The Conquest of Kalmar took place on May 27 1523 during the Swedish War of Liberation

Swedish War of Liberation

The Swedish War of Liberation , , was a civil war in which the Swedish nobleman Gustav Vasa successfully deposed the Danish king Christian II as regent of the Kalmar Union in Sweden. The war started in January 1521 when Gustav Vasa was appointed "hövitsman" over Dalarna. After Gustav Vasa sacked...

 (1521-1523). In the beginning of 1523, Kalmar

Kalmar

Kalmar is a city in Småland in the south-east of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 62,767 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of 233,776 inhabitants .From the thirteenth to the...

 and Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

 remained as the only real Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 strongholds in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

. The situation in Kalmar is tense, with many German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 Landsknechte mercenaries in Danish hire stationed in the city. These had been ordered that when the city was attacked, they would kill all burghers of Swedish origin, burn the city and castle

Kalmar Castle

Kalmar Castle is a castle in Kalmar, the province of Småland in Sweden. - History :During the twelfth century a round defensive tower was built on Kalmarsund and a harbour constructed. At the end of the thirteenth century King Magnus Ladulås had a new fortress built with a curtain wall, round...

, retreat and regroup in Visby

Visby

-See also:* Battle of Visby* Gotland University College* List of governors of Gotland County-External links:* - Visby*...

, Gotland

Gotland

Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...

.

When this order became known in the city, the inhabitants quickly made contact with the commanders of the besieging Swedish forces, Arvid Västgöte and Peder Hansson. An agreement was made, that the burghers would leave the northern city gate open on the night before May 27. This was done, and the attack began. Before dawn, the city was in Swedish hands. Eight days later Kalmar Castle surrendered as well, and Arvid Västgöte continued on to cleanse Öland

Öland

' is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of 1,342 km² and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. The island has 25,000 inhabitants, but during Swedish Midsummer it is visited by up to 500,000 people...

of Danish troops.