There are numerous prehistorical and early historical

ringwork A ringwork is a form of fortified defensive structure, usually circular or oval in shape. Ringworks are essentially motte-and-bailey castles without the motte. Defences were usually earthworks in the form of a ditch and bank surrounding the sit ...

s and fortification ramparts in Central Europe that have erroneously, usually colloquially, been given the name Schwedenschanze, which means "Swedish

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldi ...

", a ''

schanze A ''schanze'' () is, according to the specialist terminology of German fortification construction, an independent fieldwork, that is frequently used in the construction of temporary (not permanent) field fortifications.Rüstow: ''Militärisches Han ...

'' being a hastily erected, military fieldwork.

History

This name arose in connexion with the fighting during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

, when the population of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

often used old field fortifications as

refuge castle A refuge castleCreighton, Oliver (2015). ''Early European Castles''. Bloomsbury. or refuge fort (german: Fliehburg, also ''Fluchtburg'', ''Volksburg'', ''Bauernburg'' or ''Vryburg'') is a castle-like defensive location, usually surrounded by ramp ...

s or hidden livestock pens. Particularly in Catholic areas this action was taken to protect people from the Protestant forces of the Swedish king,

Gustavus II Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...

. Whether the individual fortifications were actually used as fighting positions, however, is usually speculative. Many of the often well preserved earthworks in the forests of Europe were probably later associated wrongly with this religious war. The history of these heritage sites often goes back several thousand years. They were frequently extended during the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

, for example, to defend East Francia and other regions in the 10th century from the

Hungarian invasions The Hungarian invasions of Europe ( hu, kalandozások, german: Ungarneinfälle) took place in the 9th and 10th centuries, the period of transition in the history of Europe in the Early Middle Ages, when the territory of the former Carolingian Em ...

. It is true that in the 17th century, during the Thirty Years' War, numerous earthworks and ''schanzen'' were thrown up during the conflict. But these are clearly distinguishable from the older sites by their regular, geometric shapes. Occasionally there were also fortifications that were actually built by the Imperial Army, i.e. Catholic League troops that were later called ''Schwedenschanzen''; such as the Schwedenschanze in the Rhön.

''Schwedenschanzen''

Germany

* Schwedenschanze (Altastenberg) near Altastenberg, North Rhine-Westphalia * Schwedenschanze (Belm) near Belm, Lower Saxony * Schwedenwälle or Schwedenschanzen between Brandenburg an der Havel and Brielow * Schwedenschanze in Buckow (Rietz-Neuendorf), near

Beeskow Beeskow ( dsb, Bezkow) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, and capital of the Oder-Spree district. It is situated on the river Spree, 30 km southwest of Frankfurt an der Oder. Demography File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Beeskow.pdf, Developm ...

, Brandenburg * Turmhügel Schwedenschanze (Burghaig), county of Kulmbach, Bavaria * Turmhügel Schwedenschanze (Kulmbach), county of Kulmbach, Bavaria * Schwedenschanze (Canstein) near

Marsberg Marsberg () is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. History Although its origins are obscure, Marsberg was a prospering town by the 13th century (it was even minting coins). It was a free city until 1807, when ...

-Canstein im Roten Land, North Rhine-Westphalia * Schwedenschanze (Deesbach) near

Neuhaus am Rennweg Neuhaus am Rennweg is a town in the district of Sonneberg, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated in the Thuringian Forest, 17 km north of Sonneberg, and 22 km southwest of Saalfeld. The former municipalities Lichte and Piesau Piesau ...

in the Thuringian Forest * Schwedenschanze (Delitzsch) am Neuhäuser See, Saxony * Schwedenschanze (Dornberg) near Bielefeld- Dornberg, North Rhine-Westphalia * Schwedenschanze (Dörscheid) near Dörscheid, Rhineland-Palatinate * Ringwall Schwedenschanze (Elfershausen) near

Elfershausen Elfershausen is a municipality in the district of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria in Germany. Elfershausen is a market town (''Markt'') or municipality that includes the following towns: *Elfershausen *Engenthal *Langendorf *Machtilshausen *Trimberg H ...

in Lower Franconia, Bavaria * Schwedenschanze (Elmshorn) im Liether Wald in

Elmshorn Elmshorn (; nds, Elmshoorn) is a town in the district of Pinneberg in Schleswig-Holstein in Germany. It is 30 km north of Hamburg on the small river Krückau, a tributary of the Elbe, and with about 50,000 inhabitants is the sixth-largest t ...

, Schleswig-Holstein * Schwedenschanze (Frickingen) near

Frickingen Frickingen is a municipality and a village in the district of Bodensee in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in ...

, Baden-Württemberg * Schwedenschanze (Gersfeld) near Rodenbach in the Rhön near the Reesberg, Hesse * Schwedenschanze (Gotha) near Gotha in Thuringia * Schwedenschanze in the Dölauer Heide in Halle (Saale), Saxony-Anhalt * Schwedenschanze (Haßberge) on the Kamm der Haßberge, Bavaria * Ringwall Schwedenschanze (Heiligenstadt in Oberfranken) northwest of

Heiligenstadt in Oberfranken Heiligenstadt in Oberfranken (officially: Heiligenstadt i. OFr.) is a community with market rights in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg. The town clusters round the base of Schloss Greifenstein. To further tourism the old school was con ...

, Bavaria * Schwedenschanze (Höchstadt an der Aisch) in Höchstadt an der Aisch, Bavaria * Schwedenschanze (Höhbeck) in the Elbtalaue Wendland Nature Park, Lower Saxony * Schwedenschanze Isingerode near Isingerode, Lower Saxony * Schwedenschanze (Kelsterbach) in Kelsterbach, Hesse * Schwedenschanze (Klein Hutbergen) near Verden (Aller), Lower Saxony * Schwedenschanze (Lossow) near Frankfurt (Oder), Brandenburg * Schwedenschanze (Neppermin) in Neppermin on

Usedom Usedom (german: Usedom , pl, Uznam ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It is north of the Szczecin ...

, see Burgwall Neppermin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania * Schwedenschanze (Nisselsbach) near Aichach, Bavaria * Abschnittsbefestigung Schwedenschanze (Oberlangheim), Bavaria * Schwedenschanze (Peenemünde) in

Peenemünde Peenemünde (, en, " Peene iverMouth") is a municipality on the Baltic Sea island of Usedom in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is part of the ''Amt'' (collective municipality) of Usedom-Nord. The commu ...

, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania * Schwedenschanze (Pohnsdorf) near Pohnsdorf, Schleswig-Holstein * Ringwall Schwedenschanze (Kützberg) near Poppenhausen, Bavaria * Schwedenschanze (Preußisch Oldendorf) near Preußisch Oldendorf- Börninghausen on the Egge, North Rhine-Westphalia * Schwedenschanze (Rohrhardsberg) on the

Rohrhardsberg The Rohrhardsberg is a mountain in the Central Black Forest in southern Germany. At 1,152.1 metres (3,780 ft) above sea level, it is the northernmost summit of the elongated, north-south oriented Farnberg Plateau that has several high points ...

, Baden-Württemberg * Ringwall Schwedenschanze (Rottenstein Forest), Hofheim in Lower Franconia in the county of Haßberge in Bavaria * Schwedenschanze (Schlangen) near Schlangen- Oesterholz, North Rhine-Westphalia * Schwedenschanze (Spessart) near Alzenau northwest of Mömbris, Bavaria * Schwedenschanze (Stade) in the Stade village of Groß Thun, Lower Saxony * Schwedenschanze (Stralsund) near Stralsund, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania * Schwedenschanze (Teublitz) in Teublitz, Bavaria * Schwedenschanze (Vlotho) in

Vlotho Vlotho () is a town in the district of Herford, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Vlotho is located along the Weser river, south of the Wiehengebirge, bordering on the Ravensberger Hügelland in the west, Lipperland in the south, a ...

, North Rhine-Westphalia * Schwedenschanze (Weitenhagen) in

Weitenhagen Weitenhagen is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. The former municipality Diedrichshagen was merged into Weitenhagen in May 2019. References

Vorpom ...

, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania *

Schwedenschanze (Zuflucht) The Schwedenschanze (Zuflucht) is a former schanze in Bad Peterstal-Griesbach in the Black Forest in Southern Germany. It is located on the L 402, the "Oppenauer Steige", which branches off from the B 500 ( Black Forest High Road). Another redou ...

in the

Northern Black Forest The Northern Black Forest (german: Nordschwarzwald) refers to the northern third of the Black Forest in Germany or, less commonly today, to the northern half of this mountain region. Geography The Northern Black Forest is bounded in the north b ...

Austria

From west to east: * Schwedenschanze (Lochau) in

Lochau Lochau is a municipality in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is located on Lake Constance, in the Bregenz district, near the border to Germany. About 50.3% of the municipality's area is forest. The Pfänder, the landmark mountai ...

, Vorarlberg * Schwedenschanze (Oberhaag) near

Aigen-Schlägl Aigen-Schlägl is a municipality in Rohrbach District of Upper Austria, Austria. As of 1 January 2019, population was 3196. The municipality was formed on 1 May 2015 by merging two municipalities, Aigen im Mühlkreis Aigen im Mühlkreis is a to ...

, Upper Austria * Schwedenschanze (Bad Leonfelden) near

Bad Leonfelden Bad Leonfelden is a municipality in the district of Urfahr-Umgebung in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Steven Beller, author of ''A Concise History of Austria'', who has family links to Bad Leonfelden, cites episodes from the town's histor ...

, Upper Austria * Schwedenschanze (Achatzberg) near

Klam Klam is a municipality in the district Perg in the Austrian state of Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and ...

, Upper Austria * Schwedenschanze (Engelstein) near Großschönau, Lower Austria * Schwedenschanze (Buschberg) in the Leiser Berge, Lower Austria

Switzerland

* Schwedenschanze (Beggingen) on the Randen (mountain), Beggingen, canton of Schaffhausen

Czech Republic

* Švédské šance (Horní Moštěnice) * Švédské šance (Kovářská)

External links

{{Fortifications Fortifications by type