The siege of Kalmar occurred in 1611 during the

Kalmar War The Kalmar War (1611–1613) was fought between Denmark–Norway and Sweden. Though Denmark-Norway soon gained the upper hand, it was unable to defeat Sweden entirely. The Kalmar War was the last time Denmark-Norway successfully defended its '' ...

and constituted the major part of an intensive conflict between

Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway (Danish language, Danish and Norwegian language, Norwegian: ) is a term for the 16th-to-19th-century multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (includ ...

and Sweden for control of the strategically important city of

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 41,388 inhabitants in 2020 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

and its castle. For centuries, Kalmar was, from a strategic point of view, considered 'to be the key to Sweden'. The country that was in charge of the city with its fortified castle would reign over the

Kalmar Strait The Kalmar Strait () is a strait in the Baltic Sea, located between the Swedish island of Öland and the province of Småland of the Swedish mainland. The strait is about long and between and in width. There is a road bridge across the stra ...

and have free access to the north, along the Swedish east coast towards

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 ...

. From this southern fulcrum in Sweden, a land-based attack against Danish territory and a naval attack with the

Swedish navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

could have been made possible. The battle of Kalmar occurred during the summer in the same year.

Bibliography

* F.H. Jahn: ''Historie om Kalmarkrigen'' Köpenhamn, 1820 (in Danish) * Axel Larsen: ''Kalmarkrigen: et Bidrag til de nordiske Riges Krigshistorie - efter trykte og utrykte kilder'' Köpenhamn, 1889 (in Danish) * Jonas Hedborg: ''Kungl. artilleriet. Yngre vasatiden'' 1985 (in Swedish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalmar 1611 1611 in Sweden Sieges involving Denmark–Norway Kalmar War Sieges involving Sweden

Siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

Conflicts in 1611 Attacks on castles in Sweden