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The Vyborg Bang ( sv, Viborgska Smällen, fi, Viipurin pamaus), as it is traditionally called in
Swedish 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 ...
historiography, was a possibly legendary explosion which occurred at Vyborg Castle in November 1495. It occurred during an assault on the castle by forces of the
Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...
and is supposed to have had a crushing effect upon the morale of the besiegers, causing the attack to fail.


Background

The explosion took place during the Siege of Vyborg, the opening engagement of the Russo-Swedish War of 1495-7. The war was essentially a border dispute between the Kingdom of Sweden, which at the time extended across the Baltic Sea to encompass what is now Finland and parts of Russia, and the
Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...
. Sweden was at the time led by the regent Sten Sture the Elder, under whom the kingdom found itself in an ambiguous position, ''de facto'' independent but theoretically still part of the
Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union (Danish language, Danish, Norwegian language, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under ...
along with the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway. The Danish-Norwegian kings made periodic efforts to re-integrate Sweden into the Union, and in the early 1490s King Hans attempted to put pressure on Sten by concluding an alliance with Sweden's eastern neighbour Moscow, then ruled by Grand Prince Ivan III. Ivan calculated that Sten would be too preoccupied by the threat from Denmark-Norway to deal with a Muscovite incursion into
Swedish Finland In Swedish and Finnish history, Finland under Swedish rule is the historical period when the bulk of the area that later came to constitute Finland was an integral part of Sweden. The starting point of Swedish rule is uncertain and controversi ...
, and in late 1495 sent an army to seize the vital border castle at Vyborg. The garrison at Vyborg was commanded by
Knut Jönsson Posse Knut Jönsson Posse (Finnish: Nuutti Posse) was a Swedish general in Sweden and Finland remembered for the Viipuri Blast (1495) and for his surprise attack on the Danish Army at the Battle of Brunkeberg (1471). Military career Knut Posse was ...
, an aristocrat and seasoned commander who was also a strong supporter of Sten Sture, his wife being one of the regent's cousins. In late November, the Muscovites attempted to storm the castle.


The Bang

According to traditional Swedish accounts of the siege, Posse rigged one of the castle's gunpowder magazines to explode and then deliberately weakened the defences in that sector in order to encourage the Muscovites to attack. When the besiegers duly stormed the weakened area of the walls, Posse detonated the magazine, causing a massive explosion which killed a large number of Muscovite soldiers and prompted the survivors to abandon the assault and lift the siege. If the story is true, then this would be one of the earliest recorded instances of the use of explosive mines in European siege warfare. Some versions of the story claim that the explosion had such a dramatic effect upon Muscovite morale because the assault took place on
St Andrew's Day Saint Andrew's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Andrew or Andermas, is the feast day of Andrew the Apostle. It is celebrated on 30 November (according to Gregorian calendar) and on 13 December (according to Julian calendar). Saint Andrew is ...
(30 November), and the superstitious soldiers interpreted the flash of light as a
miraculous A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by physical laws, natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the ...
apparition Apparition may refer to: Supernatural * Apparitional experience, an anomalous, quasi-perceptual experience * A vision, something seen in a dream, trance, or religious ecstasy *Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appea ...
of the St Andrew's Cross. This retelling was clearly inspired by the existing Swedish legend of the appearance of a golden cross in the heavens during St Erik's apocryphal Finnish crusade. Other accounts have it that the Muscovites were so terrified by the explosion because they believed it to be the work of black magic. Indeed, Danish propaganda seized on the story of the Vyborg Bang to claim that Posse must be in league with the Devil; Posse was already loathed in Denmark because he had played a leading role in the great Swedish victory over the Danes at Brunkeberg in 1471. Despite the fame of the Vyborg Bang, there is some doubt as to whether it actually occurred in the way described in the legend. Posse's letters reporting on his successful defence of Vyborg make no reference to any such explosion, and nor does the near-contemporary ''Sture Chronicle'' ('), which simply claims that Posse slew a large number of Russians at Vyborg, but without specifying the circumstances. There are no direct references in surviving source material to a massive explosion in connection with Vyborg prior to 1539, when the Swedish polymath Olaus Magnus depicted it on his famous map the Carta Marina, and the actual term 'Vyborg Bang' ( sv, Viborgska Smällen) was not used until much later.


See also

* Bohus Bang *
Russo-Swedish War (1495-1497) Wars between Russia and Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> ...
*
Knut Jönsson Posse Knut Jönsson Posse (Finnish: Nuutti Posse) was a Swedish general in Sweden and Finland remembered for the Viipuri Blast (1495) and for his surprise attack on the Danish Army at the Battle of Brunkeberg (1471). Military career Knut Posse was ...


References


Sources

* * *{{cite web, url= https://sok.riksarkivet.se/sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=7380 , title=Knut Posse , website=Svenskt biografiskt lexikon , access-date=August 1, 2020 Explosions in Finland Explosions in Russia History of Vyborg Medieval Finland 1495