Northern Seven Years' War | |||||||
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Frederick II of Denmark attacking Älvsborg, 1563. |
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Belligerents | |||||||
Denmark–Norway |
Sweden | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Frederick II Daniel Rantzau Herluf Trolle Otto Rud Friedrich Knebel Sigismund II August |
Eric XIV John III Jakob Bagge Klas Horn Claude Collart |
Denmark–Norway
Free City of Lübeck
The Northern Seven Years' War (also known as the Nordic Seven Years' War, the First Northern War or the Seven Years War in Scandinavia) was the war between the Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denmark–Norway, Lübeck and Poland, fought between 1563 and 1570. The war was motivated by the dissatisfaction of King Frederick II of Denmark with the dissolution of the Kalmar Union, and the will of King Eric XIV of Sweden to break Denmark's dominating position. The fighting continued until both armies had been exhausted, and many men died. The resulting Treaty of Stettin was a stalemate, with neither party gaining any new territory.
The Danish-ruled Nordic Kalmar Union lasted on and off from 1397 to 1523, until it finally collapsed following the continued Swedish resentment of Danish domination.