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Background of the CAROLUS REX REVIVAT
When king Charles XII pounded on the Triebseer gate
to the Swedish stronghold Stralsund, capital of Swedish Pomerania, on the night between 10
and 11 November 1714, he had just covered 2400 km travelling for a whole fortnight on
horseback and by post-chaise. It is the aim of the non-profit making association CAROLUS
REX REVIVAT to re-enact this legendary ride, one of the great equestrian feats in history,
in September 2000.
The association was founded on February 5th
1998 under the chairmanship of Lieutenant-General Åke Sagrén, former C in C Swedish
Army. The Army Museum in Stockholm, the Military History Museum in Budapest and the
Swedish Caroline Society will be acting as responsible authorities. The association hopes
to demonstrate that horses of today with modern riders can carry out, in as an historic
and authentic way as possible, the physically demanding ride of the king from Pitesti in
central Roumania, through Hungary, Austria and Germany to Stralsund and in the same time
as it took 285 years ago. Apart from the challenge of horsemanship, there is also a strong
hope that this cultural and historical event will help strengthen ties between the
countries involved. Amateur riders will impersonate the king and his escorting officers.
Two post-chaises, modern copies of a britchka, and around 35 riding horses and harness
horses will be used. As the association cooperates with the Historic Riding Expedition
Association in Hungary, one of the riders will probably be from that country. The
re-enactment will start from Pitesti is on 8th of September and reach Stralsund
on 22th of September. Just as their historical predecessors the three
participating riders will enjoy sleep in a real bed for only four nights during the
journey. The king, with his escort, will then embark on the mail yacht "Hiorten"
and land at Skåre läge outside Trelleborg, preliminary 25th of September.
It is important that the event is as autentic as
possible and a great deal of research has gone into the planning. Copies of uniforms have
been made at the Army Museum in Stockholm. Modernized replicas of the mail coaches from
the time have been built and the original roads and routes will be followed. The mail
yacht "Hiorten" is a newlybuilt autentic replica of a 1700th century
vessel and will be manned with a crew from the Marine Museum in Karlskrona, where she was
made.
Originally the re-enactment was planned to take
place in 1999, but practical and economical reasons made it impossible.
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Financing
The re-enactment is based and planned on a voluntary
basis but will nevertheless entail a considerable amount of funding. A great deal of
interest has already been shown in this unusual historical and cultural event. Excellent
opportunities are clearly possible to promote Swedish trade and commerce, tourism and
culture at different places along the route and all sponsors are welcome. The Swedish
embassies in all four countries will be supporting the event as well as national
equitation associations and respective defence forces in Roumania, Hungary, Austria and
Germany.
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The historical background
After the annilihating defeat at Poltava on June 28,
1709 followed by the capitulation three days later at the river Dnjeper, Sweden descended
swiftly in the scale of power. Charles escaped and accompanied by a small force of about
1000 men reached Bender, in present day Moldavia, at the end of July. Here they remained
for three years. The king´s plan was to stir up the Turkish sultan to make war upon
Russia who now threatend the Ottoman empire, but the years passed without any conclussion.
In November 1712 Turkey had, for the third time, declared war but this time the sultan
demanded positive military aid from Sweden and
insisted that Charles should return home and speed up the Swedish armament.
However news came that Magnus Stenbock
governor-general of Skåne, had made a truce with the enemy in Pomerania. The sultan now
became convinced that Sweden intended that Turkey was meant to bear the full weight of the
war and enraged, ordered that the king, by force, should be ejected from his quarters. On
Februar 1 the intermezzo, which in history has become known as the kalabalik or
"Tumult in Bender", broke out. After confused fighting, fire and overwhelming
odds the king and his men were taken prisoners.
However the prisoners were soon released when a new message from
Pomerania arrived stating that Stenbock had defeated the mutual enemy at Gadebusch. The
sultan at once changed his opinion of Charles and the king was escorted to Demotika, in
presentday northwest Greece, as an honoured guest. All the remaining Swedes were also
released and allowed to join the king, whilst the Turkish commander who had led the attack
on the "King´s house" in Bender was punished.
When peace was concluded between Turkey and Russia
the king at last realized that his oriental diplomacy and negotiations were in vain. Now
it was vital to return as fast as possible to Sweden to defend the outer ramparts of
Sweden´s realm. Stenbock had been forced to surrender in the Holstein-Gottorp fortress of
Tönning. At the end of September 1714, the king accompanied by 1.500 men started the
march home to Sweden. After a month with slow progress, Pitesti, a small town in Valakia,
now Roumania, was reached. Here Charles decided to leave the main force and return to
Sweden as quickly as possible. To draw attention from his plans he withdrew with his suite
to a farm and there amused himself with equestrian sports and exercises for two days, he
was of course training hard for the long journey in the saddle
Late in the evening on October
27 the king set out accompanied by two officers, adjutant-general Gustaf Fredrik von Rosen
and lieutenant-colonel Otto Fredrik von Düring. Charles XII was to be known as Peter
Frisk, von Rosen as Johann Palm and von Düring, Erik Ungern. They were all disguised as
captains.
They rode all night over the
Valakian plains up to the Transylvanian Alps in Siebenbürgen. They rode fast and tried to
find short cuts which resulted in them getting lost. At three in the morning they sighted
a camp fire in the forrest and a swineherd sleeping with his pigs. They were put back on
the right road and in the evening arrived at a village where they got quarters for the
night and fresh horses. Von Rosen was to remain there, probably to maintain contact with
the main force, but "Frisk" and "Ungern" continued over the plains of
Hungary. During the night they travelled in the regular mail coaches to enable von Düring
to rest and recover. After a strenuous and hard stretch ride he had fallen from his horse
dead tired and exhausted.
Having reached Vienna they
mounted again – it was by now November 3 – and continued their journey along the
Danube through Germany, but avoiding the larger towns. Even so the king felt forced to
drink a cup of wine, at an inn near Kassel to avoid having his true identity discovered.
At last, on the night between November 10 and November 11, the king and his companion
reached Stralsund. Two weeks has passed since they left Pitesti and in eight days and
nights they had covered the distance between Vienna and Stralsund. On arriving at the
fortress the king did not wish to disclose his presence there. The city guards did not
recognize their king, who was wearing a black wig, a beard, a large hat and a brown
greatcoat. For two hours the king and his companion both more than exhausted had to wait
outside the city gate until the fortress govenor, general Carl Gustaf Dücker, was
summoned. Dücker immediately took the king to his residence for refreshment and rest but
Charles fell asleep with his head resting on a table. The king´s greatboots had to be cut
away and a barber-surgeon called in to treat an old leg wound which had opened up. All the
king´s clothes were worn out and a several days passed before the king could receive and
a tailor had time to make a new uniform. The king´s tired main force did not arrive to
Stralsund until March 1715.
In the autumn of 1715 the army
of a powerful coalition with Prussian, Danish and Saxon forces laid siege to the town. The
king led the defence in person, but in November enemy artillery began a bombardment of the
town - a month later it was a heap of gravel. Young Düring, the king´s escort on the
long ride, was killed in an attack in front of the Knieperthof. With the king in continual
danger for his life the Council in Stockholm repeatedly appealed to him to return home. On
the night of December 11, when the enemy had breached the ramparts, the king was forced to
leave Stralsund or fall into enemy hands. The following day the last remaining Swedish
stronghold on the German coast of the Baltic capitulated.
After a difficult crossing
with snow, ice and the hazards of changing boats three times, Charles XII stepped ashore
on the southern coast of Sweden near Trelleborg, at 5 am on December 13. With a staff of
two captains and three lieutenants in attendence the king walked to the small town. There
the group took a coach and made their way to an inn where the king mounted once more and
rode into Ystad arriving there at three o´clock in the afternoon. For the first time time
the king was recognised and after fifteen years the people of Sweden had a king that had
returned home. |
