Treaty of Tsarskoye Selo
| Context | Russian Tsar Peter III's territory in Holstein-Gottorp and claims in Schleswig |
|---|---|
| Drafted | 1767 |
| Signed | 1 June 1773 |
| Location | Tsarskoye Selo, Russia |
| Negotiators |
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| Signatories |
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The Treaty of Tsarskoye Selo was a territorial and dynastic treaty between the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Denmark. Signed on 1 June 1773, it transferred control of ducal Schleswig-Holstein to the Danish crown in return for Russian control of the County of Oldenburg and adjacent lands within the Holy Roman Empire. The treaty reduced the fragmentation of Danish territory and led to an alliance—The Eternal Alliance (Danish: Den Evige Alliance)—between Denmark and Russia that lasted into the Napoleonic Wars, effectively ending in 1809, when Russian diplomats suggested to Sweden that Norway be a possible compensation for Finland.
In 1448 the Count of Oldenburg was elected King of Denmark and took the throne as Christian I. He assigned Oldenburg to his brother, Gerhard, in 1454, and that brother's descendants in the House of Oldenburg continued to rule the county for the next two centuries. For supporting him in the Schmalkaldic War, Emperor Charles V gave the Oldenburgers control of the town of Delmenhorst, which adjoins Oldenburg on the left bank of the Weser, in 1547. After Count Anthony Günther died childless in 1667, these territories began to be ruled by the kings of Denmark in personal union.
In 1460, upon his election as Duke of Holstein, King Christian I promulgated the Treaty of Ribe, affirming that Schleswig (a Danish fief) and Holstein (part of the Holy Roman Empire) were to remain "forever undivided" in return for his recognition by the region's noble estates as the rightful ruler of Schleswig-Holstein. From that time forward, Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein were ruled in personal union by the Danish kings for nearly a century. Then, in 1544 King Christian III of Denmark partitioned the two duchies between himself and his two half-brothers, John and Adolf, in an unusual way that would shape Danish politics for centuries.
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