Brita Olsdotter ( fl. 1719) was an old

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 ...

woman who, according to legend, saved the city of

Linköping Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...

from being burnt by the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

ns during the

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 the anti-Swed ...

. In 1719, in the last years of the war, Sweden was invaded by the Russian army which burned several cities and plundered villages along the coasts. A lot of stories are maintained which describe how some of the villages, churches and farms was saved by individual acts and personal courage. During the Russian Pillage of 1719-1721, the Russian army burned Norrköping and then marched south towards

to burn that city as well. On the way to Linköping, the Russian army met an old woman and apparently stopped to ask her something. She improvised a story and told them that a courier had arrived in Linköping with the message that the British fleet had come to Sweden's rescue, and that a Swedish army of 20,000 soldiers was on its way. This made the Russian army turn back and refrain from attacking the city. As a result, the city of Linköping, which was in fact without any protection at all, was saved from being burned. There were a lot of such local legends. For example, the vicar's wife

Maria Faxell Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

was said to have armed her maids in

Värmland Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are '' ...

, defending her parish against an attack from Norway. But Brita Olsdotter was, of all those, the person said to have saved the largest place from attack.

References

Runeberg

* Stålberg, Wilhelmina; ''Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor'' (Notes on Swedish women) {{DEFAULTSORT:Olsdotter, Brita 17th-century births 18th-century deaths Swedish people of the Great Northern War Legendary Swedish people Women in 18th-century warfare Women in war in Sweden

See also

References