Madona ( pronunciation ; German : Modohn ) is a town with town rights in the Vidzeme region of Latvia and is the center of the Madona municipality .
118-740: The surrounding area of Madona had been populated in earlier times, which is confirmed by discoveries of old burial grounds in the city's vicinity. Madona is first mentioned in writing in 1461, when Archbishop Sylvester began renting the lands of Birži Manor. However, the Swedish government placed the land under state control. After the Great Northern War , Madona became property of the Russian Empire . Empress Elizabeth presented Birži Manor along with other of Vidzeme 's manors to Count Alexander Buturlin . Empress Catherine II bought
236-691: A Baltic empire centred on the Gulf of Finland and comprising the provinces of Karelia , Ingria , Estonia , and Livonia . During the Thirty Years' War Sweden gained tracts in Germany as well, including Western Pomerania , Wismar , the Duchy of Bremen , and Verden . During the same period, Sweden conquered Danish and Norwegian provinces north of the Sound (1645; 1658). These victories may be ascribed to
354-712: A Norwegian front but was killed in the Siege of Fredriksten in 1718. The war ended with the defeat of Sweden, leaving Russia as the new dominant power in the Baltic region and as a new major force in European politics. The Western powers, Great Britain and France , became caught up in the separate War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), which broke out over the Bourbon Philip of Anjou 's succession to
472-462: A Russian galley fleet made a lightning raid on Borgå and managed to return to Kronslot just one day before the Swedish battle fleet returned to the blockade, after being delayed by unfavourable winds. In August 1708, a Swedish army of 12,000 men under General Georg Henrik Lybecker attacked Ingria , crossing the Neva from the north. They met stubborn resistance, ran out of supplies and, after reaching
590-457: A Swedish ally, though this proved hard to achieve. After years of marches and fighting around Poland he finally had to invade Augustus' hereditary Saxony to take him out of the war. In the treaty of Altranstädt (1706) , Augustus was finally forced to step down from the Polish throne, but Charles had already lost the valuable advantage of time over his main enemy in the east, Peter I, who then had
708-516: A certain amount per annum should revert to the Crown. The same Riksdag decided that the king was not bound by any particular constitution , but only by law and statutes, and not even obligated to consult the Privy Council , but was to be regarded as a sovereign lord. The Privy Council changed its official title from Riksråd (council of state) to kungligt råd (royal council); a visible sign that
826-577: A concept shared by most major powers of the period. The cost of the warfare proved to be much higher than the occupied countries could fund, and Sweden's coffers and resources in manpower were eventually drained in the course of long conflicts. The foreign interventions in Russia during the Time of Troubles resulted in Swedish gains in the Treaty of Stolbovo (1617). The treaty deprived Russia of direct access to
944-462: A personal dislike of the French king and developed a strong anti-French bias. The remainder of the reign of Charles XI is remarkable for a revolution, in which the government of Sweden was transformed to a semi-absolute monarchy. The king emerged from the war convinced that if Sweden were to retain its position as a great power, it needed to reform its whole economic system radically and circumscribe
1062-666: A prolonged struggle with Augustus II the Strong ; he had already inflicted defeat on him at Riga in June 1701 and took Warsaw the following year, but trying to force a decisive defeat proved elusive. Russia left Poland in the spring of 1706, abandoning artillery but escaping from the pursuing Swedes, who stopped at Pinsk . Charles wanted not just to defeat the Commonwealth army but to depose Augustus, whom he regarded as especially treasonous, and have him replaced with someone who would be
1180-487: A range of roughly 50 meters, and then to draw their swords before the battalion resumed their attack. The two foremost ranks then discharged at a range of roughly 20 meters before drawing their swords, and the charge began. At this range, the powerful muskets usually felled many enemy troops and was demoralising to them. Directly after the volley, the Swedes charged the enemy ranks with pikes , bayonets and sabres. Note that
1298-461: A result of Sweden's intervention, Sweden helped secure religious liberty in Europe for Protestants, becoming a leading power of Continental Protestantism for 90 years. The elevation of Sweden to the rank of an imperial power required that it remain a military monarchy, armed for possible emergency. Sweden's poverty and sparse population meant the country was ill-suited for imperial status. However, in
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#17328019222341416-625: A result of acquiring territories seized from Russia and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , as well as its involvement in the Thirty Years' War , Sweden found itself transformed into the leader of Protestantism . During the Thirty Years' War, Sweden managed to conquer approximately half of the member states of the Holy Roman Empire . The fortunes of war would shift back and forth several times. After its defeat in
1534-474: A well-trained army, which despite its comparatively small size, was far more professional than most continental armies, and also to a modernization of administration (both civilian and military) in the course of the 17th century, which enabled the monarchy to harness the resources of the country and its empire effectively. Fighting in the field, the Swedish army (which during the Thirty Years' War contained more German and Scottish mercenaries than ethnic Swedes, but
1652-628: Is 170 km east from Latvian capital Riga. Most popular tourism objects in Madona and surrounding are: Madona is twinned with: Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern , Central and Eastern Europe . The initial leaders of
1770-530: Is often unclear as Swedish cavalry was used as heavy shock cavalry yet was unarmoured. ** The Saxon army and corresponding militia does not have full details available. Frederik IV of Denmark–Norway directed his first attack against Sweden's ally Holstein-Gottorp . In March 1700, a Danish army laid siege to Tönning . Simultaneously, Augustus II 's forces advanced through Swedish Livonia , captured Dünamünde and laid siege to Riga . Charles XII of Sweden first focused on attacking Denmark. The Swedish navy
1888-626: The Baltic Sea . Russian fortunes began to reverse in the final years of the 17th century, notably with the rise to power of Peter the Great , who looked to address the earlier losses and re-establish a Baltic presence. In the late 1690s, the adventurer Johann Patkul managed to ally Russia with Denmark and Saxony by the secret Treaty of Preobrazhenskoye , and in 1700 the three powers attacked. Charles XII of Sweden succeeded Charles XI of Sweden in 1697, aged 14. From his predecessor, he took over
2006-665: The Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) , the infantry was almost entirely reliant on their firepower and saw very limited offensive use; but under the leadership of Johan Banér , who took command after the defeat at Nördlingen, the Gustavian brigade system was finally changed into the battalion system recognisable from the War of the Spanish Succession and the Great Northern War (the depth was lowered from six ranks to three or four when
2124-531: The Battle of Nördlingen (1634) , confidence in Sweden among the Swedish-controlled German states was damaged, and several of the provinces refused further Swedish military support, leaving Sweden with only a couple of northern German provinces. After France intervened on the same side as Sweden, fortunes shifted again. As the war continued, the civilian and military death toll grew, and when it
2242-594: The Battle of Poltava put an end to Sweden's eastbound expansion, and by the time of Charles XII's death in 1718 the Empire had been severely diminished both territorially and militarily. The last traces of occupied continental territory vanished during the Napoleonic Wars , and Finland was ceded to Russia in 1809 , marking the end of Sweden’s period as a great power. Sweden emerged as a great European power under Axel Oxenstierna and King Gustavus Adolphus . As
2360-727: The Electorate of Hanover joined the coalition in 1714 for Hanover and in 1717 for Britain, and Frederick William I of Brandenburg-Prussia joined it in 1715. Charles XII led the Swedish army. Swedish allies included Holstein-Gottorp , several Polish magnates under Stanislaus I Leszczyński (1704–1710) and Cossacks under the Ukrainian Hetman Ivan Mazepa (1708–1710). The Ottoman Empire temporarily hosted Charles XII of Sweden and intervened against Peter I. The war began when an alliance of Denmark–Norway , Saxony and Russia , sensing an opportunity as Sweden
2478-775: The First Battle of Narva where the Russians suffered a crushing defeat. After the dissolution of the first coalition through the peace of Travendal and with the victory at Narva, the Swedish chancellor, Benedict Oxenstjerna , attempted to use the bidding for the favour of Sweden by France and the Maritime Powers (then on the eve of the War of the Spanish Succession ) to end the war and make Charles an arbiter of Europe. Charles XII then turned south to meet Augustus II , Elector of Saxony , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania . The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
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#17328019222342596-497: The Ottoman Empire . Following the defeat at Poltava, Poland and Denmark re-entered the war, along with other countries wanting parts of the Swedish provinces. In the following years, most of them would fall, and Russia occupied the eastern half of Sweden (present-day Finland ). Despite these setbacks, Charles XII twice tried to invade Norway to force Denmark-Norway out of the war again. On 30 November 1718, King Charles XII
2714-814: The Spanish Netherlands . The anti-French faction prevailed; and in April 1668, Sweden acceded to the Triple Alliance , which ended the French acquisitions through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle . For the next four years, Sweden remained true to the Triple Alliance; but, in 1672, Louis XIV succeeded in isolating the Dutch Republic and regaining Sweden as an ally. By the Treaty of Stockholm on 14 April 1672, Sweden entered an agreement with
2832-724: The Spanish throne and a possible joining of France and Spain. The formal conclusion of the Great Northern War came with the Swedish-Hanoverian and Swedish-Prussian Treaties of Stockholm (1719), the Dano-Swedish Treaty of Frederiksborg (1720), and the Russo-Swedish Treaty of Nystad (1721). By these treaties Sweden ceded its exemption from the Sound Dues and lost the Baltic provinces and
2950-460: The Treaties of Nijmegen on 7 February and of St. Germain on 29 June 1679, Sweden received almost full restitution of its German territory. By the Treaty of Fontainebleau confirmed by the subsequent Peace of Lund on 2 September, Denmark–Norway was to return all the land it had captured to Sweden on 4 October 1679. While Sweden could never have gained these concessions alone, Charles XI formed
3068-536: The Treaty of Copenhagen on 27 May 1660, Sweden kept the three formerly Danish Scanian provinces and the formerly Norwegian Bohuslän province, which Denmark-Norway had surrendered by the Treaty of Roskilde two years previously; but Sweden had to relinquish the Norwegian province of Trøndelag and the Danish island of Bornholm , which had been surrendered at Roskilde. Denmark–Norway was also compelled to recognize
3186-463: The treaty of Oliva in 1660. Gustav II Adolph inherited the Polish war together with the Kalmar War against Denmark–Norway when Charles IX died in 1611. The war against Denmark–Norway was a terrible loss that forced Sweden to pay a ransom of 1 million silverdaler to regain Älvsborg (final payment, 1619). The Polish war was interrupted by a series of truces caused by Sweden's weakness along with
3304-425: The wheellock pistol as the primary weapon of the cavalry . Horsemen rode knee-by-knee in a tight formation. When in range, they switched to gallop and charged, and at a range of ten yards, shot both their pistols. A standard regiment numbered 250 simultaneous shots that would blast a hole in the enemy ranks. They then continued the charge with sabres ( värjor ), aiming to break the enemy formation. The infantry
3422-640: The "indelningsverk" — a system of military tenure in which national forces were bound to the soil. This tied to the "rust hail tenure", under which the tenants, instead of paying rent, were obliged to equip and maintain a cavalry soldier and horse; while the knekthållare supplied duly equipped foot soldiers. Soldiers were provided with holdings on which they lived in times of peace. Formerly, ordinary conscription had existed alongside this indelning, or distribution system, but it had proved inadequate as well as highly unpopular, and in 1682, Charles XI ended it in favor of an extended distribution system. The Swedish Royal Navy
3540-554: The Baltic Sea were evicted, with the last city, Tallinn , falling in the autumn of 1710. The coalition members partitioned most of the Swedish dominions among themselves, destroying the Swedish dominium maris baltici . Sweden proper was invaded from the west by Denmark–Norway and from the east by Russia, which had occupied Finland by 1714. Sweden defeated the Danish invaders at the Battle of Helsingborg . Charles XII opened up
3658-463: The Baltic shore, but left little room for mistakes. The extravagance of Gustavus Adolphus's two immediate successors, Christina and Charles X Gustav , caused great difficulties for the new empire. Christina's financial extravagance brought the state to the verge of bankruptcy, and the financial difficulties caused public unrest before her abdication. The Swedish people feared that the external, artificial greatness of their country might be purchased with
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3776-636: The Baltics, and eventually he built up a powerful navy. In 1710 the Russian forces captured Riga , at the time the most populated city in the Swedish realm, and Tallinn , evicting the Swedes from the Baltic provinces, now integrated in the Russian Tsardom by the capitulation of Estonia and Livonia . Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire or the Age of Greatness ( Swedish : stormaktstiden )
3894-401: The Crown, and the burden of proof of ownership lay with the actual owner of the property, not the Crown. The amount of revenue accruing to the Crown from the whole "Reduktion" is impossible to estimate; but by these means, combined with careful management and rigid economy, Charles XI reduced the national debt by three quarters. Charles XI re-established on a broader basis the reorganization of
4012-468: The Dutch system for fighting in caracole among the cavalry, with unfortunate results. His partially reformed army suffered a disastrous defeat at Kircholm against a Polish-Lithuanian army led by Jan Karol Chodkiewicz . Charles IX's revolt against his nephew Sigismund of Poland and subsequent rise to the throne of Sweden caused a dynastic struggle for the throne of Sweden that would not finally end until
4130-527: The French to protect its sphere of interest containing the Dutch Republic from hostile German claims in return for 400,000 Riksdaler per annum in peace and 600,000 in wartime. In 1674, Louis XIV called upon Sweden to invade the Electorate of Brandenburg . In May 1675, a Swedish army advanced into the Mark but was defeated on 18 June at Fehrbellin and retreated to Swedish Demmin . The Fehrbellin affair
4248-631: The Great Northern War put an end to Sweden's time as a great power. As a result of eighteen years of war, Sweden gained small and scattered possessions, but had secured control of three principal rivers in northern Germany—the Oder , the Elbe and the Weser —and gained toll-collection rights for those important commercial arteries, benefitting the Swedish economy. Two principal reasons for the small reparations were France 's envy and Queen Christina 's impatience. As
4366-557: The Great in Rawa Ruska in September 1698, where the plans to attack Sweden were made, became legendary for its decadence. Frederick IV of Denmark -Norway, another cousin of Charles XII, succeeded Christian V in 1699 and continued his anti-Swedish policies. After the setbacks of 1700, he focused on transforming his state, an absolute monarchy, in a manner similar to Charles XI of Sweden. He did not achieve his main goal: to regain
4484-510: The Gulf of Finland west of Kronstadt, had to be evacuated by sea between 10 and 17 October. Over 11,000 men were evacuated but more than 5000 horses were slaughtered, which crippled the mobility and offensive capability of the Swedish army in Finland for several years. Peter I took advantage of this by redeploying a large number of men from Ingria to Ukraine . Charles spent the years 1702–06 in
4602-462: The King and much of the Swedish army was shipped to the Baltic provinces, where Russian and Polish armies were laying siege to several towns. The Russian army was soundly defeated in the Battle of Narva , after which Charles took the army into Poland with the intent of dethroning the Polish king Augustus II . This took several years, but in 1706, with the Treaty of Altranstädt , he reached his goal. In
4720-524: The Madona inhabitants, the majority group consisting of 5,925 people are registered as "labour-capable" ( Latvian : darbaspējīgie ); 1,339 are under the age of "labour-capability" and 1867 are over. As of 21 December 2003, there were 211 (3.5%) unemployed citizens of the labour force . The town of Madona lies in Vidzeme Upland . The hilly surroundings descend in a northwestern-southeastern direction. Several minor rivers and streams flows through
4838-400: The Neva with 4,000 troops and defeated an opposing Russian force, but made no move on Saint Petersburg. Later in the autumn Peter I led an army of 20,000 men in an attempt to take the Swedish town and fortress of Viborg . However, bad roads proved impassable to his heavy siege guns. The troops, who arrived on 12 October, therefore had to abandon the siege after only a few days. On 12 May 1708,
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4956-537: The Polish sejm to replace him with Stanislaus Leszczyński in 1704. August II resisted, still possessing control of his native Saxony, but was decisively defeated at the Battle of Fraustadt in 1706, a battle sometimes compared to the Ancient Battle of Cannae due to the Swedish forces' use of double envelopment , with a deadly result for the Saxon army. In 1706, after a Swedish invasion of Saxony , August II
5074-669: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, known as the Deluge . By the time of the Swedish Intervention in the Thirty Years' War in 1630, Gustav II Adolph had transformed the Swedish (Gustavian) army into an army in which the cavalry fought with aggressive shock tactics, closer to the Polish tactics than the Western European . The Caracole and heavy armor were mostly abandoned, and the saber replaced
5192-483: The Pļaviņas - Valka narrow gauge railway line was named Madona as well. The populated place that slowly emerged around the station also got this name after the erection of the Madona railway station in 1903. Village privileges was given to Madona 1 July 1921, and town privileges 7 June 1926. Since 1 April 1925 Madona was the center of the newly founded County of Madona ( Madonas apriņķis ). Madona had 1,357 inhabitants at
5310-457: The Russian fortifications held. In 1705, repeated Swedish attacks were made against Russian fortifications in the area, to little effect. A major attack on 15 July 1705 ended in the deaths of more than 500 Swedish men, or a third of its forces. In view of continued failure to check Russian consolidation, and with declining manpower, Sweden opted to blockade Saint Petersburg in 1705. In the summer of 1706, Swedish General Georg Johan Maidel crossed
5428-400: The Strong , elector of Saxony and another cousin of Charles XII, gained the Polish crown after the death of King John III Sobieski in 1696. His ambitions to transform the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth into an absolute monarchy were not realized due to the zealous nature of the Polish nobility and the previously initiated laws that decreased the power of the monarch. His meeting with Peter
5546-476: The Swedish Empire as an absolute monarch. Charles XI had tried to keep the empire out of wars, and concentrated on inner reforms such as reduction and allotment , which had strengthened the monarch's status and the empire's military abilities. Charles XII refrained from all kinds of luxury and alcohol and usage of the French language, since he considered these things decadent and superfluous. He preferred
5664-512: The Swedish Empire between 1617 and 1721. Relative to the contemporary population of Finland, this was equivalent to over a million of them dying in 20th-century Finland. Throughout the Thirty Years' War, the infantry's shock ability was continuously improved. The static nature of the infantry that served well against the cavalry-dominated Polish-Lithuanian army was enhanced during the war to produce infantry capable of both providing devastating firepower and executing offensive maneuvers. Initially, at
5782-474: The Swedish estates favoured by the kings and peasantry). In territories acquired during the periods of de facto noble rule, serfdom was not abolished, and there was also a trend to set up respective estates in Sweden proper . The Great Reduction of 1680 put an end to these efforts of the nobility and required them to return estates once gained from the crown to the king. Serfdom, however, remained in force in
5900-466: The Swedish fortress of Nyen , guarding the mouth of the River Neva . Thanks to General Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt , whose outnumbered forces fended the Russians off in the battles of Gemäuerthof and Jakobstadt , Sweden was able to maintain control of most of its Baltic provinces. Before going to war, Peter had made preparations for a navy and a modern-style army, based primarily on infantry drilled in
6018-507: The Swedish heir since 1702. He claimed the throne upon Charles XII's death in 1718, but was supplanted by Ulrike Eleonora . Charles Frederick was married to a daughter of Peter I, Anna Petrovna . Ivan Mazepa was a Ukrainian Cossack hetman who fought for Russia but defected to Charles XII in 1708. Mazepa died in 1709 in Ottoman exile. Peter the Great became Tsar in 1682 upon the death of his elder brother Feodor but did not become
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#17328019222346136-480: The actual ruler until 1689. He commenced reforming the country, turning the Russian tsardom into a modernized empire relying on trade and on a strong, professional army and navy. He greatly expanded the size of Russia during his reign while providing access to the Baltic, Black, and Caspian seas. Beside Peter, the principal Russian commanders were Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov and Boris Sheremetev . Augustus II
6254-400: The anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I of Russia, Frederick IV of Denmark–Norway and Augustus II the Strong of Saxony – Poland–Lithuania . Frederick IV and Augustus II were defeated by Sweden, under Charles XII , and forced out of the alliance in 1700 and 1706 respectively, but rejoined it in 1709 after the defeat of Charles XII at the Battle of Poltava . George I of Great Britain and
6372-562: The army but had effectively failed to do so. Charles IX, like most other rulers, had tried to implement the Dutch system into the army but with limited success. The lack of a strict organisation in the infantry caused the proportion of pikemen to musketeers to be far lower than the preferred ratio of 1 to 1. This, combined with the lack of funds to provide the soldiers with armour, caused the Swedish infantry to be dangerously lightly equipped and unable to deal with cavalry or heavier infantry in open terrain. Charles IX was, however, able to implement
6490-406: The bayonet was introduced at the end of the 17th century). Swedish tactics once again greatly diverged from the continental tactics during the second half of the 17th century. The continental tactics increasingly emphasized the firepower of the battalion, while the Swedish ( Carolean ) tactics almost exclusively relied on the shock factor as the infantry and cavalry charged the enemy. As the bayonet
6608-671: The campaign ended in 1709 with the destruction of the main Swedish army at the decisive Battle of Poltava (in present-day Ukraine ) and Charles' exile in the Ottoman town of Bender . The Ottoman Empire defeated the Russian-Moldavian army in the Pruth River Campaign , but that peace treaty was in the end without great consequence to Russia's position. After Poltava, the anti-Swedish coalition revived and subsequently Hanover and Prussia joined it. The remaining Swedish forces in plague-stricken areas south and east of
6726-452: The capital, lay in the very centre of the empire, whose second greatest city was Riga , on the other side of the sea. This empire contained about a quarter of the population of modern Sweden, at only 2,500,000 people, or about 2.3 people per square kilometer. However, Sweden's expansion had been possible partly due to turmoil and weakness in countries in its vicinity, and when they became more stable, they began to look for chances to regain what
6844-653: The centre of intense fighting between Swedes and Danes, with a large scale confrontation between the main armies near Lund in December 1676. After that, Scania was divided into Danish and Swedish enclaves centering around the main cities for the rest of the war. The remaining territories in Scania were mainly a no man's land where a fierce "little war" took place, with Swedish troops on the one side and Danish official and semi-official troops (freeshooters etc.) in conjunction with armed locals. Through homeland military successes of
6962-450: The continent, was lost on 5 November. A defensive alliance with John III of Poland was rendered inoperative on 4 August 1677, by the annihilation of Sweden's sea-power; the Battle of Öland , 17 June 1676; the Battle of Fehmarn , June 1677, and most notable on 1–2 July the Battle of Køge Bay . The difficulties concerning the Polish king continued. The Scanian provinces (Scania, Halland and Blegind/ Blekinge ), once eastern Denmark, became
7080-424: The councilors were no longer the king's colleagues, but rather his servants. Thus, Sweden had become an absolute monarchy but enacted the right of the Swedish people, in parliament , to be consulted on all important matters. The Riksdag, completely overshadowed by the Crown, did little more than register the royal decrees during the reign of Charles XI of Sweden ; but it continued to exist as an essential part of
7198-480: The day of Gustavus Adolphus's death, should be the limit to which retrospective taxes could be collected, and that there should be no further restitution of alienated crown property. Against this, the over-taxed lower estates protested, and the Diet had to be suspended. The king intervened, not to quell the commons, as the senate insisted, but to compel the nobility to give way. He proposed a special committee to investigate
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#17328019222347316-582: The dominions acquired in the Holy Roman Empire and in Swedish Estonia , where a consequent application of the uniformity policy was hindered by the treaties by which they were gained. After its victories in the Thirty Years' War and the subsequent Peace of Westphalia Sweden was granted territories in northern Germany. Sweden reached the height of its power during the Second Northern War , when its primary adversary, Denmark–Norway ,
7434-451: The efforts of Johan Oxenstierna and Johan Adler Salvius it obtained: These German possessions were to be held as fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire. This allowed Sweden a vote in the Imperial Diet and enabled it to "direct" the Lower Saxon Circle alternately with Brandenburg . France and Sweden, moreover, became joint guarantors of the treaty with the Holy Roman Emperor and were entrusted with carrying out its provisions, as enacted by
7552-476: The executive congress of Nuremberg in 1650. After the peaces of Brömsebro and Westphalia, Sweden was the third-largest area of control in Europe by land area, only surpassed by Russia and Spain. Sweden reached its largest territorial extent during this time under the rule of Charles X Gustav (1654–1660) after the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. For the moment, Sweden held a tenuous position of leadership. Careful statesmanship might mean permanent dominion on
7670-443: The finest arsenals in the world. After Charles XI's death, the throne was inherited by his underage son, Charles XII . After a brief regency, he was declared to be of age to rule. Three years later, in 1700, Denmark–Norway, Poland and Russia, the countries that had lost the most territory to Sweden, jointly declared war. Denmark–Norway was soon forced to peace after a joint intervention of Swedish, English and Dutch armies, whereafter
7788-489: The foremost model of many later Swedish kings . At the time Finns were an essential part of the Swedish military. Roughly 2/5 of the infantry and 3/7 of the cavalry in the army were from Finland . They served in their own units which used Finnish as their main language. Commands were also given in Finnish. The Finnish cavalry in the Swedish army was called Hakkapeliitat after their battle cry " Hakkaa päälle! ". Approximately 110,000 soldiers from Finland died serving
7906-487: The former eastern Danish provinces lost to Sweden in the course of the 17th century. He was not able to keep northern Swedish Pomerania, Danish from 1712 to 1715. He did put an end to the Swedish threat south of Denmark. He ended Sweden's exemption from the Sound Dues (transit taxes/tariffs on cargo moved between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea). Frederick William I entered the war as elector of Brandenburg and king in Prussia —the royal title had been secured in 1701. He
8024-481: The government. Moreover, this transfer of authority was a voluntary act. The people, knowing the king to be their ally, trusted and cooperated with him. The Riksdag of 1682 declared that the king was empowered to bestow fiefs and take them back again, making the king the disposer of his subjects' temporal property. Presently, this new principle of autocracy was extended to the king's legislative authority, when on 9 December 1682, all four estates not only confirmed that
8142-448: The independence of the dukes of Holstein-Gottorp . The Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658) was terminated by the Treaty of Cardis on 2 July 1661, through which the Tsar surrendered the Baltic provinces to Sweden — Ingria , Estonia and Kexholm . Thus, Sweden emerged from the war not only a military power, but also one of the largest states of Europe, possessing more than twice as much territory as modern Sweden. The land area of Sweden
8260-481: The king held the legislative powers enjoyed by his predecessors, but even gave him the right of interpreting and amending the common law. The recovery of the alienated crown lands occupied Charles XI for the rest of his life. He created a commission, which was ultimately converted into a permanent department of state. It acted on the principle that the titles of all private landed estates might be called in question, because at some time or other they must have belonged to
8378-430: The lands back as a present to the Serbian -born General Maxim Zorić . From the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century, the location of Madona was the fields of Birži Manor. According to one version, the name of Madona stems from the adjacent Madona Lake . According to another version, Madona got its name from Birži Manor, which German exonym is Madohn or Modohn . For this reason, the railway station situated at
8496-451: The latter half of the 17th century, the major difference between the Swedish army and those common on the continent was the relative lack of firepower and the use of pikes and sabres. Sweden and Russia were the only countries at the time using pikes. In contemporary Europe, infantry were equipped with a musket, while in the Swedish army, every third man had a pike. The pikemen were normally deployed four men deep with musketeers of equal depth on
8614-612: The life of an ordinary soldier on horseback, not that of contemporary baroque courts. He determinedly pursued his goal of dethroning his adversaries, whom he considered unworthy of their thrones due to broken promises, thereby refusing to take several chances to make peace. During the war, the most important Swedish commanders besides Charles XII were his close friend Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld , also Magnus Stenbock and Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt . Charles Frederick , son of Frederick IV, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (a cousin of Charles XII) and Hedvig Sophia , daughter of Charles XI of Sweden, had been
8732-446: The loss of their civil and political liberties. The Swedish people looked to a new king to address the problem of too much power vested in the nobility. Charles X Gustav was a strong arbiter between the people and the nobility. Primarily a soldier, he directed his ambition towards military glory; but he was also an unusually sharp-sighted politician. While placing great emphasis on military strength, he also understood that domestic unity
8850-405: The matter before the meeting of the next Riksdag and that a proportional contribution should be levied on all classes in the meantime. Both groups accepted this arrangement. Charles X Gustav had done his best to recover from the financial extravagance of Christina. However, his own desire for military glory may have caused problems for his country. In three days, he persuaded the Swedish estates of
8968-441: The meantime, Russia had managed to take possession of several towns by the Baltic Sea. Instead of trying to retake these, Charles chose to march directly on Moscow, but due to extreme weather, difficulties with his supply lines and the Russian scorched earth strategy, he was forced to turn towards Ukraine . In 1709, the Swedish army was defeated and captured in the Battle of Poltava ; Charles managed to escape south to Bender in
9086-466: The middle of the 17th century, with France as a firm ally, the incompatibility between its powers and its pretensions was not so obvious. A major reason why Sweden could be so successful in wars with such a scarce number of soldiers was its advanced military tactics. Sweden was able to reform its military tactics continuously throughout the period. Prior to Gustavus Adolphus's reforms, both his father, Charles IX, and his uncle Erik XIV had tried to reform
9204-434: The minority of his only son and successor, Charles XI of Sweden , who was four years old. The regency council moved quickly to end the war with Sweden's numerous enemies, which now included the Tsardom of Russia , the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Electorate of Brandenburg and Denmark-Norway . The Peace of Oliva on 3 May 1660, put an end to the long feud with Poland . French mediation of this treaty also ended
9322-549: The pikes were used as an offensive weapon: in close combat, they had the advantage over their foes' weapons thanks to their range. After the bayonet was introduced in the Carolean army (1700–1706), the final volley was delayed until the soldiers were inside bayonet range. Every infantry battalion had grenadiers attached. They supported the infantry attack by lobbing grenades from the flanks. They also formed units of their own. They were otherwise equipped like infantry. Thus, in
9440-477: The potential of his attack on the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . However, when he left Stockholm for Warsaw on 10 July 1654, he gained more personal glory than advantage for his country. The Polish-Swedish War expanded into a general European war. He achieved passage over the Belts and emerged triumphant, only to die of sheer exhaustion. Immediately after his death, a regency was appointed to govern Sweden during
9558-591: The power of the aristocracy. Charles XI felt that he could do it now that he had allies in the lower orders to support him. The Riksdag of Stockholm, October 1680, began a new era of Swedish history. On the motion of the Estate of Peasants, the question of the recovery of the alienated crown lands was brought before the Riksdag, and a resolution of the Diet directed that all countships , baronies , domains, manors and other estates producing an annual rent of more than
9676-458: The quarrel between Sweden, the Holy Roman emperor and the elector of Brandenburg . This treaty confirmed both Sweden's possession of Livonia and the elector of Brandenburg's sovereignty over Prussia ; and the king of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth renounced to all claims to the Swedish crown. The treaty compelled Denmark–Norway to reopen direct negotiations with Sweden. Eventually, under
9794-668: The southern part of Swedish Pomerania . The peace treaties also ended its alliance with Holstein-Gottorp. Hanover gained Bremen-Verden , Brandenburg-Prussia incorporated the Oder estuary ( Stettin Lagoons ), Russia secured the Baltic Provinces , and Denmark strengthened its position in Schleswig-Holstein . In Sweden, the absolute monarchy had come to an end with the death of Charles XII, and Sweden's Age of Liberty began. Between 1560 and 1658, Sweden created
9912-464: The surrounding states for its lack of defence of Protestantism. Charles X Gustav's attempt to gain the favour of Brandenburg by dividing Poland not only reversed his original policy, but also created a new southern rival almost as dangerous as Denmark–Norway in the west. In 1660, after five years of warfare, Sweden had obtained peace and the opportunity to organize and develop the new vast realm. The fifteen-year regency that followed Charles X Gustav
10030-490: The throne in 1611, and its end as the loss of territories in 1721 following the Great Northern War . After the death of Gustavus Adolphus in 1632, the empire was controlled for lengthy periods by part of the high nobility , such as the Oxenstierna family, acting as regents for minor monarchs. The interests of the high nobility contrasted with the uniformity policy (i.e., upholding the traditional equality in status of
10148-403: The time to recover and build up an army that was both new and better. At this point, in 1707, Peter offered to return everything he had so far occupied (essentially Ingria) except Saint Petersburg and the line of the Neva, to avoid a full-scale war, but Charles XII refused. Instead he initiated a march from Saxony to invade Russia . Though his primary goal was Moscow, the strength of his forces
10266-479: The time. During World War II , Madona was under German occupation from 2 July 1941 until 13 August 1944. It was administered as a part of the Generalbezirk Lettland of Reichskommissariat Ostland . The Latvian Central Statistics Department reported 9,242 citizens as of 1 January 2007, with 888 people per square kilometre (2,300 people/sq mi)s). When it comes to age distribution of
10384-458: The town, such as: Lisa River , Leivārīte , Ridzīte , Mucenieki River , Rieba River and Madona River — which flows can be seen in beautiful glens , like: The Love Glen , The Wedding Glen and The Divorce Glen . In The Love Glen is a park, in which the manmade water reservoir has one of the highest fountains in Latvia. Madona has a humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfb ). Madona
10502-538: The unwillingness of the Polish nobility to fight a war considered only to be in Sigismund III's personal interest. The costly peace with Denmark and Poland–Lithuania's inability to mount a seaborne attack on the Swedish mainland gave time for Gustavus Adolphus to reform his armies. The continuation of the Polish war in 1625–1629 ended with a ceasefire in Stary Targ ( Truce of Altmark ) on 26 September 1629 that
10620-417: The use of firearms. The Nyen fortress was soon abandoned and demolished by Peter, who built nearby a superior fortress as a beginning to the city of Saint Petersburg . By 1704, other fortresses were situated on the island of Kotlin and the sand flats to its south. These became known as Kronstadt and Kronslot. The Swedes attempted a raid on the Neva fort on 13 July 1704 with ships and landing armies, but
10738-489: The war against the only hostile power remaining, Tsar Peter's Russia. The Battle of Narva dealt a severe setback to Peter the Great , but the shift of Charles XII's army to the Polish-Saxon threat soon afterward provided him with an opportunity to regroup and regain territory in the Baltic provinces. Russian victories at Erastfer and Nöteborg (Shlisselburg) provided access to Ingria in 1703, where Peter captured
10856-641: The war in August 1700 according to the terms of the Peace of Travendal . Charles XII was now able to speedily deploy his army to the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea and face his remaining enemies: besides the army of Augustus II in Livonia, an army of Russian tsar Peter I was already on its way to invade Swedish Ingria , where it laid siege to Narva in October. In November, the Russian and Swedish armies met at
10974-519: The way (September 1706) and forcing him to acknowledge defeat in the Treaty of Altranstädt (October 1706). The treaty also secured the extradition and execution of Johann Reinhold Patkul , architect of the alliance seven years earlier. Meanwhile, the forces of Peter I had recovered from defeat at Narva and gained ground in Sweden's Baltic provinces, where they cemented Russian access to the Baltic Sea by founding Saint Petersburg in 1703. Charles XII moved from Saxony into Russia to confront Peter, but
11092-523: The young Swedish king and the diplomatic activity of Louis XIV, a peace congress began sessions at Nijmegen in March 1677. In the beginning of April 1678, the French king dictated the terms of a peace. One of his chief conditions was the complete restitution of Sweden, as he needed a strong Swedish ally. However, Charles XI refused to go along with ceding territories to its enemies, which led the French king to negotiate on behalf of Sweden without its consent. By
11210-409: Was 1,100,000 km . While modern Sweden is bounded by the Baltic, during the 17th century the Baltic formed a bond between various widely dispersed dominions . All the islands in the Baltic, except the Danish group, belonged to Sweden. The estuaries of all the great German rivers lay within Swedish territory, which also included two-thirds of Lake Ladoga and one-half of Lake Peipus . Stockholm ,
11328-606: Was a mere skirmish , with actual casualties numbering fewer than 600 men, but it made Sweden appear vulnerable and enabled neighbouring countries to attack in the Scanian War . At this point, the empire began to crumble. In 1675, Swedish Pomerania and the Duchy of Bremen were taken by the Brandenburgers, Austrians , and Danes. In December 1677, the elector of Brandenburg captured Stettin . Stralsund fell on 15 October 1678. Greifswald , Sweden's last possession on
11446-1141: Was able to mobilize a larger army but could not put all of it into action simultaneously. The Russian mobilization system was ineffective and the expanding nation needed to be defended in many locations. A grand mobilization covering Russia's vast territories would have been unrealistic. Peter I tried to raise his army's morale to Swedish levels. Denmark contributed 20,000 men in their invasion of Holstein-Gottorp and more on other fronts. Poland and Saxony together could mobilize at least 100,000 men. 33,456 musketeers 19,584 pikemen 6,528 grenadiers 8,400 militia 1,200 naval infantry 1,540 grenadiers 9,600 militia (768 grenadiers) 150 halberdiers 1,500 grenadiers cavalry 100 Horse drabants 15,000 heavy cavalry 1,800 noble cavalry 402 horse guards 57 drabant guard 4,556 line cavalry 2,800 pancerni 2,200 heavy cavalry 1,800 cuirassiers 4,000 baltic militia dragoons 20,000 Ukrainian cossacks 15,000 Zaporozhian cossacks 15,000 Don Cossacks 804 militia dragoons 1,710 light cavalry 32,400 cavalry 63,351 cavalry 13,723 cavalry 12,810 cavalry * The difference between heavy and other cavalry
11564-483: Was able to outmaneuver the Danish Sound blockade and deploy an army near the Danish capital, Copenhagen . At the same time, a combined Anglo-Dutch fleet had also set course towards Denmark. Together with the Swedish fleet, they carried out a bombardment of Copenhagen from 20 to 26 July. This surprise move and pressure by the Maritime Powers ( England and the Dutch Republic ) forced Denmark–Norway to withdraw from
11682-540: Was administered by the Swedish Crown ) was able, in particular, to make quick, sustained marches across large tracts of land and to maintain a high rate of small arms fire due to proficient military drill . However, the Swedish state ultimately proved unable to support and maintain its army in a prolonged war. Campaigns on the continent had been proposed on the basis that the army would be financially self-supporting through plunder and taxation of newly gained land,
11800-403: Was constructed along the coast of West Africa as well, but these were not designed for Swedish settlers. At the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War, the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 granted Sweden territories as war reparations . Sweden demanded Silesia , Pomerania (which had been in its possession since the Treaty of Stettin (1630) , and a war indemnity of 20,000,000 Riksdaler . Through
11918-429: Was crushingly defeated by a larger Russian force under Peter in the Battle of Poltava and fled to the Ottoman Empire while the remains of his army surrendered at Perevolochna . This shattering defeat in 1709 did not end the war, although it decided it. Denmark and Saxony joined the war again and Augustus the Strong, through the politics of Boris Kurakin , regained the Polish throne. Peter continued his campaigns in
12036-697: Was determined to gain the Oder estuary with its access to the Baltic Sea for the Brandenburgian core areas, which had been a state goal for centuries . George I of the House of Hanover , elector of Hanover and, since 1714, king of Great Britain and of Ireland, took the opportunity to connect his landlocked German electorate to the North Sea . In 1700, Charles XII had a standing army of 77,000 men (based on annual training). By 1707 this number had swollen to at least 120,000 despite casualties. Russia
12154-411: Was entirely remodeled; and, the recent war having demonstrated the unsuitability of Stockholm as a naval station, the construction of a new arsenal was begun at Karlskrona . After seventeen years of financial difficulties, the twofold enterprise was completed. At the death of Charles XI, Sweden could boast of a fleet of forty-three three-deckers, manned by 11,000 men and armed with 2,648 guns, and one of
12272-414: Was forced to sign the Treaty of Altranstädt in which he made peace with the Swedish Empire, renounced his claims to the Polish crown, accepted Stanislaus Leszczyński as king, and ended his alliance with Russia. Patkul was also extradited and executed by breaking on the wheel in 1707, an incident which, given his diplomatic immunity, infuriated opinion against the Swedish king, who was then expected to win
12390-469: Was formally neutral at this point, as Augustus started the war as an Elector of Saxony. Disregarding Polish negotiation proposals supported by the Swedish parliament, Charles crossed into the Commonwealth and decisively defeated the Saxe-Polish forces in the Battle of Klissow in 1702 and in the Battle of Pultusk in 1703. This successful invasion enabled Charles XII to dethrone Augustus II and coerce
12508-453: Was in favour of the Swedes, to whom Poland ceded the larger part of Livonia together with its important port of Riga . The Swedes also got the right to tax Poland's trade on the Baltic (3.5% on the value of goods), and kept control of many of the cities in Royal and Ducal Prussia (including Piława ( Pillau ), Memel and Elbląg (Elbing). The Swedes later conducted a series of invasions into
12626-453: Was introduced, the pike was discarded in all armies except the Swedish and Russian by 1700. In the Swedish army tactics of that time, retreat was never covered, and they were obliged to attack or fight where they stood. This was a military doctrine that (with the advantage of hindsight) might have proven a bit rash. The infantry shock attack operated as follows. The two rear ranks of musketeers were ordered to shoot when "you could not miss,"
12744-439: Was lost. Sweden had now won considerable political influence, which was lessened by the loss of moral prestige. On Charles X Gustav 's accession in 1655, Sweden's neighbours may have become allies; however, territorial loss combined with the loss of religious liberty lessened their ties to Sweden. At Charles X Gustav's death, five years later, Sweden had not only damaged its newly claimed territories but also had become hated by
12862-452: Was meanwhile employed in a defensive manner, relying on their superior firepower to break enemy attacks. Smaller musketeer detachments (~200 men) were used during the Polish war to support the cavalry against the superior Polish-Lithuanian cavalry. Gustavus Adolphus earned the title "father of modern warfare" because of his revolutionary tactics during the Thirty Years' War, which later inspired other nations and became standard tactics. He became
12980-461: Was mortally wounded during the siege of Fredriksten Fortress in Fredrikshald, today's Halden . With his death, Swedish war efforts mostly came to a halt, although Russia continued to harass the civilian population of the Swedish coastal areas until the concluding Treaty of Nystad was finally signed in 1721. Sweden would remain a regional power of varying success until the 19th century, but
13098-607: Was necessary for a powerful foreign policy. The most pressing domestic question was the reduction , or restitution of alienated crown lands. At the Riksdag of the Estates of 1655, the king proposed that noble holders of crown property should either: 1) pay an annual sum of 200,000 Riksdaler out of the lands they would receive, or 2) surrender a fourth of the property itself, worth approximately 800,000 Riksdaler. The nobility wished to avoid taxation and stipulated that 6 November 1632,
13216-402: Was neutralized by the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. Denmark–Norway was forced to give up a third of its territory to save the rest. Although the reign of Charles XII would see initial Swedish victories in the Peace of Travendal (1700) and the Treaty of Altranstädt (1706) , he would go on to lead a campaign in Russia that would end in a staggering defeat for the Swedes. The Russian victory at
13334-433: Was noted for sloth and carelessness leading to a general neglect of business. Additionally, government corruption led Sweden to be hired by foreign powers. This "subsidy policy" dates from the Treaty of Fontainebleau of 1661, through which Sweden, in exchange for a considerable sum of money, supported the French candidate for the Polish throne. Sweden was torn between Louis XIV of France and his adversaries in plans to control
13452-712: Was over, it had led to severe depopulation in the German states. Although exact population estimates do not exist, historians estimate that the population of the Holy Roman Empire fell by one-third as a result of the war. Sweden founded overseas colonies , principally in the New World. New Sweden was founded in the valley of the Delaware River in 1638, and Sweden later laid claim to a number of Caribbean islands. A string of Swedish forts and trading posts
13570-423: Was ruled by the young Charles XII, declared war on the Swedish Empire and launched a threefold attack on Swedish Holstein-Gottorp, Swedish Livonia , and Swedish Ingria . Sweden parried the Danish and Russian attacks at Travendal (August 1700) and Narva (November 1700) respectively, and in a counter-offensive pushed Augustus II's forces through the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to Saxony, dethroning Augustus on
13688-510: Was sapped by the cold weather (the winter of 1708/09 being one of the most severe in modern European history) and Peter's use of scorched earth tactics. When the main army turned south to recover in Ukraine , the second army with supplies and reinforcements was intercepted and routed at Lesnaya —and so were the supplies and reinforcements of Swedish ally Ivan Mazepa in Baturyn . Charles
13806-471: Was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden became a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region . During this period it also held territories on the North Sea and some overseas colonies , including New Sweden . The beginning of the period is usually taken as the reign of Gustavus Adolphus , who ascended
13924-457: Was unable to manoeuvre through the situation it faced. The administration was internally divided and hindered by the lack of unity and talent among its statesmen. The two major rivals were the military-aristocratic party headed by Magnus de la Gardie and the party of peace and economy led by Johan Gyllenstierna . The aristocratic group prevailed and brought with it a decline of morality which made it notorious to its neighbours. The administration
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