Treaty of Königsberg (1656)
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| Type | Legal status of the Duchy of Prussia |
|---|---|
| Signed | 17 January 1656 |
| Location | Königsberg castle (now Kaliningrad) |
| Signatories |
Charles X Gustav of Sweden Frederick William I of Brandenburg |
| Parties |
Swedish Empire House of Hohenzollern |
| Language | Latin |
The Treaty of Königsberg was concluded on 7 January (O.S.) / 17 January (N.S.) 1656 during the Second Northern War.Frederick William I, the "Great Elector" of Brandenburg and duke of Prussia, was forced to join the Swedish camp and became a Swedish vassal for the Duchy of Prussia and Ermland (Ermeland, Warmia). In a second treaty, negotiated on 24 February 1656 in Königsberg (Królewiec), Frederick William I concluded a defensive alliance with France.
In 1655, the rapid progress of the Swedish campaign in Poland-Lithuania made Brandenburgian elector Frederick William I worried about his Duchy of Prussia, 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 of 12 November concluded a defensive alliance with the Royal Prussian nobility, who maintained an army consisting of 600 troops raised by the Prussian estates 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 had meanwhile conquered nearly all of Poland and exiled the Polish king John II Casimir Vasa. From occupied Cracow, he turned northwards in October 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 (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 Count Georg Friedrich von Waldeck urged the "Great Elector" to confront the Swedish forces, the latter chose not to fight and accept the Swedish terms in January.
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