The Treaty of Königsberg was concluded on 7 January (
O.S.) / 17 January (
N.S.) 1656 during the
Second Northern War
The Second Northern War (1655–60), (also First or Little Northern War) was fought between Sweden and its adversaries the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1655–60), the Tsardom of Russia (Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658), 1656–58), Brande ...
.
[Frost (2000), p. 171] Frederick William I, the "Great
Elector" of Brandenburg and
duke of Prussia
The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...
, was forced to join the Swedish camp and became a Swedish vassal for the
Duchy of Prussia
The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the Prussia (region), region of P ...
and
Ermland (Ermeland, Warmia).
[Press (1991), p. 402] In a second treaty, negotiated on 24 February 1656 in Königsberg (Królewiec), Frederick William I concluded a defensive alliance with France.
[von Moerner (1965), p. 201]
Background
In 1655, the rapid progress of the Swedish campaign in
Poland–Lithuania made
Brandenburgian elector Frederick William I worried about his
Duchy of Prussia
The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the Prussia (region), region of P ...
,
[Press (1991), p. 401] which he held as a Polish fief.
[ Frederick William I, who maintained an army of 14,000 men in Brandenburg,][ marched his army to Prussia][ and in the ]Treaty of Rinsk
The treaty of Rinsk, concluded on 2 November (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) / 12 November (Old Style and New Style dates, N.S.) 1655, was a Duchy of Prussia, Ducal-Royal Prussian alliance during the Second Northern War.Frost (2000), p. 171 ...
of 12 November concluded a defensive alliance with the Royal Prussia
Royal Prussia ( pl, Prusy Królewskie; german: Königlich-Preußen or , csb, Królewsczé Prësë) or Polish PrussiaAnton Friedrich Büsching, Patrick Murdoch. ''A New System of Geography'', London 1762p. 588/ref> (Polish: ; German: ) was a ...
n nobility, who maintained an army consisting of 600 troops raised by the Prussian estates The Prussian estates (german: Preußischer Landtag, pl, Stany pruskie) were representative bodies of Prussia, first created by the Monastic state of Teutonic Prussia in the 14th century (around the 1370s)Daniel Stone, ''A History of Central Europe ...
and a levy of 3,000 to 4,000 men.[ In addition, 3,600 troops of the regular army and mercenaries were stationed in Royal Prussia.][
]Charles X Gustav
Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...
had meanwhile conquered nearly all of Poland and exiled the Polish king John II Casimir Vasa
John II Casimir ( pl, Jan II Kazimierz Waza; lt, Jonas Kazimieras Vaza; 22 March 1609 – 16 December 1672) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1648 until his abdication in 1668 as well as titular King of Sweden from 1648 ...
.[ From occupied Cracow, he turned northwards in October][Frost (2000), p. 172] to subdue Royal Prussia, where he intended to establish a Swedish province.[ By December, all of Royal Prussia was occupied by Sweden][ except for Danzig (Gdańsk), which resisted throughout the war, and Marienburg (Malbork), which only fell in March 1656.][ ]Thorn
Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to:
Botany
* Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants
* ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species
Comics and literature
* Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Com ...
(Toruń) and Elbing (Elbląg) had not participated in the alliance of Rinsk and surrendered to Sweden already in November.[ Now Charles X Gustav turned eastwards and marched his troops into Ducal Prussia, following the withdrawing army of Frederick William I.][ While ]field marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
Count Georg Friedrich von Waldeck
Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck (31 January 1620 – 19 November 1692) was a German and Dutch Field Marshal and, for the last three years of his life, Grand Master of the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg).
In 1641, Waldeck ent ...
urged the "Great Elector" to confront the Swedish forces, the latter chose not to fight and accept the Swedish terms in January.[Press (1991), pp. 401-402]
Treaty between Brandenburg-Prussia and Sweden
Frederick William I took the Duchy of Prussia
The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the Prussia (region), region of P ...
as a fief from Charles X Gustav
Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...
, and had to provide him with troops.[ Without Swedish permission, the ]Electorate of Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...
would not maintain a navy in the Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
.[ In return, Frederick William I received Ermland.][
In article XVII, the ]Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
Swedish king further obliged the Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
elector to grant religious freedom
Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...
to the Lutherans in Prussia.[Evans (1997), p. 54]
Treaty between Brandenburg-Prussia and France
The Franco-Prussian treaty included a defensive alliance between the parties.[ Drafted on 24 February, it was ratified on 12 April by Louis in Paris and on 24 October by Frederick William in Königsberg.][
]
Consequences
The treaty of Königsberg was followed by the Treaty of Marienburg
__NOTOC__
The treaty of Marienburg, concluded on 29 June 1656, was a Brandenburg-Prussian – Swedish alliance during the Second Northern War.Frost (2000), p. 173
In January 1656, Charles X Gustav of Sweden had made Frederick William I, Elector ...
on 25 June, when the tide of the war had turned against Sweden and Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia (german: Brandenburg-Preußen; ) is the historiographic denomination for the early modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenz ...
advanced to the position of a Swedish ally.
Still a vassal of Charles X Gustav for Prussia,[ Frederick William I entered the war and the combined Swedish-Brandenburgian forces defeated the Polish army in the Battle of Warsaw in July. This made the Polish king ]John II Casimir Vasa
John II Casimir ( pl, Jan II Kazimierz Waza; lt, Jonas Kazimieras Vaza; 22 March 1609 – 16 December 1672) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1648 until his abdication in 1668 as well as titular King of Sweden from 1648 ...
, from whom Frederick William I had to take Prussia as a fief prior to Königsberg, say that once the Tartars
Tartary ( la, Tartaria, french: Tartarie, german: Tartarei, russian: Тартария, Tartariya) or Tatary (russian: Татария, Tatariya) was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bounde ...
had the Swedes for breakfeast, he would arrest the elector "where neither sun nor moon will shine".[ In August, John II Casimir had ]Wincenty Korwin Gosiewski
Wincenty Aleksander Korwin Gosiewski '' de armis'' Ślepowron (c. 1620 – 29 November 1662) – was a Polish nobleman, general, Field-Commander of Lithuania from 1654, Grand Treasurer of Lithuania and Lithuanian Great-Quartermaster since 1652 ...
invade Prussia to "punish Frederick William for his treachery". Thirteen towns and 250 villages were burned until Gosiewski was expelled in October, and the campaign was terrifying enough to persist in local folklore until the 20th century.[Frost (2000), p. 178]
Hard-pressed himself by several countries entering the war against him, Charles X Gustav in January 1656 agreed with Frederick William I on the Treaty of Labiau
The Treaty of Labiau was a treaty signed between Frederick William I, Elector of Brandenburg and Charles X Gustav of Sweden on 10 November ( O.S.) / 20 November ( N.S.) 1656 in Labiau (now Polessk). With several concessions, the most important be ...
, which altered the terms of Königsberg in a way that the Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...
electors were freed of Swedish vassalage for the Prussian duchy at the cost of Ermland and a more active participation in the war. In the subsequent treaties of Wehlau
Znamensk (; ; lt, Vėluva; pl, Welawa) is a rural locality (a settlement) in Gvardeysky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Pregolya River at its confluence with the Lava River east of Kaliningrad. Populati ...
and Bromberg
Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
, John II Casimir confirmed Frederick William I's sovereignty in Prussia after the latter abandoned Sweden in the war.[Press (1991), p. 403]
See also
*List of treaties
This list of treaties contains known agreements, pacts, peaces, and major contracts between states, armies, governments, and tribal groups.
Before 1200 CE
1200–1299
1300–1399
1400–1499
1500–1599
1600–1699
1700–1799
...
Sources
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
External links
Scan of the treaty of Königsberg (Brandenburg-Prussia and Sweden) at ieg-mainz.de (Institut für Europäische Geschichte Mainz), 32 pages
Scan of the treaty of Königsberg (Brandenburg-Prussia and France) at diplomatie.gouv.fr (French Ministry for Foreign Affairs), 31 pages, pdf
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koenigsberg
Second Northern War
Königsberg
1656 treaties
Konigsberg
Konigsberg
1656 in Europe
1656 in Sweden