against Sigismund () was a war between Duke Charles, later known as King Charles IX of Sweden, and Sigismund III Vasa, Sigismund, who was at the time the king of both Kingdom of Sweden (1523–1611), Sweden and the Polish–Lithuanian Co ...

(1598–1599)Participated as the various fänikor that later formed the regiment. *The Polish War (1600–1629) *The

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

(1630–1648) *The

Torstenson War The Torstenson War was fought between Sweden and Denmark–Norway from 1643 to 1645. The name derives from Swedish general Lennart Torstenson. Denmark-Norway had withdrawn from the Thirty Years' War in the 1629 Treaty of Lübeck. After its vic ...

(1643–1645) *The

Northern Wars "Northern Wars" is a term used for a series of wars fought in northern Europe, northern and northeastern Europe from the 16th to the 18th century, primarily between the territorial rivals of the Swedish Empire, Tsardom of Russia, Poland–Lithuani ...

(1655–1661) *The

Scanian War The Scanian War (; ; ; ) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg and Swedish Empire, Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish ...

(1674–1679) *The

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

(1700–1721) *The

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

(1757–1762) *The

Gustav III's Russian War Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...

(1788–1790) *The First War against Napoleon (1805–1810) *The

Finnish War The Finnish War (; ; ) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established a ...

(1808–1809) *The

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition () (December 1812 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation (), a coalition of Austrian Empire, Austria, Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia, Russian Empire, Russia, History of Spain (1808– ...

(1813–1814)

Organisation

;1684(?) * Livkompaniet *Överstelöjtnantens kompani *Majorens kompani *Albo kompani *Norra Sunnerbo kompani *Norrvidinge kompani *Kinnevalds kompani *Södra Sunnerbo kompani ;18?? *Livkompaniet *Skatelövs kompani *Kinnevalds kompani *Norrvidinge kompani *Ljungby kompani *Södra Sunnerbo kompani *Albo kompani *Norra Sunnerbo kompani

Heraldry and traditions

Colours, standards and guidons

The regiment has carried a number of different colours over the years. The last colour was presented to the regiment in Växjö by the Chief of the Army, lieutenant general, count

Carl August Ehrensvärd Count Carl August Ehrensvärd (5 May 1745 – 21 May 1800) was a Swedish naval officer, painter, author, and neo-classical architect. Ehrensvärd was born in Stockholm, and died in Örebro. Though active as a naval officer during his entire ...

on 6 June 1956. The new colour replaced the one from 1893. The new colour was used as regimental colour by I 11/Fo 16 until 1 September 1997. The colour is drawn by Brita Grep and embroidered by hand in insertion technique by Libraria.

Blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

: "On yellow cloth the provincial badge of Småland; a red lion rampant with blue arms, in the forepaws a red crossbow with white arrowhead and black bow, string and trigger. On a red border at the upper side of the colour, battle honours ( Breitenfeld 1631,

Lützen Lützen () is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geography Lützen is situated in the Leipzig Bay, approximately southwest of the Leipzig city limits and northeast of Weißenfels. The town has access to the Bun ...

1632,

Wittstock Wittstock/Dosse is a town in the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district, in north-western Brandenburg, Germany. Geography It is located in the eastern Prignitz region on the Dosse River near the confluence with its Glinze tributary, about east of Prit ...

1636,

Landskrona Landskrona is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona to the island of Ven, an ...

1677, Kliszow 1702,

Warszawa Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at 1.86 million residents within a greate ...

1705, Fraustadt 1706, Holovczyn 1708,

Hälsingborg Helsingborg (, , ), is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 151,404 (2024). Helsingborg is the centr ...

1710,

Valkeala Valkeala is a former municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland, and is a neighborhood of city of Kouvola, and it was a part of the Kymenlaakso region. The municipality had a population of 11,238 (2003) and cove ...

1790) in yellow". File:AM.010280.jpg, Colour model 1886-1892 of the 2nd Battalion, Kronoberg Regiment. File:MILI.007326.jpg, 1956 table colour of Kronoberg Regiment.

Coat of arms

The coat of the arms of the Kronoberg Regiment (I 11/Fo 16) 1977–1997 and the Kronoberg Group (') 1997–2004.

: "Or, the provincial badge of Småland, a double-tailed lion rampant gules, armed and langued azure, in the forepaws a crossbow gules, arrow-head argent, bow and string sable. The shield surmounted two muskets in saltire or".

Medals

In 1971, the ' ("Kronoberg Regiment (I 11) Medal of Honour") in gold/silver/bronze (KronobregGM/SM/BM) of the 8th size was established. The

medal ribbon A medal ribbon, service ribbon or ribbon bar is a small ribbon, mounted on a small metal bar equipped with an attaching device, which is generally issued for wear in place of a medal when it is not appropriate to wear the actual medal. Each cou ...

is divided in yellow, red and yellow moiré. In 1997, the ' ("Kronoberg Regiment (I 11) Commemorative Medal") in silver (KronobregMSM) of the 8th size was established. The medal ribbon is of red moiré with two yellow stripes on each side. The ribbon is attached to a narrow pole carried by two slanting ornaments of leaves. File:AM.095949.jpg, Kronoberg Regiment (I 11) Medal of Honour. File:AM.085139.jpg, Kronoberg Regiment (I 11) Commemorative Medal. File:AM.019705.jpg, Ribbon of the Kronoberg Regiment (I 11) Commemorative Medal.

Heritage

In connection with the disbandment of the regiment through the Defence Act of 1996, its traditions came from 1 December 1998 onwards to be continued by Kronoberg Group (''Kronobergsgruppen''). From 1 July 2013, the Kronoberg Battalion, within Kalmar and Kronoberg Group (') is the traditional keeper of Kronoberg Regiment.

Commanding officers

Regimental commanders active at the regiment during the years 1627–1997.

Commanders

*1627–1630: Patrik Ruthwens *1630–1638: Hans Drake *1638–1641: Adolf Hård *1641–1654: Georg Fleetwood *1654–1657: Adolf Herman Wrangel *1657–1665: Bertil Nilson Skytte *1665–1677: Henrik von Vicken *1677–1678: Georg Anthony Brakel *1678–1696: Abraham Cronhjort *1696–1703: Gustaf Heidenfeldt *1703–1706: Gabriel Lilliehöök *1706–1709: Johan Cronman *1709–1714: Carl Hästesko (acting) *1714–1717: Sven Lagerberg *1718–1746: Eberhard Bildstein *1722–1727: Johan Cronman *1747–1746: Eberhard Bildstein *1746–1765: Berndt Wilhelm von Liewen *1765–1772: Pehr Scheffer *1772–1777: Otto Wilhelm von Rosen *1777–1782: Salomon Hederstjerna *1782–1812: Carl Axel Strömfelt *1812–1816: Elof Rosenblad *1816–1824: Erland Hederstjerna *1824–1856: Carl Henrik Wrede *1856–1862: Georg Miles Fleetwood *1862–1873: Gustaf Reinhold Weidenhielm *1873–1878: Otto Samuel Gustaf von Klint *1878–1889: Klas Hjalmar Kreüger *1889–1898: Henrik Esaias Anton Carl Rappe *1898–1905: Johan Gustaf Wikander *1905–1920: Gösta Hyltén-Cavallius *1920–1924: Gustaf Ros *1924–1928: Erik Nordenskjöld *1928–1932: Erik Grafström *1932–1937: Per Erlandsson *1937–1941: Gösta Hahr *1941–1946: Sven Allstrin *1946–1950: Gustaf Källner *1950–1957: Colonel Carl von Horn *1957–1967: Thor Cavallin *1967–1972: Lennart Löfgrén *1972–1974: Per-Hugo Winberg *1974–1977: Bertil Malgerud *1977–1980: Per-Hugo Winberg *1980–1983: Senior colonel Sven Skeppstedt *1983–1988: Finn Werner *1988–1989: Björn Swärdenheim *1989–1992: Leif Fransson *1993–1993: Inge Lennart Sandahl (acting) *1993–1997: Jan Henrik Edvard Hyltén-Cavallius

History

Campaigns

Organisation

Heraldry and traditions

Colours, standards and guidons

Coat of arms

Medals

Heritage

Commanding officers

Commanders

Deputy commanders

Names, designations and locations

See also

Footnotes

References

Notes

Print

Further reading