The siege of Kolding () also known as the siege of Koldinghus, was a

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 ...

by the

County of Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 811–1474), the later Duchy of H ...

on the Danish castle of

Koldinghus Koldinghus is a Danish royal castle in the town of Kolding on the south central part of the Jutland peninsula. The castle was founded in the 13th century and was expanded since with many functions ranging from fortress, royal residency, ruin, mu ...

in 1368 during the Danish–Hanseatic War (1361–1370). The siege would end inconclusive for both sides, however, the commander of the castle, Peder Iversøn, promised to surrender if King

Valdemar IV of Denmark Valdemar IV Atterdag, Valdemar Christoffersen or Waldemar (24 October 1375) was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375. He is mostly known for his reunion of Denmark after the bankruptcy and mortgaging of the country to finance wars under previous rul ...

would die,

abdicate Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other soci ...

, or lose the kingdom. Presumeably, Iversøn surrendered at last, since he would not be mentioned in the later peace talks.

Background

The

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

suffered a major military disaster at Helsingborg in 1362, leaving the Danish King, Valdemar, stronger than ever. In November 1367, 77 members of the Hanseatic diet in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, decided to form an alliance-confederation to attack

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. The confederation was supported by Count Adolf of

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

and

Albert, King of Sweden Albert (, – 1 April 1412), also known as Albert of Mecklenburg (), was King of Sweden from 1364 to 1389 and Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1384 to 1412. Background He was the second son of Duke Albert II of Mecklenburg and Euphemia ...

. With the support of rebelling Jutish nobles, the Holsteinian army invaded Jutland, where the border

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

s of

Ribe Ribe () is a town in south-west Jutland, Denmark, with a population of 8,367 (2025). It is the seat of the Diocese of Ribe. Until 1 January 2007, Ribe was the seat of both a surrounding municipality and county. It is now part of the enlarged E ...

and Skodborg fell.

Siege

The Castle of

would also be besieged. The castle garrison would defend the city bravely, and the German dukes, Nicholas and Henry, would still be besieging the castle long into 1369. In July 1369 the siege still dragged on, and the dukes had likely tried to attack Høneborg and Hindsgavl castles, or at least threatened to do so. This resulted in negotiations with the commander of the castles, Peder IVersøn. The result of these negotiations looked similar to those concluded with Aalholm and Ravnsborg the year before. On 16 July, Iversøn sent a letter to the Holsteinian camps, in which he promised if King Valdemar should either lose the kingdom, voluntarily resign it, or die, he would hand over all his castles to the counts. However, if the king came to the kingdom again and demanded the castles back, Iversøn would hand them over to him.

Aftermath

Presumably Koldinghus would fall to the besiegers, since no representatives of Koldinghus were present during the Treaty of Stralsund. Additionally, there is no other historic mentions of Peder Iversen ever again.

References

Works cited

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolding 1368–1369 Sieges involving Denmark Battles involving the Hanseatic League 1368 in Europe 1369 in Europe 1360s in Denmark Battles involving Holstein Sieges of the Middle Ages Attacks on castles in Denmark Kolding

Background

Siege

Aftermath

See also

References

Works cited